Here, There, Elsewhere: Stories from the Road

by William Least Heat-Moon

From the acclaimed author of Blue Highways , PrairyErth , and Roads to Quoz , a dazzling collection of travel tales from the road.

Here, There, Elsewhere draws together for the first time William Least Heat-Moon's greatest short-form travel writing. Personally selected by the writer, these pieces take us from Japan, England, Italy, and Mexico to Long Island, Oregon, Arizona, from small towns to big cities, ocean shores and inland mysteries.

Including Heat-Moon's reflections on writing these pieces, Here, There, Elsewhere is much more than the usual collection of amber; it is a coupled summation of craft and memory. A perfect treasury of prose and provocation for readers old and new, Heat-Moon's most recent work reveals his absolute mastery across pages many and few.

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction, Essays, History, Memoir, Audiobook, Journalism

416 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

From wikipedia:

William Least Heat-Moon, byname of William Trogdon is an American travel writer of English, Irish and Osage Nation ancestry. He is the author of a bestselling trilogy of topographical U.S. travel writing.

His pen name came from his father saying, "I call myself Heat Moon, your elder brother is Little Heat Moon. You, coming last, therefore, are Least." Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Heat-Moon attended the University of Missouri where he earned bachelor's, master's, and Ph.D. degrees in English, as well as a bachelor's degree in photojournalism. He also served as a professor of English at the university.

Reviews

[Debbie Zapata · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have read (pre-GR) at least three other titles by this author so I was looking forward to this collection of various essays that had appeared in magazines over the years. But like in any such book, I enjoyed some and skimmed others.

I could not get interested in the long piece about craft beer, for example. Written in 1987 when a micro-brewery was still a new idea, it was informative but since I am not a beer drinker, I did not thrill to the descriptions of the chase for the perfect bottle of suds.

I did enjoy Up Among The Roadside Gods (1987) about a trip to Japan, and also The Nose Of Chaac about Yucatan Mexico. Crossing Kansas (1988)was both funny and thought-provoking, with its meditation on the whys and wherefores of American travel.

I think my favorite essay was With A Good Stick In Hand from 2002. The author talks here about how he likes to carry a walking stick with him when he goes for his strolls. And he insists that he prefers to walk, contrary to everyone's belief about him because of his book Blue Highways where he drove the back roads of the country.

Anyway, in this piece he says he makes his own walking sticks from branches he finds and I think that is cool. I once found a stick I carried with me during our 24-hour and 6-day ultramarathons. I never shaped or polished it the way Least Heat-Moon does with his: my only improvement was a shoestring tied around one end so that I could loop it over my wrist. I used the stick to have something to play with, for popping rocks out of my sandals, for defense against overly friendly (or otherwise) dogs. It was nifty to see that someone else appreciates a stick in the hand the way I do!

Someday I will most likely come back to this book and pay more attention to the essays I skimmed through this time. They do deserve to be read with more attention than I was able to give them at this point.

[Conrad · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a collection of his travel writings from down through the years which reflect an assortment of destinations - some familiar and some not. For those places where I have traveled it is interesting to compare his insights and observations with my own. For those not so familiar, they are a tantalizing invitation to further exploration. He draws (not explicitly - but implicitly) a distinction between the tourist and the traveler. The tourist merely visits and observes, whereas the traveler immerses him (or her) self into the place and seeks a deeper understanding through engaging the citizens of that particular place in conversation and interaction. I was a little disappointed by his lack of manliness when confronted with a slice of black pudding on his breakfast plate in Scotland. Ah well, no one is perfect!

[Jay French · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another reviewer says of William Least Heat-Moon "His writing is enjoyable, relaxing and challenging." I have to agree. The chapters of this book read like long magazine articles on traveling, and perhaps that is what they originally were - I listened to the audio unadorned with normal book metadata. The voice of the author is Midwestern friendly, but you also get a hint of the university in the not-so-occasional $10 word. Least Heat-Moon likes to play with words, and for this book I actually found it made the text more interesting. I had previously read his "Roads to Quoz", and this felt more approachable, in a kinder voice and in blessedly shorter essays with fewer digressions.

