A Life on the Road

by Charles Kuralt

"A professional memoir of a gifted, good-humored and gracious man...The book has the feel of good conversation on a long trip."
THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW
John Charles Kuralt on the journey of his life. From a southern boy bitten by wanderlust and wonder, to a curious rover writing for newspapers, radio, and TV, to a CBS News correspondent adventuring around the world--from Cuba and Vietnam to the Congo and the North Pole, to his twenty-plus years roaming the back roads of America. In this engaging memoir, Kuralt relives a lifetime of discovering places and people whose unique stories enriched him, shaped him, and fueled his all-consuming to find out what wonderful thing waits just around the next bend.

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction, Biography, Memoir, Autobiography, Biography Memoir, Adventure

368 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1990

About the author

Charles Kuralt was an award-winning American journalist. He was most widely known for his long career with CBS, first for his "On the Road" segments on The CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite, and later as the first anchor of CBS News Sunday Morning, a position he held for fifteen years.

Kuralt's "On the Road" segments were recognized twice with personal Peabody Awards. The first, awarded in 1968, cited those segments as heartwarming and "nostalgic vignettes"; in 1975, the award was for his work as a U.S. "bicentennial historian"; his work "capture[d] the individuality of the people, the dynamic growth inherent in the area, and ...the rich heritage of this great nation." He shared in a third Peabody awarded to CBS News Sunday Morning.

Reviews

[Jessaka · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fue Excelante

I never knew that he had a TV show at one time, but if I knew, then I have forgotten. Instead, I used to wish that we had one that gave us stories about people’s lives, positive stories. If someone were to do a series of stories now, I think it would be all negative because now our country is too politicalize. It would always be about Trump or this Covid virus. But we need positive stories about people’s lives.

The first part of this book was about his beginnings as a journalist. He was almost killed in Vietnam but was saved by a man whose name he had not known and had wished to thank. Then he was in New Orleans during the anti-segagation movement when the first black girl was taken to school with guards at her side. And one white girl came along also, both in terror as the crowd shouted obscenities at them. I wonder how this affected their lives in later years. These stories that he covered were interesting.

In later years, he had his own TV show, and I think it was called “On the Road.” I wish that they had reruns of it. He met a man of 92 years that made his own bricks, and he was able to go to South America to teach others how to make them, and this at the age of 92.

There were so many wonderful stories in this book that I was happy to see that he had written several books.

[Olivia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This has to be the funniest story of how I accidentally found a good book. I was at a used book store and saw this book, without it's dust jacket, and mistook it for Jack Kerouac's On The Road. As soon as I started reading it I realized my mistake but was completely enthralled by Kuralt's storytelling. His recounting of the beginnings of tv news journalism and the stories he had covered and people he had met along the way demonstrate how good he must have been at his job.

I had heard of him before but never understood his importance, and that of those working around the same time in television, to our modern day news broadcasts.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a lucky find, on the shelf of a home my sister's renting in Florida. Not only did this man (whom I've never heard of, or seen on TV), live an extraordinary life, but his way of describing things is captivating. I learned a lot about this vast and varied nation, with a nod to several of the most famous people and incidents of the twentieth century, but with by far the most attention given to unsung citizens Charles Kurault visited and recorded for his television shows. I highly recommend this to anyone who'd like to have a little of your faith in humanity restored.

[Elizabeth Meadows · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this at a book sale recently and popped in my car to listen to. While I still want to read the full print version, I love that this book is read by the author. His cool clear pleasant voice is one that I fondly remember as a kid growing up. He actually made me want to watch the news to see where in the country he would be that day.
I enjoyed the stories told in this audio book, and it was interesting to learn a little bit about what went on behind the scenes "On the Road."

[Bob · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't even remember why or how I obtained this book, but it was a good read. One tale he tells which resonated with me a lot was relating a something an older journalist had told him many years before. "Son, when a you get to be my age you'll regret every time you could have made love and didn't." Kuralt observes, "I laughed then." I would have laughed once myself.

[Joan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a Sunday Morning regular and happily saw Kuralt on the air. The book provided background reaffirming an observation that I've made that really creative people need are not suited for domesticity and will delight us if we console ourselves that they need to wander off and deadlines are not usually helpful to them.

[Winnie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Kuralt starts off with tales of traveling around North Carolina with his father. His father was a social worker when Kuralt was a boy. He loved being on the road. He started off writing for newspapers and moved in to writing for radio. He was a pioneer in TV news becoming a CBS news correspondent at age 23. He traveled covering stories all over the globe. After a decade of that he went to CBS and asked to do feature stories which he enjoyed much more than covering wars. He segued that into "On the Road." His tales of life on the road traveling in a motor home are priceless.

[Pat Tucker · Rating 3 out of 5]

This second time through this book was just as delightful as the first time. As a CBS News Correspondent Kuralt takes us on a road trip through the United States. His stories of events and people are captivating and make you want to rent or buy a motor home and travel to make your own memories.

