A review by kristidurbs
Rolling Nowhere: Riding the Rails with America's Hoboes by Ted Conover

3.0

Fascinating tale of a young man's social experiment to live a summer as a tramp riding the trains across America. While this book was written some 25 years ago, you felt as though it could have taken place in the present day, and now I'm very curious if there are still tramps riding the rails. The characters are vivid and the author gives you snapshots of different types of people he meets on his travels, challenging you to see beyond your assumptions of who lives this kind of life. This book also uncovers some of the interesting culture and lingo, giving the reader a better understanding of the differences between bums, hoboes, and tramps (bums don't work and don't travel; hoboes don't work either but they travel; tramps work and travel).