[Christina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love William Least Heat-Moon's writing. He's always classified as a travel writer, but he's so much more than that. I often think his books should also be on the spirituality shelf. This most recent volume is a collection of his essays published in various magazines over the last 30 years. These essays cover many locations in the US and around the world, including New Zealand, England, Scotland, and Japan. His essays about the plains and prairies of America are marvelous and poetic. I loved his essays on England and Scotland; his comments about trying to eat the local foods while in the Hebrides are absolutely hysterical. He makes me want to load up the Civic for a long road trip on winding roads.

[Becca · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thanks to good reads and the publisher for my free copy!
Some of the pieces in this collection, but as a whole it was rather dull. It also seemed as though the author was impressed with himself and expansive vocabulary (or just really Attached to his thesaurus). Should I really need a dictionary nearby in order to make it through an essay on walking sticks?

[Robin · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a collection of travel essays written by Wm Least-Heat Moon, although he reworked some that the editors has "edited." I really learned a lot about beer in one, but he came across a bit pompous and over-wordy in others. My interest flagged about halfway and I admit to judicious skimming. I REALLY liked his Blue Highways and The Water Horse, but this one didn't float my boat.

[Deb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fine, fine writing.

[Linda Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a fan of William Least Heat-Moon's work. I cannot help but enjoy his writing. He travels and finds things of interest to research and tell us about. There's always something to learn.

My favorite section in this book was about his experience with creating walking sticks. You see, I also like walking sticks, and putting William Least Heat-Moon and walking sticks together in one chapter is just over-the-top for a person like me.

There were some sections I could have done without, like the history of beer, but I know it is a popular beverage (for others) and I can live through a few sections like that while waiting for other topics that will interest me more. The chapter about traveling by boat in Texas was more to my liking.

What else can I say? I'm a fan. You cannot convince me to give this book any less than five stars. Go ahead and try.

[Iowa City Public Library]

The author of Blue Highways, Roads to Quoz, and PrairyErth, William Least Heat-Moon, has written his newest book called Here, There, Elsewhere; Stories From the Road. This volume is a series of chapters, each one unique, about his lifetime of travels all over the world and here at home. There is something for everyone in this collection of articles, many never before published.

Because my daughter was married in Yosemite National Park I especially loved that chapter and felt like I was right there with the wandering author. I felt the same about all the Missouri connections as well.

What is really neat for me is that I knew the author, not by his pen name but as Bill Trogden, in my years at the University of Missouri in Columbia. He was a doctoral student in the English Department and I was an English major and then Library School graduate student. I knew he traveled, kept a journal, loved his beer, and was a thoughtful and introspective kind of guy–but who would have known that he’d become such a well-respected and famous author! I thought he’d end up as an English professor somewhere. He also grew up in Kansas City, Missouri, like me, so I was familiar with many of the places he mentioned in his writing. I can’t remember if it was Prairie Lights Bookstore or the Writers’ Workshop at Iowa that brought Bill to Iowa City a few years ago. He stopped in the Iowa City Public Library and I happened to see him; we enjoyed catching up with each others’ lives.

Back to his new book… I don’t drink beer and yet even I enjoyed the chapter on micro-breweries in the United States and all the references made to the pubs in Ireland, England, and Wales. The chapter on his hiking in Oregon was also appealing because my daughter now lives in Corvallis and I’ve visited there as well as Portland and the Oregon coast. My husband and I are taking an Alaskan cruise in August and I enjoyed reading about the Tlingit people in another chapter. Throughout the book, the author who is part Osage Indian, makes many comments about the injustices done to our native people.

Bill is brilliant and well-read, with a terrific grasp of history and literature, not to mention his enviable travels all over the globe. His vocabulary is astonishing. The selections contained in this latest work of travel writing are appealing to a readership who like a challenging book and yet can pick and choose the parts they want to read. Of course I read his book from cover to cover and was completely amazed at the fine writing. Check it out if you like intellectual quest books and introspective, articulate travel writing about journeys of the mind, body and soul. --Katherine

From the ICPL Staff Picks Blog

[Lorri · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading Here, There, Elsewhere: Stories from the Road, by William Least Heat-Moon.

I found the short writings within the pages to be filled with humor and interesting tidbits of information regarding America, especially the states of Kansas and Missouri. Least Heat=Moon infuses his writings with quips that make the reader grin and even laugh out loud.