[Elaine Goddard · Rating 3 out of 5]

enjoyable, easy read. Kuralt has led a fascinating life in the news business, and has seen a lot of history. His story telling is casual and entertaining. However, some stories were not fleshed out as well as others. I preferred the chapters that went more in depth.

[Bronwyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

charles kurlats life traveling the road and the things and people he saw

[Jac Crawford · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very enjoyable easy reading about living a life on the road and the many people you meet along the way. That is something I can relate to.

[Paul Olkowski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charles Kuralt was the host of the On The Road Sunday morning program on CBS. In this book Kuralt tells his story from the very beginning when he was a young boy. He hits all of the highlights and low-lights of his life. His time writing copy for Edward R Morrow to being the South American correspondent for CBS in the 1960's; to his time in Vietnam. He finally ask the assignment desk to just let him wander the country for the Summer and see what news he could find. well his request was granted and lasted for a few decades.
Kuralt had this folksy slow talking ,yet intelligent aura about him . I never heard anyone say that they didn't like him. But he worked in another era. He would not be able to get on the air today. Somebody would complain that he was dull or boring. CBS would never allow him on Tv these days , even though he worked the Sunday morning shift where most people under 50 never turn on the TV on Sunday Morning.
This is a pure autobiography but the focus is on his traveling. he tells lots of stories and backstories about the stories he covered. I enjoyed this book a lot. I remembered Kuralt and always thought his work was interesting and well produced even when he thought a lot of it wasn't.
If your old enough to remember him and his show , you will like this book. It isn't Earth shaking , nor scandalous, but it is entertaining. That was par for the course for Charles Kuralt.
4 stars for A Life on the Road

[Joan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m so happy I found this book at a used book sale. I remember all those early reporters who became household names in my younger years. Kuralt is slightly before my time and his age is exactly that of my parents. But he took major risks to report stories and lived an exotic and full life. I love that he didn’t chase the rich and famous for a story but wrote about “real people” mostly Americans. I love how he traveled the world and the parallels between Steinbeck’s “Travels with Charley.” One thing I didn’t appreciate was the quick retelling of his relationship with his first wife and the two children they bore together. It’s obvious he was mostly a sperm donor and didn’t let the wife or kids “cramp his style.” He divorced and didn’t seem to have any thing much of a relationship with them which probably was for the best though it must’ve been a hardship for the ex-wife raising two girls on her own in the largely male dominated society of 40 plus years ago. Anyway I love to travel, love history,and love diversity, and the difference and similarities in good/bad people the whole world over. Glad I took the time out to finish this one.

[Victoria & David Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Huntley–Brinkley Report on NBC was the evening news of choice when I was a kid.
Unless there was sudden news of great importance such as the Kennedy assassination (and MLK and the Pope and Bobby), then we turned to Walter Cronkite on CBS for the calm reassurance that he so well projected. Thus I missed most of Charles Kuralt's career (except for radio).
But I was aware of him as a friendly presence as he roamed about America in his RV reporting local color features from the blue highways and no highways wherever they might be.
What I didn't know was how important he had been in the creation of CBS television news.
He had been one of the first hires (in 1956) and became a foreign correspondent reporting from Europe and such as needed. He set up the Latin American bureau when Castro and revolution made that area reputed to be the next big thing. And then he became a roving corespondant without portfolio and managed to get short features on the evening news which acted as a pleasant counterpoint to the Vietnam War which was live every night in every living room.
This memoir is a nice blend of all of the above.
Just a country kid who made good and had fun along the way.

[Richard Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a wonderful traveling companion Charles Kuralt would make. No matter the problem or difficult circumstance he finds himself in, he takes it all in stride and makes the best of it, often salvaging a good story from a trying situation. "A Life on the Road" includes an interesting variety of his travels from Alaska to South America, from Cuba to the North Pole. Working for CBS, he was always willing to go wherever his boss wanted to send him for a breaking story. For over twenty years, he crisscrossed the U.S. in an RV with his small television crew, documenting the off-the-beaten-path stories of the common man, people whose stories seldom make it into the everyday news cycle. Kuralt is much more than a journalist; he is an empathetic human being with an affection and appreciation for the quieter, overlooked things around him, and a fellow with both a great wit and sense of humor.

[David Vitt · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had fond memories of Kuralt's "On the Road" TV series when I was a child. He once did a story about one of my grandparents, so I was curious to read his memoirs. It was worth the 25 cents I paid for it at the second-hand store. Actually, I enjoyed his storytelling a good deal. It's laid back, easy reading, with good reminders that much of life's enjoyment is found in simple things and simple people. Turns out Kuralt himself, however, was not the unassuming man he portrayed himself to be, as he forfeited a life with his first wife and children in deference to his successful notoriety on the road. Though not confessed in this book, Kuralt went on to live a completely double life (with a mistress and her children in Montana) while married to his second wife in NYC. I was disappointed in the man, but still enjoyed his book.

