shayneh's review against another edition
3.0
Couldn't decide whether to go with "honest but infuriatingly naive" or "infuriatingly naive but honest"; it's both, and neither wins out. The author was obviously young at the time of writing, and that is just part of the book. Still, it is a story of his adventure, told from his immature point of view. He mentions John Howard Griffin's Black Like Me along the way, but the big difference between these is that Griffin brings along a lifetime of perspective and wisdom to his work that unites the tale into more than a picaresque series of episodes; Conover's feels more disjointed, almost a series of vignettes. Also, he's constantly unsure of who he is in relation to the tramps with whom he lives, invoking a familiar "mid-twenties existential quandary" motif. I'm not sure that this is a coming of age story, but it certainly is a young man's adventure.
msjoanna's review against another edition
4.0
This book was read by the author, but read approximately 20 years after the book was first published. I thought he did a very nice job with the reading.
The book itself is a wonderful combination of a memoir and a slice of history. As the author notes in the introduction that accompanies the re-release of the book, train-riding hoboes are pretty much gone now. Between a reduction in rail use, the conglomeration of rail companies into larger and more bureaucratic corporations, improved computer tracking across state lines of welfare benefits, and decreased availability of welfare, the type of free-traveling hobo that Conover encountered is probably hard to find today.
I enjoyed seeing the author's own development over the course of his few months and watching as his own experience and attitude shifted.
A fun read.
The book itself is a wonderful combination of a memoir and a slice of history. As the author notes in the introduction that accompanies the re-release of the book, train-riding hoboes are pretty much gone now. Between a reduction in rail use, the conglomeration of rail companies into larger and more bureaucratic corporations, improved computer tracking across state lines of welfare benefits, and decreased availability of welfare, the type of free-traveling hobo that Conover encountered is probably hard to find today.
I enjoyed seeing the author's own development over the course of his few months and watching as his own experience and attitude shifted.
A fun read.
jfranco77's review against another edition
4.0
Rolling Nowhere was originally written in 1984, so it might not be quite as relevant today. This edition (published in 2001) has a foreword from the author acknowledging as much.
Conover took a few months to "ride the rails" as a tramp. He lived the tramp life, talked and rode with fellow tramps, and took notes to share his story.
The story has a lot of waiting around and times between train rides. The descriptions of the train rides themselves are better than the descriptions of tramp life, but both are interesting. Conover seems like he really immersed himself in their world - which is equal parts dangerous, boring and difficult.
Conover occasionally gets preachy about how the tramp problem could be "fixed" - at one point he even wanders into the world of illegal Mexican farm workers and explores their plight - but mostly keeps himself under control and doesn't get intrusive about it.
Conover took a few months to "ride the rails" as a tramp. He lived the tramp life, talked and rode with fellow tramps, and took notes to share his story.
The story has a lot of waiting around and times between train rides. The descriptions of the train rides themselves are better than the descriptions of tramp life, but both are interesting. Conover seems like he really immersed himself in their world - which is equal parts dangerous, boring and difficult.
Conover occasionally gets preachy about how the tramp problem could be "fixed" - at one point he even wanders into the world of illegal Mexican farm workers and explores their plight - but mostly keeps himself under control and doesn't get intrusive about it.
ottopivnr's review against another edition
5.0
Conover was a recent college grad in '81, and decided to see the world through the eyes of freight-hopping tramps, or hobos as they are commonly called. What follows is an eye-opening exploration of the underbelly of american society.
Conover spends a summer and fall crisscrossing the american west alone or with every sort of companion, riding the rails, sleeping in the jungles (railyard camps) or missions, dumpster diving or getting handouts at the sally (salvation army). He has every sort of adventure as he learns the ropes, and in the process he learns a lot about the tramping life, life on the streets, loneliness, trust and america from the perspective of its least wanted citizens.
Surprisingly, he spends a week or so in Everett, Wa., and it seems that not much has changed in the 30 yrs since he was here.
Insightful if not poetic, it's realism is its strength.
Conover spends a summer and fall crisscrossing the american west alone or with every sort of companion, riding the rails, sleeping in the jungles (railyard camps) or missions, dumpster diving or getting handouts at the sally (salvation army). He has every sort of adventure as he learns the ropes, and in the process he learns a lot about the tramping life, life on the streets, loneliness, trust and america from the perspective of its least wanted citizens.
Surprisingly, he spends a week or so in Everett, Wa., and it seems that not much has changed in the 30 yrs since he was here.
Insightful if not poetic, it's realism is its strength.
h2oetry's review against another edition
5.0
Ted Conover decided that he'd take his curiosity re: hobo and tramp culture into his own hands by riding the rails and living with them for a year. His journey fulfilled some expectations of his, and set his worldview into a fizzy at points, whether it involved fights, true communal spirit, run-ins with the police, catching up with friends at Evergreen in Olympia (and finally feeling welcome in a real world setting while there, or being dangerously close to friends and family while being the Other. It's one of those well-to-do-intelligent-idiot-decides-to-lay-bare-his-soul-in-search-for-something-different stories.
Well-written and enjoyable throughout, I found myself craving the story and its inevitable "yeah, I would like to do that but know I would never have the courage to actually do it" moments. If you've never read Conover, this is a good start -- he has some great books -- and I can't recommend it highly enough.
Well-written and enjoyable throughout, I found myself craving the story and its inevitable "yeah, I would like to do that but know I would never have the courage to actually do it" moments. If you've never read Conover, this is a good start -- he has some great books -- and I can't recommend it highly enough.
jeanetterenee's review against another edition
4.0
This guy is amazing. He doesn't just go talk to people as a journalist. He goes and lives among them, without them knowing he's a writer. They think he's just another hobo.
Not only is he gutsy as hell, he writes well.
Not only is he gutsy as hell, he writes well.
gengelcox's review
3.0
A travel book about America, except as seen through the eyes of a constant traveler, the railroad tramp. And, while it does indeed describe some of America, Conover’s agenda here is more to understand hobo society. He does this quite well, except where he finally intrudes and makes a bald statement of his opinion, and what he deems to be the reader’s opinion, in the last page. Conover is refreshingly naive, in some ways, and not afraid to place his naivete in what could be considered a work of autobiography. While I doubt someone could use this book as a manual for catching a ride on a rail, it does allow for enough detail to catch some understanding of the complexity and difficulties accompanied thereto.
More...