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Underground: USA
In 2006, at the age of 33, Geoff Marshall moved to the United States to marry and settle down, having though he'd met the right person to grow old with and generally start behaving like an adult at last.
Committing to move across the pond meant giving up a job he loved, along with leaving his family, friends, and the city where he was born - London - behind.
Three years later, things hadn't quite worked out as he'd expected. He found himself divorced and wondering what to do with his life. Should he stay in America and make it his home, or return to England?
So he hatched a plan: to visit the rest of the USA so he could truly say that he'd seen the whole of the country and see if he wanted to stay there, and to use the time out to work out in which direction he life should go next.
But many people have been on 'all state' road trips before, so he came up with a unique angle.
For ten weeks between June and August 2009, Geoff drove from the east coast of the United States to the west coast - some parts alone, others with companions - going through all 48 mainland states, stopping at towns that shared names with stations on the London Underground (i.e. "The Tube"). He called his adventure "Underground: USA." This book chronicles his quest to visit all 48 towns, sharing the commonality and differences in culture between the UK and the USA, showing the best and worst of humanity, and the power of friendship.
Committing to move across the pond meant giving up a job he loved, along with leaving his family, friends, and the city where he was born - London - behind.
Three years later, things hadn't quite worked out as he'd expected. He found himself divorced and wondering what to do with his life. Should he stay in America and make it his home, or return to England?
So he hatched a plan: to visit the rest of the USA so he could truly say that he'd seen the whole of the country and see if he wanted to stay there, and to use the time out to work out in which direction he life should go next.
But many people have been on 'all state' road trips before, so he came up with a unique angle.
For ten weeks between June and August 2009, Geoff drove from the east coast of the United States to the west coast - some parts alone, others with companions - going through all 48 mainland states, stopping at towns that shared names with stations on the London Underground (i.e. "The Tube"). He called his adventure "Underground: USA." This book chronicles his quest to visit all 48 towns, sharing the commonality and differences in culture between the UK and the USA, showing the best and worst of humanity, and the power of friendship.
- GenresTravel
333 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
September 1, 2018
On the surface, this is a book about a random quest to visit towns in the US that share names with London's tube stops. But it's really a classic road trip story about a man who discovers himself as he discovers America. I was charmed, despite the occasional typo in this self-published work. Thanks, Geoff, for taking this armchair traveller along on your trip. I can't wait to see the documentary on YouTube.
March 6, 2019
I enjoyed this insight into Geoff's experiences - whose tube/train videos I love - but oh my word did it need a proof reader.
Managed to overcome the irritation to focus on the journey but it was a close run thing at times.
Managed to overcome the irritation to focus on the journey but it was a close run thing at times.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews