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A review by ritabriar
America the Beautiful?: One Woman in a Borrowed Prius on the Road Most Traveled by Blythe Roberson
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
5.0
Delightful skim over many of the USA's national parks. Each park is beautifully described, with the premise of the book (completing the Junior Ranger requirements) (but also on a budget) neatly dictating the scope of involvement with each park. Roberson also explores the aspects of National Parks that we often don't think about before we go, including the moral and political implications of making National Parks out of stolen land.
Another side of this book is the exploration of being a woman traveling on her own, in isolated and populated places, in America today. Roberson was talking about meeting a man vs. meeting a bear in the woods before it was cool. (Was she the first? She was probably the first.) What messages does such a woman receive, before, during, and after her trip? What thoughts do these messages cause to pop into one's mind, at inopportune moments?
To the extent that the personal is political, this personal book documenting a journey from one National Park to the next and the next, etc., is also a political book.
Another side of this book is the exploration of being a woman traveling on her own, in isolated and populated places, in America today. Roberson was talking about meeting a man vs. meeting a bear in the woods before it was cool. (Was she the first? She was probably the first.) What messages does such a woman receive, before, during, and after her trip? What thoughts do these messages cause to pop into one's mind, at inopportune moments?
To the extent that the personal is political, this personal book documenting a journey from one National Park to the next and the next, etc., is also a political book.
Content Warnings
Minor: Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, and Colonisation