John Steinbeck

in search of America

Travels with Charley

For the majority of the time I found the book go be rather boring. Some moments in the book where nice and interesting however it was not enough to make this book a fast paced read for me. 

Ksenija 

Wonderful travelogue, but also great social commentary much of which, sadly, stands up today, although it's reassuring to know that the nature of America has always been to be suffering together apart from each other. He also has some beautiful Ruby Bridges reporting. A really amazing book.

Steven Ovadia

Todd Luallen

We listened to most of this while driving on a road trip from L.A. up to the Bay area on vacation. The idea of taking a road trip while listening to a writer talk about a road trip across America was quite appealing to us. We also went through the Steinbeck museum in his hometown on our trip. All in all it was a decent listen. The thing that appealed the most was the little slice of American life that Steinbeck details for the listener.

Tracie McMurray

I have read Steinbeck before in an academic capacity, first as a student and then as an English teacher. This book was read for pleasure and it did not disappoint me. The style was soothing. As an adult, I have the background knowledge to appreciate the subtle overtones of world events and attitudes prevalent in the setting of this nonfiction memoir. I loved it.

Joseph Haller

Juliana

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.

Travels with Charley in search of America

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