About this title: In this classic account, Jenkins describes how his disillusionment with society in the 1970s drove him out onto the road on a walk across America, and shares the lessons he learned about his country and himself that resonate to this day.
Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: William Morrow & Company
Date Published: 1979
ISBN-13:9780688034276ISBN:0688034276
Description: Good in good dust jacket. Very Good, In very good dust jacket. Sewn binding. Paper over boards. 288 p. Contains: Illustrations. Ex-Library expected imperfections. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Lion Publishing, Tring
Date Published: 1980
ISBN-13:9780856482533ISBN:0856482536
Description: Good in good dust jacket. Good, In good dust jacket. 288p., [16]p. of plates: ill. (some col. ), maps, ports. (some col); 25 cm. Originally published: New York: Morrow, 1979. read more
Description: Good. No dust jacket as issued. Signed by previous owner. Mass market (rack) paperback. Glued binding. 320 p. Contains: Illustrations. Audience: General/trade. spine creased from reading. Both covers show wear at corners. read more
Description: Very good. No dust jacket as issued. Mass market (rack) paperback. Glued binding. 320 p. Contains: Illustrations. Audience: General/trade. read more
"I really enjoyed reading about Peter Jenkins travels across America during the early 70's. He wrote in depth about the people he met and befriended, as well as strangers who helped him along his way. He writes from the fresh perspective of a young man in his early twenties; somewhat naive and ever-optomistic. His writings are descriptive and thorough, although I did notice towards the latter part of his writings, he left out details. For instance, in the beginning of the journey he allows the reader into every part of his experience by sharing how he planned his walk, how he felt during each leg of the journey, differences he encountered along the way. After he leaves 'The Farm', his writings seem to fall apart a bit. Many details are left out, and I was also a bit disappinted that his book didn't cover the entire walk. I felt that he could have expanded the book and not only easily have held the reader's attention, but kept one quite enraptured. Still, it was a great read and I thoroughly enjoyed it."
"I can see this as one of those books Jr. High kids are supposed to read as part of a curriculum formed to teach objective social thinking. It has many of the elements a young person would need to form their own way of thinking about many of the social issues we are faced with here in America.
This book began like a peek at a mans travel journal and was somewhat uninteresting. Not until the middle of the book in the chapters describing his experiences (both good and bad)in North Carolina did the book take a turn for the better. As opposed to directly translating accents of the blacks and southerners he was quoting, it would have been nice to read without the attempts of accented accuracy. It can be done using other methods and still get the point across with out corney "fo-shos", "dats-rights" and "here yaw"'s. The dialog between Alabama Governor Wallace and the author was painful to have to read.
The Chapter about The Farm was useless to me and I ended up grazing over it.
Overall however, I enjoyed it and look forward to the next installation of his "Walk Across" series. My assumption will be that the author has honed some authoring skills that will make the next installment consistently good read from beginning to end."
"Since I've been out of work, I have been fantasizing what it would be like to just take a walk across America to explore new places and meet new people. Peter Jenkins' motivation to take this long walk came out in the early 1970s. He had graduated college, but the Vietnam War was still going on and he did not feel too favorably about our country and about us being at war in a country that did not want us there. He wanted to see America, to see what's it really about.
Initially, he started his walk with his dog Cooper in the fall, and as it got colder, it became harder for camping out, and when he started to run of money, he stopped at a southern town to look for work. However, with his long hair, and admissions that he was walking across America, the towns people thought he was some kind of hippie freak, drug pusher. A police officer let Peter stay with him, but even the police officer and his family started to get harassed by local folk who wanted this "drug pusher" run out of their town. So disillusioned and afraid, Peter continued his walk. He stopped at another town and thought that he might try his luck there in finding work. A couple of young black boys saw him and asked what he was doing. He told them that he was walking across America and they told him to come home with them to meet their family. He did and the family took him under their wings, gave him some room and board and took him to their church, which he found was an enjoyable, lively experience because of the inspirational singing and laughter. He did some labor work and it helped him get through a few months of cold and helped him save some money to continue his walk.
Peter's dog then dies after running into a moving truck. Peter is depressed and lonely but continues his walk and ends up in Alabama, where he meets Governor George Wallace. This is an enlightening experience for him as he finds that he loves Alabama and their southern hospitality, particularly in the city of Mobile.
Meeting other people on the way, eventally he makes it to New Orleans, where he meets a woman named Barbara. He loves having conversations with her about everything and anything, and he says that it is the first time he feels true happiness since Cooper's unexpected death. But, then he realizes that he must break it off with her, because he needs to continue his long journey across America. However, torn between his feelings for Barbara and his need to compete his goal, the story ends with Peter and Barbara agreeing to continue the walk across America together. Thus, sequel time."
"This book definitely shows its age...in attitude, language, and self-congratulatory and self-aware hippie liberalism that is beyond patronizing and painful to read. (I'm assuming the author is trying to capture local and individual lingual styles but when he writes the patriarch of a black family as saying things like "Das fo sho", etc, it just feels so inappropriate. Like your bigoted old auntie who swears she isn't, talking about and mimicking other races and ethnicities.)
And don't even get me started about him subjecting a dog to his forced homelessness, hunger and hardship. He writes of the dog as if they're partners on the journey, taking turns breaking down an building each other up. But really, it's incredibly selfish and borders on animal cruelty.
The author wrote this book soon after his wanderings, when he was still in the moment and a young man. I would imagine - and hope - that were he to write the book now, he'd have the benefit of time and wisdom to create something that offered more insights and depth."
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