Executive Hobo: Riding the American Dream

by Bo Keeley

Hobos are America’s historic backbone. Reams of books describe how townspeople, and even RR bulls during the Great Depression, helped them get to the fields and orchards to get the crops to market and feed the citizens. The definition of a hobo is a train rider who rides from jobs to kind words and helping hands. He knocks apples in Washington and plucks oranges in California but no longer cuts ice from lakes in Wisconsin. The RR bull turns a blind eye during harvest seasons if the hobo doesn’t spend his wages on alcohol and can speak polysyllables on the way to the boxcar. A King of the Road by wit, guile, and grace doesn’t lose a finger or end up in jail after decades on the rails. Pretenders seat him in the warmest spot near the campfire to prove himself with stories of the fast freight. An Executive climbs in the business world by making the fastest decisions that are usually right. He comes packed with the hobo traits of intellect, humor, humility, alert drive, brinksmanship, and good cheer in a storm. The meeting place of the King of the Road and the Executive is the American Dream. The King wishes dearly to pursue the financial American dream and the Exec asks himself, “Do I dare to live the American Dream of independent travel?” Executive Hobo proves that reality is sometimes more exciting and inspiring than the best fiction. It is a true story of a King of the Road with a coterie of worldwide entrepreneurial executives--and a few free spirits from other walks of life--along for the rides of their lives.

290 pages, Paperback

First published June 30, 2011

Reviews

[Dakota Malchow · Rating 3 out of 5]

The stories told in the book are really good and very intriguing. It definitely gives you a sense of wanderlust.

Unfortunately it was a little hard to read because of a lot of unexplained 'hobo' terminology. Some of the phrasing/editing made it difficult to understand at times. Like conversations between multiple people were put in the same line/paragraph that made it hard to follow who was saying what.

Overall, still a good book on a look at what it's like to hop freight trains in North America.