excellent writing and heartfelt storytelling

The Last American Road Trip: A Memoir by Sarah Kendzior
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Last American Road Trip is a beautifully written collection of tales from Sarah's travels with her family spanning the past 20 or so years. In the spirit of a great travelogue, much interesting and relevant background history, people, and events are included to give depth and background to the places visited. I found the information on Missouri especially interesting, having spent my high school and college days in the Show Me state, as well as having ancestors there. But if you've read other of Sarah's brilliant books, you won't be surprised at the feeling of gloom clouding over these travels. That being said, given where we are in the United States in 2025, and the dystopian environment we live in, the gloom yields a contrast between the wonderful land and people of the US and the national movement that is systematically destroying our land and people. So I find the book a bittersweet collection, difficult to read, but at the same time inspiring a new urgency to discover what remains of our land and people. Excellent writing and heartfelt storytelling.

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a fascinating travelogue through Italy and through history

The Hero's Way: Walking with Garibaldi from Rome to Ravenna by Tim Parks
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Hero's Way is a fascinating travelogue through Italy, and through history, as Tim Parks retraces the steps of Garibaldi from Rome to Ravenna in 1849. Parks and his travel companion walk the 400 miles that Garibaldi and his army of volunteers did. The story is interesting both in the historical events that were new to me, and also in Parks' account of the adventure and encounters in traveling this path nearly two centuries later on foot, in a world of motorcycles, autos, and trains. I love Tim Parks perspectives and commentary on both the history, and on the journey. A great trip.

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