Tales of an American Hobo

by Charles Elmer Fox

Tells the story of a life spent riding the rails, traveling all across the United States in the tradition of the now-vanishing hoboes

Genres: Memoir

252 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 1989

Reviews

[Justin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not the best writing and not terribly organized, but it comes off as the honest memories of someone's rail-hopping grandpa.

[Danielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book includes short stories, poetry and anecdotes infused with philosophy, history, and ideas about morality and ethics, all from the perspective of 'Reefer Charlie' Fox, an endearing narrator. The stories are short, digestible, and diverse. Everything from the comedies, tragedies, day-to-day events and happy occasions of hobo life are covered in this wonderful book. As Fox said, hobos really are like a 'storybook.'

[Mary A · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short, easy-to-read incidents from the life of a man who deliberately chose to live as a hobo. Funny, scary, informative, and all around an enjoyable and easy to read collection. Vivid depiction of a by-gone era of American life.

[Kandi Bailey · Rating 5 out of 5]

My Great Uncle's book is such a fun read. Learning about tales I've never heard of and seeing such a specific time in America through his eyes is a treasure.

[Kasandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Learned about Reefer Charlie ("reefer" being hobo slang for a refridgerator box car) from the Steam Town museum in Scranton, PA. where excerpts from this book are used as references for displays on hobos. The excerpts were so compelling and so artfully used at Steam Town that I picked up this book. I am so grateful that I did! Reefer Charlie's writing is whimsical and renews your faith in humanity. Being homeless in those days was tough, no doubt, but his writing reflects the goodness of a different time; there were people to watch out for (cops mostly), but in general he indicates most wanted to help and few wanted to harm. When people could help him, they did. If you read this from a political perspective it's clear Charlie waxes poetic. He makes very few comments about how prejudice, greedy politicians, and inhumane corporations contributed to the massive disaster that was the Great Depression. He just doesn't go there, and when he does, it's only briefly. He doesn't much talk about how many people were less successful at hobo-ing that he was and often ended up sexually assaulted, murdered, or otherwise exploited. That's a liability in his writing if you read from a political perspective - but if you just want one old man's nostalgic reflections on the merits of living free, it's a really wonderful read. It's definitely got me interested in reading more hobo literature!

[Googz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fox's anecdotal tales of what it means to be a hobo is part history, part how-to, part who's who, part poetry anthology, part glossary, part travelogue, and part exposition on being a decent human being. It's extremely entertaining reading. I almost hate to mention, for fear that it'll taint the experience of others, that I envisioned it being read in Walter Brennan's voice most of the time. It is split into chapters, most of them 1-3 pages long, a few 4 or 5 pages long, and few or none longer than that, so it can be taken in small, quick doses (and is therefore a good falling-asleep or in-the-bathroom read). Heartily recommended to pretty much anyone, but to people interested in the experience of the American hobo of yesteryear particularly. I wonder if ol' Reefer Charlie ("reefer" meaning a refrigerated train car, and having nothing to do with the more contemporary meanings of "reefer") is still with us--he'd have to be about 95 years old, but the way he spoke of some of those old 'bos (short for hobos), some of 'em tended to live well into their 90s and even 100s--and some of those were still living the hobo life at the time. A sweet look back at a now mostly-lost time when bureaucratic red tape didn't tie people down so much, and the kindness of strangers could be relied-upon.

[Alyssa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it, though I may be biased by my current hobo fixation. I started this book at John Wayne Airport, and finished it just after the second leg of my flight landed in Texarkana, and it's not often that I can read one book all the way through a trip without wanting a break. The author describes a sort of hobo moral code and the distinction between a hobo and a tramp or bum. There's even a Hobo's Oath! It's also full of vignettes about the hobo life and people who lived it, and not all romanticized -- "Anything that a human has to do with must of necessity be a conglomeration of good and bad."

[William Barr · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating account of a vanished way of life, shorn of the romanticism which often surrounds the subject and paints a vivid picture of what it was like to be a hobo, tramp or bum (the author explains the distinctions) in the first half of the twentieth century.

[Dan Kelly]

Simply told tales of life on the road from the 20s through the 80s. Fox's spare yet descriptive style is wonderful to read.