Books you'd suggest for travelers in America

[mikEXpat]

Which books do you suggest for people to read who are living on the road in America?

Here are just a few I have read or would like to read in no particular order:

• On the Road by Jack Kerouac
• Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck
• Walden by Henry David Thoreau
• Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey
• Blue Highways by William Least Heat-Moon
• Land of the Free by Woodrow Landfair
• The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams 
• Route 66: The Mother Road by Michael Wallis (maybe the newer edition is better)
• Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M. Pirsig
• I'm a Stranger Here Myself: Notes on Returning to America after Twenty Years Away by Bill Bryson
• The Lost Continent: Travels in Small Town America by Bill Bryson

 

[WriterMs]

Hey Mike,
I think you can't go wrong with Bill Bryson's stuff.

Bob Wells has suggested some interesting books that talk about locations specific for great landscape photography. They are on some of his older blog posts, but I think a search done from the blog itself should help you find those. The pics in such a book might help a reader create a "must see" list?

You have some of my faves already on list -- like Blue Highways.

Also.. something fascinating and FREE on route 66 is the thread on this forum that Karen (of TonyandKaren) posted for all of us to follow their trip just in the last couple of months. Great pics and commentary on the "mother road."

I think there is another older thread on the forum with discussions of travel-themed books. I'll bet you can find it with a bit of searching on the forum's search function.

 

[Gary68]

the repair manual to your rig

 

[mikEXpat]

Thanks for the nice reply. I did try to do a few searches but didn't really come up with much. The only one that I found interesting was 
https://vanlivingforum.com/Thread-Feral-Reading-List

GoodReads has some great lists but I thought it better to ask the community.
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/38098.Wanderlust

I'm mostly looking for personal experiences and stories on the road or in nature. I like autobiographies and non-fiction mostly.

 

[mikEXpat]

Might not be for just travelers in America, but it's a great list of books. Read the comments for even more suggestions. This list should keep me occupied for many a cold winter's night.

http://andrewhy.de/52-books-52-weeks/

 

[Patrick46]

you can't go wrong with Bill Bryson's stuff.

AGREED!!

 

[Binxie]

For those interested in natural history, I always suggest the Roadside Geology series.

For this into US history and the European explorations of North America, I suggest "La Relacion" by Cabeza de Vaca and "Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West" by Stephen Ambrose.

 

[WriterMs]

Mike,
I did a quick look at search results on simply "books" and see many of the threads are on novels.

Here is a not-too-old thread with several suggestions for non-ficition, including HDR's suggestion of Colin Fletcher's Thousand Mile Summer:

https://vanlivingforum.com/Thread-Great-Reads?highlight=books

 

[FALCON]

Thanks for the suggestions folks. I've actually just started looking for books related to travel and western US history. Here are some that I am looking for. I haven't ready any of them yet. Most are historical with some travel overlap. So it's covered wagons, trains, etc.

• Roughing it - Mark Twain. (I've started reading this and it's great so far. You can get the Kindle version for free on Amazon)
• Wagons West: The epic story of america's overland trails (Frank McLynn)
• The Rush: America's Fevered quest for fortune (Edward Dolnick)
• Beyond the Hundredth Meridian: John Wesley Powell and the second opening of the west (Wallage Stegner)
• Undaunted Courage: The pioneering first mission to explore America's wild fronteir (Stephen Ambrose)

 

[USExplorer]

American Nomads, by Richard Grant. Also watch the documentary on utoob. A British guy discovering the allure of America's open spaces.

At Speed by W Scott Olsen, if the essence of a road trip to you is the driving rather than the stops.

 

[buckwilk]

Perhaps it matters not, but I wonder if you are actually doing research for a book or something?

 

[mikEXpat]

Thanks for the suggestions folks. I've actually just started looking for books related to travel and western US history. Here are some that I am looking for. I haven't ready any of them yet. Most are historical with some travel overlap. So it's covered wagons, trains, etc.

• Roughing it - Mark Twain. (I've started reading this and it's great so far. You can get the Kindle version for free on Amazon)
• Wagons West: The epic story of america's overland trails (Frank McLynn)
• The Rush: America's Fevered quest for fortune (Edward Dolnick)
• Beyond the Hundredth Meridian: John Wesley Powell and the second opening of the west (Wallage Stegner)
• Undaunted Courage: The pioneering first mission to explore America's wild fronteir (Stephen Ambrose)
  

• 
  
  These look like some fun reads. Thanks.

 

[mikEXpat]

For those interested in natural history, I always suggest the Roadside Geology series.

For this into US history and the European explorations of North America, I suggest "La Relacion" by Cabeza de Vaca and "Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West" by Stephen Ambrose.

Undaunted Courage is a must read. 

Do you mean this one for La Relacion? https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/418312.The_Account?from_search=true&search_version=service

 

[towhee]

The Eternal Frontier, an ecological history of North America. By Tim Flannery. He s an Australian paleontologist. His writing is wonderfully vivid. The book starts with the asteroid hit on the yucatan 60 million years ago and goes foward from there to the present. He talks about Fantastic animals that have lived on this continent and the geologic forces that made the unique plants and animals here. When you read this book you will want to share it with others, that's how vivid his imagery is. I have read authors who turn th exciting into th dull, he turns what could be a dull recounting of say geologic events into something you will remember.

 

[Damian Rolling]

• An American Nomad: A Road Trip in Search of America by Stephen Braxton Thompson
• Harry Truman’s Excellent Adventure: The True Story of a Great American Road Trip by Matthew Algeo
• How to Live in a Car, Van, or RV: And Get Out of Debt, Travel and Find True Freedom by Bob Wells
• The Kindness of Strangers: Penniless Across America by Mike McIntyre
• Dogtripping: 25 Rescues, 11 Volunteers, and 3 RVs on Our Canine Cross-Country Adventure by David Rosenfelt  -
• Walden on Wheels: On the Open Road from Debt to Freedom by Ken Ilgunas

 

[johnny b]

Mike wrote:
"The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams "
"I'm mostly looking for personal experiences and stories on the road or in nature. I like autobiographies and non-fiction mostly." :s

Are you looking for "travel" books or books to read while "traveling". Ya know 'Hitchhikers Guide....' ain't about hitchhiking, right?

A good read for the boondockers out there (kinda long) is "Atlas Shrugged" by Ayn Rand

(books on audio is a great way to 'read' while on the road)

 

[mikEXpat]

Mike wrote:
"The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams "
"I'm mostly looking for personal experiences and stories on the road or in nature. I like autobiographies and non-fiction mostly." :s

Are you looking for "travel" books or books to read while "traveling". Ya know 'Hitchhikers Guide....' ain't about hitchhiking, right?

A good read for the boondockers out there (kinda long) is "Atlas Shrugged" by Ayn Rand

(books on audio is a great way to 'read' while on the road)

Got me. True. Mostly.

 

[mikEXpat]

Perhaps it matters not, but I wonder if you are actually doing research for a book or something?

Nah. Done with the whole professor research stuff. Just looking for good reads. I haven't had enough time to read for pleasure. I'm looking forward to relaxing and starting a new life. That's all.