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kcrouth's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this book. The author, William Least Heat-Moon leaves Columbia MO in 1978 to embark on a trip literally around the entire continental US (map here) http://littourati.squarespace.com/storage/moon-files/moon_map.htm) in a 1975 Ford Econoline van (the van he named Ghost Dancing) . https://anthromuseum.missouri.edu/minigalleries/bluehiways/intro.shtml. I arrived in Columbia as a freshman engineering student the following year, 1979. His plan was to follow the secondary roads rather than the main highways (blue on the map, interstates were red), hence the title "Blue Highways". This account of his journey is filled with history, real people and places, and a depth and authenticity in the telling of these peoples stories that allows the reader to experience the interaction that the author is sharing with us. The places visited, and people encountered and interviewed on this journey are fascinating and offer a rich cross section of the US. Historical depth is provided, sometimes by the author, but most often by the people interviewed. This account bears a similarity to another travelogue I recently read by John Steinbeck entitled "Travels with Charley". Both of these books are excellent, and I thoroughly enjoyed them.
I couldn't help but feel like embarking on a journey of this kind myself. Maybe that feeling is what is referred to as "wanderlust"? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wanderlust The Wiki article suggests that a better term may be "farsickness". Whatever it is called, I felt it, and also am reminded of a trip my wife and I took 2 years ago. After a family reunion in Colorado, we kept the rental van, and spent 2 more weeks driving around Colorado and New Mexico, just seeing what we could see. It was but a small taste of what this wonderful book shares, but a taste nevertheless. I'm jumping into the companion volume "Blue Highways Revisited" which is a pictorial journey over the same route some 30 years later. In addition I'm in search of the remaining 2 books of the so-called travel trilogy by William Least Heat-Moon
1. Blue Highways
2. PrairyErth - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/163868.PrairyErth
3. River-Horse - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58957.River_Horse
I couldn't help but feel like embarking on a journey of this kind myself. Maybe that feeling is what is referred to as "wanderlust"? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wanderlust The Wiki article suggests that a better term may be "farsickness". Whatever it is called, I felt it, and also am reminded of a trip my wife and I took 2 years ago. After a family reunion in Colorado, we kept the rental van, and spent 2 more weeks driving around Colorado and New Mexico, just seeing what we could see. It was but a small taste of what this wonderful book shares, but a taste nevertheless. I'm jumping into the companion volume "Blue Highways Revisited" which is a pictorial journey over the same route some 30 years later. In addition I'm in search of the remaining 2 books of the so-called travel trilogy by William Least Heat-Moon
1. Blue Highways
2. PrairyErth - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/163868.PrairyErth
3. River-Horse - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58957.River_Horse
libellum_aphrodite's review against another edition
I didn't make it through all of this book. I liked the concept better than the execution. It was, in a word, boring.
scottg73's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
4.0
pammella's review against another edition
4.0
Love the idea of anticipating how good a “hole in the wall” restaurant will be (or won’t be) based on the number of calendars pinned up on the walls. Also enjoyed the tour of what used to be local beers, pre-craft brewery, and local food like Jenny Cream Ale & beef on wick. Food and beer may not be the most important parts of the trip, but for me they set the scenes just as much as the lovely descriptions of the landscapes and weather.
duparker's review against another edition
2.0
The mediocrity of this book and the sullen writing really disappointed me. I had heard such good things about it, and was so annoyed to read it. Maybe it is just dated, maybe it is too angsty, I am not sure. I had a hard time buying so much of the temperamental BS that resonated from the writing. Clearly Hearst-Moon had emotional issues to deal with, but I am not sure why he didn't deal with them before writing this book.
bristlecone's review against another edition
3.0
My enjoyment of this book varied highly chapter to chapter. I loved the initial premise of the book --- personal disaster leads man to take to the road, using only small highways, no interstates. The author's descriptions of his actual travel was generally engaging. But I found some of the author's account of conversations implausible --- hours of conversation in which the author offers only one question --- and the random shifts in his objective --- observation versus judgement --- offputting. In those chapters, it felt contrived rather than like an attempt at understanding