His journey through Yoknapatawpha County in Mississippi in order to find William Faulkner was a wonderful story. This particular story was filled with snippets of rural-sounding speech, and an accent unique to the locale. He and his friend, who was traveling with him, more or less had a grand tour. There were moments of comic relief for the author, humor unanticipated, due to a gesture made by the person guiding them.

Another story that I eagerly read concerned Yosemite National Park. There were elements about Yosemite I did not know of (written about in the second paragraph), and I found them to be compelling.

His travels on Long Island had me inhaling and tasting the oysters and little neck clams I grew up eating, and the story held me in nostalgic attentiveness. I was brought up on Long Island, and I recognized so much of what he wrote about, having been from one end to the other, north to south, during my 26 years living there. I thoroughly enjoyed his presentation of that trip.

From Japan to England, across America, and more, Least Heat-Moon's treks are always written with visually vivid word-paintings. This reader was swept away with some of his delightful prose, and with his ability to use humor to laugh at himself in certain scenarios, such as book hunting in England with his guide, and also his moment when tasting a certain food in the far Scotland Islands. I laughed out loud at some of the quips in that story.

I was also impressed with his and insights, as far as his pondering subjects such as extinction, ancient civilizations and even his thoughts on war, while in Japan, being guided by a Japanese translator.

I found Here, There, Elsewhere: Stories from the Road to be a fascinating read, and an interesting and enjoyable journey taken through reading the short stories within the book. I highly recommend it.

Thank you to Goodreads and to Little, Brown and Company for the advanced proof copy of the book.

[Cynthia · Rating 5 out of 5]

To call WLHM a travel writer does not do him justice. It is always a great pleasure to read his books and essays; his writing is superb. His topics are from different locales but they are not travel writing; his are unique descriptions and viewpoints. The only quibble I have with LHM is that he doesn't write more!

[Kevin Cox · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a collection of essays Heat-Moon wrote, mostly for other sources, now collected in a book for the first time. It's a great intro to his writing on "place" for newbies, and also an indispensable addition for fans.

[Sherry · Rating 5 out of 5]

His writing is enjoyable, relaxing and challenging. Makes you think about travel and life.

[Jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection of 28 essays written over 30 years is an excellent introduction to travel writing, to Least Heat-Moon’s style and astute observations, and a joy to readers who enjoy elegant language. This is an accessible collection which are preceded by contemporary introductions. Some of the essays remind readers of days gone by and the nostalgia of times growing up. Others are views of the international community in such diverse locations as Japan, England, Italy, New Zealand, and Wales. There is humor when he travels with a companion, and introspection when traveling alone. He has included editorial deletions as made by editors feeling that those sections are “…too complex for the magazine’s readership.”

Heat-Moon describes his writing as kaleidoscopic attributing this tendency to having begun as a photojournalist. …“I gather pieces, try to add some reflectivity, then give them a shake to see what unpredictable pattern they fall into.” He introduces us to exotic and mundane places and thoughts on craft beer. Illustrations include maps and drawings. This is a particularly good read in times of pandemic and home isolation. Highly recommended.

Readalikes:
Eric Hansen – The Bird Man and the Lap Dancer; Paul Theroux – The Great Railway Bazaar; the books of Bill Bryson; Geoff Dyer – White Sands; Robert Macfarlane – The Old Ways; Frances Mayes – A Year in the World; Mark Twain – Mark Twain; Eric Weiner – The Geography of Bliss; Lonely Planet Publications – An Innocent Abroad; Alexandra Fuller – The Best American Travel Writing 2019.

Pace: Leisurely paced
Characters: Well described with all their quirks
Writing style: Descriptive; contemplative; informative
Tone: Amusing; Reflective; Strong sense of place
Frame: The world; 1980’s to 2012
Theme: Observations of people and places

[Larry Bassett · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is going to be a very brief review of this very enjoyable audible book which I also followed along with using the e-book simultaneously. This is a collection of past works of this particular author in which he visits a wide range of places in the US as well as in the world. The reader of this book captured the author very nicely.

The brief introduction to each story is most enjoyable as the author reflects on some of the details of writing that particular story often decades ago. You will probably find in the multiple locations in this book one or two that you are familiar with and if you are fortunate one or two that you might even have some personal connection with. That place in my case was Long Island where I lived for a decade. That story was especially delightful for me.

