Travels with Charley (Classics on Cassette)
by John Steinbeck
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Book Summary Information
Author: John SteinbeckReader: Gary Sinise
Edition: Audio Cassette
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Format: Audiobook, Unabridged
Published: 1994-04-14
ISBN: 0453008976
Publisher: Penguin-HighBridge
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Book Reviews of Travels with Charley (Classics on Cassette)
Book Review: Road Trip
Summary: 5 Stars
This book relates the adventures of John Steinbeck as he set off to reacquaint himself with his country in 1960. By the time Steinbeck was in his late 50s, he had begun to feel detached from ordinary Americans and their lives. He had built his reputation on telling the stories of everyday people, but thanks to the lifestyle changes his successful career had brought him, he was no longer confident he knew anything at all about how ordinary people spent their days or what they talked about. So he set off on a grand cross-country adventure, just him and his dog, Charley, to try to get back in touch with his readers and with himself. In preparation for the trip, he had a camper top custom built for his pickup, on which he bestowed the name Roscinante. In September of 1960, he and Charley set off in Roscinante from Long Island heading towards Northern Maine. In this book, Steinbeck recounts his and Charley's adventures with Roscinante, all the way from Maine to California and back to Long Island again.
Although one of Steinbeck's main goals was to get in touch with ordinary Americans through this trip, the speed of the journey didn't really allow him any but casual contacts. At one point in the text, Steinbeck even acknowledges that this kind of travel writing will no doubt reveal much more about the personality and viewpoints of the author than any other people along the trip. It is when Steinbeck is on home ground in Northern California that he really hits his stride. In Monterey, he is not struggling to achieve meaningful contacts with strangers-instead, he has the time to explore the concept of home and friendship, and what happens to these essential elements of life when one moves away for good. His Thanksgiving visit with in-laws in Texas also takes us beyond the superficial anecdotes from other regions. Even though many of his interactions along the way were superficial, Steinbeck still found some provocative lessons to take from them, and made some very astute observations about American culture that still ring true today.
Some of Steinbeck's most remarkable reporting comes from the Southeast, where he makes a special effort to witness the "Cheerleaders", who turned out daily to jeer the brave children and parents who dared to segregate the Louisiana schools. Looking back from today's vantage point, it's hard to believe that just forty years ago, Americans were so filled with hate and prejudice that such behavior was considered normal. It would be so easy to forget that such events ever happened, without descriptions such as the ones contained in this book.
Summary of Travels with Charley (Classics on Cassette)
In 1960, at age 58, John Steinbeck set out with his French poodle, Charley, to rediscover the country he had been writing about for so many years. Together they crossed America from the northernmost tip of Maine to California's Monterey peninsula, stopping to smell the grass, to see the lights, and to hear the speech of the real America. Steinbeck dined with truckers, encountered bears at Yellowstone, and reflected on the American character, racial hostility, and the unexpected kindness of strangers. Lyrical, perceptive, and surprising, it's an indispensable portrait of our national identity.Authors Books
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