Travels With Charley In Search Of America

An intimate journey across and in search of America, as told by one of its most beloved writers, in a deluxe centennial edition In September 1960, John Steinbeck embarked on a journey across America. He felt that he might have lost touch with the country, with its speech, the smell of its grass and trees, its color and quality of light, the pulse of its people. To reassure himself, he set out on a voyage of rediscovery of the American identity, accompanied by a distinguished French poodle named Charley; and riding in a three-quarter-ton pickup truck named Rocinante. His course took him through almost forty states: northward from Long Island to Maine; through the Midwest to Chicago; onward by way of Minnesota, North Dakota, Montana (with which he fell in love), and Idaho to Seattle, south to San Francisco and his birthplace, Salinas; eastward through the Mojave, New Mexico, Arizona, to the vast hospitality of Texas, to New Orleans and a shocking drama of desegregation; finally, on the last leg, through Alabama, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey to New York. Travels with Charley in Search of America is an intimate look at one of America's most beloved writers in the later years of his life—a self-portrait of a man who never wrote an explicit autobiography. Written during a time of upheaval and racial tension in the South—which Steinbeck witnessed firsthand—Travels with Charley is a stunning evocation of America on the eve of a tumultuous decade. This Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition also features French flaps and deckle-edged paper. For more than sixty-five years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,500 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

An intimate journey across America, as told by one of its most beloved writers To hear the speech of the real America, to smell the grass and the trees, to see the colors and the light—these were John Steinbeck's goals as he set out, at the age of fifty-eight, to rediscover the country he had been writing about for so many years. With Charley, his French poodle, Steinbeck drives the interstates and the country roads, dines with truckers, encounters bears at Yellowstone and old friends in San Francisco. Along the way he reflects on the American character, racial hostility, the particular form of American loneliness he finds almost everywhere, and the unexpected kindness of strangers.

The Library of American completes its authoritative four-volume John Steinbeck edition with this collection of the later works of an American master. It includes "The Wayward Bus," published in 1947 and spans his works through his last published book, 1962Us "Travels with Charley."

"Steinbeck falsified his trip. I am delighted that you went deep into this." -- Paul Theroux, Author of "Deep South" and "The Tao of Travel""No book gave me more of a kick this year than Bill Steigerwald's investigative travelogue 'Dogging Steinbeck.'" -- Nick Gillespie, editor-in-chief of Reason.com"... a wry, wistful, but never angry tale about a great literary deception that lasted way too long." -- Pittsburgh Post-Gazette"... an idol-slaying travelogue of truth.' -- Shawn Macomber, The Weekly StandardFirst journalist Bill Steigerwald took John Steinbeck's classic "Travels With Charley" and used it as a map for his own cross-country road trip in search of America. Then he proved Steinbeck's iconic nonfiction book was a 50-year-old literary fraud. A true story about the triumph of truth.Bill Steigerwald had a brilliant plan for showing how much America has changed in the last half century -- or so he thought. He'd simply retrace the 10,000-mile route John Steinbeck took around the USA in 1960 for his beloved bestseller "Travels With Charley." Then he'd compare the America he saw with the country Steinbeck described in his classic road book. But when the intrepid ex-newspaperman from Pittsburgh started researching Steinbeck's trip he uncovered a shocking literary scoop. Steinbeck's iconic nonfiction book was a fraud. "Travels With Charley" was not just full of fiction. It was a deceptive and dishonest account of the great novelist's actual road trip. Steigerwald made his own road trip exactly 50 years after Steinbeck did. Chasing and fact-checking Steinbeck's ghost for 11,276 miles and 43 days, meeting hundreds of ordinary Americans, often sleeping in the back of his car in Wal-Mart parking lots, he drove from Maine to California to Texas. Despite the Great Recession and national headlines dripping with gloom and doom, Steigerwald discovered an America along the Steinbeck Highway that was big, empty, rich, safe, clean, prosperous and friendly. He didn't just reaffirm his faith in America to withstand the long train of abuse from Washington and Wall Street, however. He also exposed the half-century-old myths of "Travels With Charley," ruffled the PhDs of the country's top Steinbeck scholars and forced "Charley's" publisher to finally tell the truth. Steigerwald is a well-traveled journalist and veteran libertarian columnist. With the spirit of a teenage driver, a dogged pursuit of the facts and a refreshing point of view about America proudly located in the heart of Flyover Country not Manhattan, he spins the story of his ride with Steinbeck's ghost into a provocative, news-making and entertaining American road book.('Travels With Charley' timeline and more at www.truthaboutcharley.comMore Praise & Critiques"I still believe John Steinbeck is one of America's greatest writers and I still love 'Travels With Charley, ' be it fact or fiction or, as Bill Steigerwald doggedly proved, both. While I disagree with a number of Steigerwald's conclusions, I don't dispute his facts. He greatly broadened my understanding of Steinbeck the man and the author, particularly during his last years. And, whether Steigerwald intended it or not, in tracking down the original draft of 'Travels With Charley' he made a significant contribution to Steinbeck's legacy. "Dogging Steinbeck" is a good honest book."-- Curt Gentry, Author of "Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders" (with Vincent Bugliosi)I wanted ... first to express my personal admiration for the job you did. Second to tell you that you became a kind of a journalistic hero in my travel-story about Steinbeck, because you did such fantastic detailed research on the subject, and you did it alone, in sometimes-difficult circumstances.- Geert Mak, Dutch journalist/historian and author of "In America: Travels With John Steinbeck"

Travels With Max: In Search of Steinbeck's America Fifty Years Later e-book version.

The Camper Book will captivate all those who dream of waving good-bye to the rat race from the window of their own moveable home, be it a camper, RV, travel trailer, camper van, or tiny camper. Not just for placid retirees anymore, camper culture has sprung up among simplicity-seeking millennials, retro-loving "glampers," sports and movie stars, aging hippies, contract workers, "road-schoolers," and others. Award-winning journalist Dave Hoekstra hit the road in his own custom camper van, named Bluebird, to explore the history, culture, subcultures, and future of camper life. Traveling and talking his way through US campsites, RV parks, landmarks, and communities, Hoekstra draws out revealing stories from all walks of life—from Americans who are downsizing material goods while upsizing spiritual pursuits to RV enthusiasts such as Grammy-winning singer-songwriter John Prine and Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon. A modern-day Studs Terkel, Hoekstra provides a delightful mix of oral history, in-depth reporting, and practical information, while photographer Jon Sall's beautiful color photographs illuminate the unique people, places, and rigs that typify camper life.

In 1960 John Steinbeck and his dog Charley set out in their green pickup truck to rediscover the soul of America, visiting small towns and cities from New York to New Orleans.The trip became Travels With Charley, one of his best-loved books. Half a century on, Geert Mak sets off from Steinbeck's home. Mile after mile, as he retraces Steinbeck's footsteps through the potato fields of Maine to the endless prairies of the Midwest and stumbles across glistening suburbs and boarded-up stores, Mak searches for the roots of America and what remains of the world Steinbeck describes. How has America changed in the last fifty years; what remains of the American dream; and what do Europe and America now have in common?