[Ryan · Rating 1 out of 5]

It’s rare I gave up on a book; this demanded nothing less. The author is self-involved to the point of madness and his style is wonkier than a line drawn by a Parkinson’s victim.

[Ted Hunt · Rating 4 out of 5]

William Least Heat-Moon has not been the most prolific writer (six books since his first book was published in 1982), but his first book, "Blue Highways," remains one of my all-time favorite books (I have read it four times). His latest is a compilation of a couple dozen of his shorter pieces, a collection that spans the years 1983-2011. And like a recording artist who releases a collection of his or her "out-takes," Least Heat-Moon's collection of writings is uneven in its quality. Some of the pieces I enjoyed very much, while I found myself skimming through a couple. In general, I most enjoyed the pieces that were written about the United States, as I found these to best reflect the author's knowledge and passion. A couple of the selections about his foreign travels focused primarily on food, which is not exactly my "cup of tea" (as they might say in England's West Country, the subject of one piece). I enjoyed the piece about searching for great beer in the U.S., although, as it was written in 1987, it was rather dated (which I write with a Sierra Nevada in my hand). A number of the selections on his travels through the central part of the nation included photos similar to those in "Blue Highways," which created some urges to get back out west (or perhaps to read the book a fifth time). In short, this book is primarily for the William Least Heat-Moon "completist." It is not the place to start with this author; that place remains the story of his epic journey around the U.S., "Blue Highways."

[JZ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was happy just coursing down the road with this book until I hit the essay about the part of the country the author picked to visit because it was the furthest from any interstate highway. Wasn't I surprised to know that it's where I had a great adventure with my mother a few years ago. The high desert of south-east Oregon is truly that desolate. I'm glad we didn't know it at the time, and that we had filled the tank before heading from Nevada to Washington, trying to avoid traffic. lol We didn't see another person all day. We had food with us, and I stopped frequently to take photos of the nothingness. No houses, cattle, cars, horses, cats or dogs. Nobody at all for about 12 hours.
William Least-Heat Moon made it rise up before me, glorious in its emptiness, stark beauty, and solitude.
We didn't know that it was that desolate when we started, even though we had traveled all of the lower 48. The anxiety grew as miles and miles passed, but not fear. More like glory. At 80 years of age, my mother has traveled over a million miles hither and yon, and was surprised to find a new and exciting region.
Then, we went to Thanksgiving dinner with the author's peculiar family, and I was in love with this book. A highlight.
Not every journey is thrilling like a movie, but is joyful in its own way. This was like having a delightful fellow traveler share that joy. I even enjoyed having to look up some new-to-me words. It's been a while since I've needed an English dictionary alongside. How fun!

[Sara Wurtzel · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author's "because it's there" mindset made this collection of travel essays exceptionally good. He's in search of the overlooked, which is an engaging quest in itself. I enjoyed his playful balance between the macro-cosmic and the micro. He weaves together strands of history and geography with a golden thread of personal anecdote. His philosophical musings are usually brief and to the point: "A yesterday is of no age and of every age, so it can pick its generation to speak from." What might seem like arrogance at times could be honest responses to the difficulties of traveling. After all, we're curled up in a favorite chair reading about his adventures, while he's actually out there in the rain, rudeness, and traffic. He lets you in on his humanity. And he proves the point that the road is a good teacher because the humbler he becomes, the more lucid and lyrical. By example, he teaches the reader how to explore inner terrain through poetic observation of outer.

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of writings about places or cultural signifiers.

The best literature increases vocabulary, causes one to think about one's opinions, and sends the reader into dreams and reminiscences. Here, There, Elsewhere: Stories from the Road does all that. It is also interesting, entertaining, and stimulating, but reading it is enough work that completion feels like an accomplishment. That feeling adds to the pleasure of reading the book. Unlike many travel books, tourism is accepted in its proper place and travel is valued for more than self-discovery.

This book contains alcohol use.

