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I See by My Outfit
In 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. articulated his dream, JFK was assassinated, and zip codes were first introduced to the US. The world was monumentally changing and changing fast. But in the eyes of future fantasy author Peter Beagle and his best friend Phil, it wasn't changing fast enough. For these two twenty-something beatnik Jews from the Bronx, change was something you chased after night and day across the country on the trembling seat of a motor scooter.
238 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1965
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About the author
Peter S. Beagle
222 books3,870 followersPeter Soyer Beagle (born April 20, 1939) is an American fantasist and author of novels, nonfiction, and screenplays. He is also a talented guitarist and folk singer. He wrote his first novel, A Fine and Private Place , when he was only 19 years old. Today he is best known as the author of The Last Unicorn, which routinely polls as one of the top ten fantasy novels of all time, and at least two of his other books (A Fine and Private Place and I See By My Outfit) are considered modern classics.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 69 reviews
September 12, 2022
This is an autobiographical account of a cross-country trip that Beagle and his friend made in the early 1960s on motor-scooters. Beagle is one of the finest literary craftsmen of his time, though appreciation of his other work is now over-shadowed by his masterpiece The Last Unicorn. There's a friendlier feel to this book than one finds in other famous road-stories like those by Thompson or Kerouac, and the feeling of discovery and friendship is profound. The dialog is charming and clever, and it paints a picture of odd places and characters met along the way that captures the awakening of the '60s quite poignantly. (Are motor scooters still a thing?) The descriptions are striking, such as: "Standing up, he's no bigger than we are, but you could play baseball with his bones and live all winter off a slab of face steak. His name is Earl." Not to mention the explanation of the book's title. All in all, it's a delightful and insightful recollection that's become an important picture of a long-gone era of the country.
September 21, 2008
This is really such a delightful romp!
In the Afterword of the 2001 printing of the book, the author summarizes the book thus:
"...a road book, an account of a cross-country journey on two small motor scooters by two New Yorkers in their early twenties; wise-ass Jewish artists both, utterly urban and Eastern, with absolutely no idea that the Rocky Mountains were that big, the Mojave Desert that wide. They camp out, they freeze, they get rained on, they have mechanical crises; they look up old friends and the friends of friends, they encounter remarkable strangers---they have adventures, as happens in all proper road books."
A fitting summary, but what makes it fun to read is the lighthearted youthfulness that comes through in the telling. The author was in his mid-twenties when the book was published. I was impressed by the quality of writing in one so young. There's a youthful freshness in his outlook on their experiences, and some insightful observations about himself and life in general.
Books like this make me a little wistful, as they remind me that I was born about twenty or thirty years too late.
In the Afterword of the 2001 printing of the book, the author summarizes the book thus:
"...a road book, an account of a cross-country journey on two small motor scooters by two New Yorkers in their early twenties; wise-ass Jewish artists both, utterly urban and Eastern, with absolutely no idea that the Rocky Mountains were that big, the Mojave Desert that wide. They camp out, they freeze, they get rained on, they have mechanical crises; they look up old friends and the friends of friends, they encounter remarkable strangers---they have adventures, as happens in all proper road books."
A fitting summary, but what makes it fun to read is the lighthearted youthfulness that comes through in the telling. The author was in his mid-twenties when the book was published. I was impressed by the quality of writing in one so young. There's a youthful freshness in his outlook on their experiences, and some insightful observations about himself and life in general.
Books like this make me a little wistful, as they remind me that I was born about twenty or thirty years too late.
May 19, 2022
Questo libro era l'ultimo che mi mancava delle opere di Beagle (soltanto tre!) riuscite per miracolo ad essere tradotte in italiano, e mi sentivo sua orfana già dalle ultime tappe del meraviglioso viaggio in scooter intrapreso con Phil nel lontano 1963.
Peter Beagle e Phil Sigunick, scrittore il primo e pittore il secondo, si conoscono da sempre e a distanza di circa un anno non si parleranno per più di venti. Il suo migliore amico e quella che diverrà la sua prima moglie non si sopportano. Ma come detto nella postfazione, è un resoconto sincero che immortala un pezzo d'America che non esiste più e la fanciullezza dei due ex ragazzi. La non completa maturità emerge dallo scritto e anche, la parte più bella, la loro amicizia. Il viaggio ed il loro legame fanno semplicemente sognare.
