I first read Old Glory, by Jonathan Raban, in the early 1980s, as a restless cub reporter in Indiana. Right away, I knew this was the kind of trip I wanted to take.
Old Glory is a travel classic without Himalayan ascents, exotic foods or dangerous encounters in distant lands. Instead, it’s a meander through the middle of America, by a bookish man who loiters at shabby taverns in has-been towns.
The genius of this book, for me, is that it brings alive an unsung world and reminds us that great travel doesn’t require a passport, or even a plane ticket. The potential for weird and wonderful encounters is all around us.
Listen to entire piece at NPR.
Great line – smile of a lonely realist
I have read the first couple chapters of this book. On page 19 there was a line that I loved.
The man smiled with exaggerated patience. It was the smile of a lonely realist stranded in the society of the cloud-cuckoos.