[Susan Ashline · Rating 5 out of 5]

I never would've read this book had I known that Kuralt had led a double life, with a mistress and whole other family he supported for nearly three decades, forcing heartbreak and emotional pain on his wife. When I found out about it, I was mid-way through the book and didn't want to continue reading. But I did. Since this is a review of his book and not his character, I'm rating the book the 5 stars I think it deserves. It was well-written, fast-paced...and I learned a thing or two. Interesting side-note: I was especially disturbed by the nonchalant reference to his mistress mid-way through the book, writing about her as though she were merely another character he briefly encountered on the road. It's interesting to know now that his writing her into the book was very intentional, and he was hiding a secret; a smug perceived self-victory. Despicable.

[Karen GoatKeeper · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charles Kuralt was a CBS correspondent for decades. This is a memoir of things he remembers from the years he spent going around the world and around the backroads looking for and reporting on stories.
This is an easy reading travel book reflecting on personal remembrances of the people Kuralt met and worked with over the decades. He is probably best known for his backroad stories and this book is written in the same way.
Older readers will relate better as they will remember many of the people talked about. Still, some of the stories are humorous, some will make you wonder how these reporters survived the story, some will bring tears, some will make the reader look at things in a new way.
There are two sections of photographs.

[Laurel · Rating 5 out of 5]

If today's politics and division and social media rants has depressed you, read this book - published in 1995 - to feel better about the U.S. AND the world. Amazing writing and amazing stories about good people (except for one - read it to find out which one). Traveling across the US and around the world, Kuralt traces the path of his career and provides fascinating and heartwarming stories about the wonderful people he met. You will laugh, and you will perhaps cry, but you will feel better about the world after reading this book. Grateful I ran in to it by chance in our condo complex library!

[Brent M · Rating 5 out of 5]

A delightful read. Charles Kuralt’s memoir from his birth that set the desire to travel in his blood to retirement. This chronicals his career as a young reporter for a North Carolina newspaper to his move to New York and CBS. those of a certain age will recall the names and remember his stories from On The Road travels of the backroads of America. Before that he travelled the world reporting the news. Setting up a South American bureau, Europe, Viet Nam, Russia stories that had to be covered. Until he found the comfort of telling the common people’s stories. You’ll like this easy read.

[Dan Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have always enjoyed first person books by authors that were out traveling, seeing our country, meeting the people and allowing them to tell their stories. This book is a combination of both. The book tells of his rise to be the host of a very popular show with all the stops in between his high school years and the CBS Sunday Morning broadcast.

I read this book shortly after it was published in 1990 and never forgot what a great story teller Kuralt was.. just felt the need to revisit. I will be re reading his other books about being on the road.

[Paula Lyle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Of course I was aware of Charles Kuralt, though I wasn't particularly a fan. The first part of the book where he is getting started at CBS, I found absolutely fascinating. He travelled the world and was an eyewitness to history. As most people know, he then went on to do features about travelling the US and meeting characters. I found this part of the book much less successful. These essays meandered through time and theme. While some were interesting, I tired of stories about fixing their motor home and a whole chapter of interesting signs he had seen. For fans only.

[Kelley · Rating 3 out of 5]

The man whose job it was to travel the country and collect stories is bound to have one hell of a story himself. And this book chronicles just some of them. I also have his book "America" which I guess should be next up.
This starts from the beginning but he is careful to state that it is not a autobiography. It's just a compilation of his journey into the professional world. And what a journey it was.

[KennyO · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’d read this one not terribly long after its publication. When the spoken version came available I hurried to get that because Kuralt telling his own story in his own voice was not to be missed.* Long story short: if you appreciate Kuralt, don’t miss this … either hardcopy or spoken.

*I have a stack of nearly all Kuralt’s cassette tapes and I’d better get them converted to MP3s before I replace my Volvo with its tape player.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Starts out with the author's early life working for CBS. This part is OK. The really good part is where he talks about the moving experiences he had with exceptional and common people all over the country. Very enjoyable.

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed watching the tv show: CBS Sunday Morning when Mr. Kuralt was the host. This book proves that he is as good a writer & interviewer as tv show host. This is an enjoyable travel book and inspires me to take a road trip.

[Rick Fifield · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kuralt just has a way with story. There are many stories in this book. Just about half of this book is about Kuralt's life prior to his On The Road days and they are pretty interesting, South America correspondent, Anchorman, Vietnam, and radio. Just a great book.

[Hellen Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

I grew up watching Charles Kuralt and found his quirky story interesting.

[Deborah Gaspar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book from a story teller both verbally and in written form.

[Paul F · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed reading of all the events that occurred while traveling across the states.