Lots of history sprinkled with personal anecdote

Off the Road: A Modern-Day Walk Down the Pilgrim's Route into Spain by Jack Hitt
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Off the Road is an interesting account of Jack Hitt's walk of the Camino Santiago de Compostela across the north of Spain. Everyone's camino is unique and this author chose to include generous history of the camino, the route, and the ideas and beliefs around it. I believe that this book was partial inspiration for the Emilio Estevez film "The Way" staring Martin Sheen. Lots of history sprinkled with personal anecdote.

View all my reviews

epic adventure, engaging from start to finish

Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West by Stephen E. Ambrose
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Undaunted Courage is a well written and extremely engaging account of Meriwether Lewis's epic adventure to the Pacific Ocean via the Louisiana territory (which the US had recently purchased from France). The mission was to explore and map the route to the Pacific with the hopes of discovering a direct water route (rivers, lakes, etc), record the fauna and flora of the region, and lay the foundation for trading and political relationships with the native population, and report back all data gathered to the the president (Thomas Jefferson), established US government, as well as scientific and other institutions. The story starts with the background and inception of the mission, and then details the events and chronology, ending with the results and aftermath of the project. The author quotes generously from Lewis's journals, as well as correspondence from Jefferson and others. Although this was a long and detailed account, if was interesting and engaging from start to finish. I am looking forward to reading more from this author in the future.

View all my reviews

A fun read

Greetings from Route 66: The Ultimate Road Trip Back Through Time Along America's Main Street by Michael Karl Witzel
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Lots of cool photos and interesting historical articles tracing US-66 from Chicago to Santa Monica - A fun read, having traveled Route 66 as a kid.

View all my reviews