Frank H. (perryfran) reviewed on 8/31/2012 + 1223 more book reviews

Most enjoyable travelogue telling the story of Steinbeck's 1960 trip with his dog, Charley, in a camper on a pickup truck named Rocinante, after the horse of Don Quixote, to rediscover America. I've been meaning to read this for several years and happened upon a used paperback copy at a local thrift store. This copy was obviously a high school student's who had been assigned to read this in school. It was a copy from 1966 full of underlines and notes -- I seem to recall that my older sister read this as a school assignment about that same time. Steinbeck is one of my favorite authors and I would place this narrative near the top of his works (after Grapes of Wrath and East of Eden). Steinbeck took this trip to see for himself what America was like at that time and how it had changed from his earlier years. The book is full of wonderful descriptions of different locations and observations of people and places. The trip took about 3 months and Steinbeck had to deal with some issues related to his truck including a blowout in the middle of nowhere, issues with his sick dog, and some confrontations with people although overall he found most Americans to be friendly and individuals.

Along the way, he revisited his boyhood home of Salinas, California, and pretty much agreed with Thomas Wolfe, that "you can't go home again." He states you can't go home again because home has ceased to exist except in the mothballs of memory. When I went away, I had died in my friends' memory. My return caused only confusion and uneasiness. Having recently returned to my home in Utah after being gone for over 25 years, I can definitely relate to Steinbeck's sentiments. Home is not like it was in my memories.

Towards the end of Steinbeck's travels, he goes through the deep South and witnesses some of the demonstrations and rioting relating to trying to desegregate the schools. This was in 1960 during the early strife of the Civil Rights movement in the South. Steinbeck was appalled by what he saw and the attitudes towards African-Americans. I believe this really left a bitter taste in his mouth and his journey ended shortly after that even though he wasn't quite back to his home in New York.

Overall, I would highly recommend this book to anyone who wants a glimpse into the America of the 1960s.

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