Somewhere along the lines, in the last couple of months, perhaps a little to my surprise, I've discovered that I might just have become (whisper it) a bit of a Yankophile. By which I mean (sorry Jan!) I've developed a healthy interest in our bigger cousins over the Pond. At least in part this has come from working on High School U.S. History at work, which I'm definitely not going to be discussing here, but it has certainly stirred up my interest in America and it's history, culture and people.
So when I was browsing for my next book in my local library (Headington, if you're interested – it's set to be closed under this poor excuse for a government's massive cuts to public services, though that's another story), I was delighted to stumble across Dave Gorman's America Unchained: A Freewheeling Roadtrip in Search of Non-Corporate USA.
Having read both of Mr Gorman's previous madcap adventure books and found them both riveting and hilarious, this choice was a bit of a no-brainer. And it didn't disappoint. The story also didn't disappoint. A crazy quest to cross the whole of the U.S. only sleeping independent hotels or motels, eating at independent restaurants and refuelling at independent gas stations, it certainly had the potential for disaster and hilarity. It's hard to remember exactly, but initially I don't think it was quite as laugh-out-loud funny as the other two. That said, there were plenty of occasions I wished I wasn't reading it sat on a bus.
I think it's his ability to get into truly bizarre situations, not to mention the vast array of characters he meets and the way he can bring them to life in the book, that makes it so compelling. Like Bill Bryson, who is perhaps the most comparable author I can think of, it his ability to tell a story, to blend the everyday and the surreal into a real story that makes it so enjoyable. There are many unforgettable moments, including the treehouse village, being threatened at gunpoint and the last day of an archetypal old-fashioned American business to name but three. Overall though, it's the portrait of a stunning country that varies so much, in a way that the country isn't always portrayed so much any more, which makes it so interesting. Plus it's not every author who spends a night sleeping in a B&B shaped like a giant beagle...
Book number: 6
Title: America Unchained: A Freewheeling Roadtrip in Search of Non-Corporate USA
Author: Dave Gorman
Category: Non-fiction
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