[Gary Baughn · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of articles published elsewhere by the author of Blue Highways, one of the best "travel" books I have ever read, and this is worth reading as well.
He goes somewhere, fondles the details (as Nabovkov would say), including the rocks and plants, and never forgets to eat or stop for a drink, much like Hemingway's fiction and nonfiction.
Some favorite quotes:
"From a mere vacation, one goes home older, but from true travel one returns changed by challenge."
"A writer's assiduous examination should expose how little we see of a thing, how poorly we have understood it, how ineffectually we have let it touch our lives."
"There is nothing which has yet been contrived by man by which so much happiness is produced as by a good tavern or inn." (Moon quoting Boswell quoting Johnson)

[Cynthia Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! With the reservation that I loved all the parts about America, but not some of the parts about other places.

I have loved Blue Highways for years, since it first came out and it guided and influenced how my family traveled. So I was delighted to find this newer work which is a compilation of his "travel" writings from many publications over many years. I use "travel" very loosely, because all the essays and stories (all based on real experiences) have so much more than typical travel writing. Each piece is introduced with a description of why and for whom it was written. All are full of reflections on family, history art, politics, food, nature......

Highly recommended but it will give you itchy feet to travel.

[Sally Atwell Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

These are a group of stories from the road, that Least-Heat Moon revisits both in thinking about them and mostly in actuality going back. They were written from 1983 - 2011, most of which were written at the request of various magazines. I love his ability to just strike up conversations with strangers and his word play. He always finds humor in small things: names of towns, objects he comes across, different foods (he seems to try anything, at least once). I have read most of his books, and have enjoyed all of them so far. There are a couple more I want to read. I recommend this book to any one who likes road travel (not interstates) and notices what is around them and takes joy in so doing.

[Brett · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection of previously published travel essays takes Heat-Moon to all corners of the globe. He employs beautiful use of language in describing places in such a way that we not only feel like we've visited there, but that we we understand the people and the history and the objects and the landscape that make these places. His piece, A Glass of Handmade, from 1987 bemoans the state of beer in America, and foretells the resurgence of craft beer. It's one of the most interesting and applicable (to my life, at least) pieces of writing I can remember reading. With this book, as with all of his other books, Heat-Moon somehow left me satisfied, while also craving more.

[Marti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although not quite as compelling as Blue Highways it was still interesting even if a little tedious in spots (there are rather lengthy descriptions of nature as well as 'philosophical' musings that tend to lose me). Still, he does manage to see the remnants of ancient (and not so ancient) history which are still visible with the right sort of eyes. In addition to his travels in the U.S. (notably Kansas, Minnesota and eastern Long Island), the author also travels to the British Isles, Japan, New Zealand and the Ligurian Coast of Italy.

[Trish Remley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoy the writing of William Least Heat-Moon. I enjoy his closeness and awareness of the prairie and Kansas. The story crossing Kansas was too much. The paragraph that starts "Are you set Marie?" is so funny. I reread it out loud to anyone who would listen. The Chapter - The Last Thanksgiving of Whispers-to-Hawks: was wonderful. I loved it. I enjoyed the other short stories of places all over the world. I think Mr. Heat-Moon knows the right way to travel, to explore, to contemplate, to actually absorb life.

[Laurie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book! These travel essays have made me want to travel to places that I have never desired to go to. The story about beer led me to my local grocery store to find this one beer that the author had enjoyed. I doubted that I would find it, but it was there! It's now one of my favorite beers. I'm glad that the essays collected here have already led me on one of the many adventures I hope to have. :)

[Frodo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I finished this gathering of Moon's short travel reflections. I enjoyed the travelogue and felt some stirrings of desire to explore some of these areas, such as the trips on the Delta Queen. What a history lesson of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway and the trip down the Mississippi! The tour from New Zealand to Japan to Italy and all over this earth offered enriching insights to travel. Very readable and ripe for thirsty wanderers.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not going to read all the essays, but I did enjoy the one about crossing Kansas since my husband and I crossed it twice in 2010 when we moved to Colorado.

I picked up this book because a friend told me about the essay about beer, "A glass of handmade." Favorite line at the very end when the Venerable Tashmoo, William Least Heat Moon's traveling companion, takes a hearty swallow of a beer with no flavor and says, "Did I miss my mouth?"

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wide variety of essays that feature Least Heat-Moon's inimitable style. The road ranges from domestic highways to out-of-the-way scenes in New Zealand and the Cornish coast. Few have the ability to weave together the eye of a naturalist with the perspective of a budding sociologist--not to mention the author's culinary proclivities.

A delight to dip into on the night table.