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Twenty West: The Great Road Across America
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From the Back Cover
"I know US 20, I live on it, grew up near it, commute to work on it, and have run on it most mornings for twenty-five years. It has become the Main Street of my life. I am fond of it, and want to tell its very American story." -- from the Introduction
Whether he's on foot, in a car, or even in a canoe, Mac Nelson will delight readers with his rambling, westward depiction of America as seen from the shoulders of its longest road, US Route 20. As the "0" in its route number indicates, US 20 is a coast-to-coast road, crossing twelve states as it meanders 3,300 miles from Boston, Massachusetts, to Newport, Oregon. Nelson, an experienced "shunpiker," travels west along the Great Road, ruminating on history, literature, scenery, geology, politics, wilderness, the Great Plains, and national parks--whatever the most interesting aspects of a particular region seem to be. Beginning with the great writers and founders of religion in the East who lived and wrote on or near US 20, including Anne Bradstreet, Phyllis Wheatley, and Sylvia Plath, then crossing the plains to the forests, mountains, and deserts of the West, Nelson's journey on this beloved road is personal and idiosyncratic, serious and comic. More than a mile-by-mile guidebook, Twenty West offers a glimpse of a boyish and very American fascination with the road that will entice the traveler in all of us to take the long way home.
"From New York state to Yellowstone National Park, Nelson visits the ridiculous and the sublime ... Twenty West shows plenty and according to Nelson, `There is room for all of us.'" -- ForeWord Magazine
"This book is a celebration and a cornucopia of American history and culture. Nelson's curious and fertile mind runs in many directions as he delivers fascinating stories about such diverse Americans as Buffalo Bill, Joseph Smith, Satchel Paige, George Pullman, Ronald Reagan, and Rutherford B. Hayes, as well as stunning insights into writers from Henry David Thoreau to Emily Dickinson. After the road trip, this is a book to savor by the fire." -- Hedrick Smith, author of The Russians and Rethinking America
"The author's subject has innate importance; it is a story that until now has been waiting to be told, and it is to the author's credit that he seized the opportunity." -- Warren Roberts, Distinguished Teaching Professor of History, University at Albany, State University of New York
"I like Mac's way of combining interesting travel narrative with a wide, free-ranging knowledge of literature, geography, history, and local color. I can hear his voice throughout, and his clear, unique angle of vision." -- Sidner Larson, author of Captured in the Middle: Tradition and Experience in Contemporary Native American Writing
"Neslon's got it right. He's an American, along for the ride, from sea to shining sea." -- Diana Hume George, author of The Lonely Other: A Woman Watching America
About the Author
Mac Nelson is Distinguished Teaching Professor of English at SUNY Fredonia and coeditor (with Elizabeth Hoffman Nelson) of Telling the Stories: Essays on American Indian Literatures and Cultures and coauthor (with Diana Hume George) of Epitaph and Icon: A Field Guide to the Old Burying Grounds of Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard, and Nantucket.
26/04/2011
There are many "great" roads, and US 20 is but one of them. The book covers just about all you need to know about US Route 20, which covers 3,300 miles from Boston, Massachusetts to Newport, Oregon... right through the middle of the country. In the 1920s, the historic Yellowstone Trail followed much of the route that later became US 20 through Massachusetts, New York, along Lake Erie in Western Pennsylvania and Eastern Ohio, and parts of Indiana and Illinois. If you are planning to travel portions of the Yellowstone Trail East of Chicago, you will be driving on US 20 for much of the time.
I'll let Mac tell you, in his own words, why he wrote about US 20.
..."I know US 20, live on it, grew up near it, commute to work on it, and have run on it most mornings for twenty-five years."
Holy cow! Does Mac ever know US 20. This is not a book about a single road trip; it is a book about a lifetime, seventy-some years, of road trips. The chapters are arranged from East to West, and there are points of interest, historical notes, and trivia for just about every town along the way. Each chapter has a different emphasis along with the westward progress: literature, politics, native Americans, religions, the American dream, captains of industry, Lewis and Clark, wide-open-spaces, and wilderness.
A Professor of Literature, Mac includes a lot of references to literary and political links with the road. And, you will not have to wonder about his viewpoint on things; they pop up on almost every page, but that is an added personal perspective to the historical connections. He certainly earned the right to express his opinions, as he notes that he is in his "eighth decade".
As I progressed through the book, I found myself enjoying it even more in the Western States. Maybe that's because I am a mid-western guy and I have that "westering" urge that Mac explains so well. I've driven many sections of US 20 between central Ohio and Yellowstone Park, but I missed a lot of the points of interest presented here. His section on Yellowstone Park alone is outstanding, and it will enhance my return visit there this summer.
This book is filled with wonderful literary quotes, street slang, and "tongue-in-cheek" humor. I may not always agree with Mac's opinions, but as all good professors do, he stimulated me to think about things in a way I had not considered before. I recommend this book to anyone who lives near US 20, wants to travel a portion of it, or just enjoys an in-depth armchair road trip.
17/07/2008
This is a book that doesn't fall into a neat category - it's part travelogue, part history lesson, part autobiography and memoir. Highly entertaining, the author's voice is unique and you feel as if you are there with him as he travels his beloved Route 20.
09/07/2008
Twenty West: The Great Road Across America in an engaging travelogue about journeying upon America's longest road, US Route 20, a coast-to-coast road crossing twelve states as it stretches 3,300 miles from Boston, Massachusetts to Newport, Oregon. Written by Mac Nelson (Distinguished Teaching Professor of English at SUNY Fredonia) and drawing heavily from his personal experience touring its length, Twenty West gives an up close and personal tour of parks (especially the "peaceable kingdom" of Yellowstone), historical landmarks, Americana and much more. "Yellowstone's famous wildlife doesn't pay much mind to artificial boundaries, so it's wise to start watching for bear and deer and moose as soon as you reach Wapiti, twenty miles west of Cody." A wonderful read for armchair travelers, and the next best thing to touring the length of US Route 20 in person.
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