From Publishers Weekly The author takes a circuitous route east from California by driving an RV across Oregon, Washington, Montana, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and other points between and beyond. Inspired by Odysseus and a cast of supporting gods and goddesses, vignettes illuminate some form of heroic action, with Herzog discovering attributes of bravery and endurance in a variety of everyday characters. The author asks "What is a hero?" and finds answers in sources such as the 1997 North Dakota flood, and Sparta, Wisconsin, home to Fort McCoy, where he ponders military life, drawing parallels with Odysseus and his wife Penelope, "a de facto single mother, her husband essentially missing in action until she hears from him next." Points of interest that inspire Herzog include the Mount Olympus Water and Theme Park at the Wisconsin Dells and an Ohio eatery called Pandora's Lunch Box, which allows him to tell the entertaining tale of the original Pandora. And after meandering around Pennsylvania's eternally burning mine fire in Centralia, he takes on labyrinthine history with an Appalachian labyrinth owner who claims to possess multiple personalities, just another character on another pit stop along an intriguing excursion. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Read more Review "Herzog's third travel memoir follows the highways cross-country examining the idea of the hero along the way. He captures stunning details of the American landscape. The hero's return, is irresistible...a near-perfect ending." --Kirkus Reviews"This is how a quest should be done...Herzog's stitching is so good, so seamless -- he follows Odysseus' story until it becomes his own.  -- Los Angeles Times"Herzog is that rare person blessed with an innovative spirit and creative mind, persistence in pinpointing the heart of the issue . . . and skill in applying his reflections to paper." --Houston Chronicle"Herzog is the perfect travel companion: funny, wise and as good a storyteller as you'll find. You can't help but want to spend a month in his passenger seat after reading this book." --Chad Millman, author of The Detonators and The Odds"Thank you Brad Herzog for taking me on a great cross-country journey. To quote another storyteller, his words winged like arrows to the mark." --AJ Jacobs, author of The Guinea Pig Diaries and The Year of Living Biblically Read more From the Back Cover "Go away. Figure it out," she was saying. "Don't come back until you do." She looked at the calendar. "You have thirty-one days." With these words, like Helen of Troy launching a thousand ships across the Aegean, Brad Herzog's wife launched a Winnebago Aspect onto the open road. A modern-day Odysseus in Kerouac clothing, Brad Herzog plunges into a solo cross-country search for insight. With middle age bearing down on him, he takes stock: How has he measured up to his own youthful aspirations? In contemporary America, what is a life well lived? What is a heroic life? From the foothills of Washington's Mount Olympus, through the forgotten corners of America, and finally to his college reunion in Ithaca, New York, Brad shares his personal odyssey. Stopping in classically named towns, he meets everyday heroes, including a teacher in a one-room schoolhouse in Troy, Oregon; a modern-day hobo in Iliad, Montana; and a bomb-squad soldier in Sparta, Wisconsin. These encounters and Brad's effortlessly infused musings make for an exciting, one-of-a-kind ride. "A truly epic journey." --A.J. Jacobs, author of The Year of Living Biblically "As we sit in Herzog's passenger seat, we cannot help but stare out the window and even see our own reflection in the glass."--Liz Robbins, author of A Race Like No Other"Turn Left at the Trojan Horse had me howling with laughter and nodding at the razor-sharp observation." --Tahir Shah, author of The Caliph's House Read more About the Author Brad Herzog lives on California's Monterey Peninsula with his wife and their two sons. He has been described as a "modern-day Steinbeck" and a "Picasso of the Winnebago," and Lonely Planet has ranked his travel memoirs among eight classics of the genre, along with books like Travels with Charley and On the Road. As an award-winning freelance writer, he has chronicled some of the nation's most unusual and intriguing subcultures, from nudists to North Pole explorers and from Pez collectors to pro mini golfers. Please visit him at bradherzog.com. Read more
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