Sembra che l'edizione in lingua originale contenga le illustrazioni del Sigunick, peccato che a fronte della cifra esorbitante richiesta dalla casa editrice per ottenere il libro si siano volutamente omesse. Ma del resto in Italia L'ultimo unicorno non viene citato neppure dai grandi appassionati del fantasy, così come non è un nome noto l'autore, l'operazione si sarebbe rivelata troppo dispendiosa. Per cui va bene, sono contenta di aver potuto colmare almeno io la lacuna. Qui si tratta di letteratura di viaggio che non può mancare a chi la apprezza. Cinque stelle meritatissime!
Peter Beagle e Phil Sigunick, scrittore il primo e pittore il secondo, si conoscono da sempre e a distanza di circa un anno non si parleranno per più di venti. Il suo migliore amico e quella che diverrà la sua prima moglie non si sopportano. Ma come detto nella postfazione, è un resoconto sincero che immortala un pezzo d'America che non esiste più e la fanciullezza dei due ex ragazzi. La non completa maturità emerge dallo scritto e anche, la parte più bella, la loro amicizia. Il viaggio ed il loro legame fanno semplicemente sognare.
Sembra che l'edizione in lingua originale contenga le illustrazioni del Sigunick, peccato che a fronte della cifra esorbitante richiesta dalla casa editrice per ottenere il libro si siano volutamente omesse. Ma del resto in Italia L'ultimo unicorno non viene citato neppure dai grandi appassionati del fantasy, così come non è un nome noto l'autore, l'operazione si sarebbe rivelata troppo dispendiosa. Per cui va bene, sono contenta di aver potuto colmare almeno io la lacuna. Qui si tratta di letteratura di viaggio che non può mancare a chi la apprezza. Cinque stelle meritatissime!
September 16, 2013
First, thanks to my father-in-law Dan for gifting me this book!
I've never read "The Last Unicorn," so I don't have any associations with Beagle's best known work, but I have traveled across the country (by car, not scooter) a bunch of times - it's one of my absolute favorite things to do. This travelogue made me pine - hard - for one of those trips, and to think of all of my past road-trip companions: my mother and father and brother, Jen, Maggie, Evan, Mike, Bill, and Annie. There's something about traveling together that way that syncs you up to a person that nothing else can. Even other travel, with planes and trains, or even hiking, with the trails pre-blazed, isn't the same as spending day after day in the car, making individual decisions about where to stop and where to go. Particularly in this vast country where, by language and historical accident, you can go pretty much anywhere without permission or difficulty. I can't wait for the day when I get to this my wife and sons - and equally but separately, just my wife.
If you've traveled this country by road and loved the small misadventures and quirky people met on the way, read this one.
I've never read "The Last Unicorn," so I don't have any associations with Beagle's best known work, but I have traveled across the country (by car, not scooter) a bunch of times - it's one of my absolute favorite things to do. This travelogue made me pine - hard - for one of those trips, and to think of all of my past road-trip companions: my mother and father and brother, Jen, Maggie, Evan, Mike, Bill, and Annie. There's something about traveling together that way that syncs you up to a person that nothing else can. Even other travel, with planes and trains, or even hiking, with the trails pre-blazed, isn't the same as spending day after day in the car, making individual decisions about where to stop and where to go. Particularly in this vast country where, by language and historical accident, you can go pretty much anywhere without permission or difficulty. I can't wait for the day when I get to this my wife and sons - and equally but separately, just my wife.
If you've traveled this country by road and loved the small misadventures and quirky people met on the way, read this one.
March 15, 2021
Before Peter Beagle wrote "The Last Unicorn" he made a trip across the U.S. on a motor scooter. Having completed countless motorcycle trips myself I can easily identify with the tales of strange people he met along the way. Now I'm tempted to search Goodreads for a shelf full of road trip stories.
Want to read
December 1, 2023WSJ Five Best review, 5/27/23
"When Peter S. Beagle, the novelist later known for “The Last Unicorn” (1968), hit the road with the painter Phil Sigunick in the early 1960s, both men were budding artists, too young to be beatniks but too old for the burgeoning hippie wave. As they puttered west from their home in the Bronx, N.Y., on a pair of Heinkel Tourist motor scooters, they carried with them a sense of the nation drawn from literature and popular culture and weighed the reality of what they saw against images they had absorbed from novels and films. The book’s title riffs on a line from the song “Streets of Laredo”: “I can see by your outfit, that you are a cowboy.” At times even the landscape seemed to imitate art. In the desert outside Colorado Springs, Colo., Mr. Beagle saw his surroundings as “a science fiction magazine cover conjecturing the surface of Mars.” By the time the two reached California, Mr. Beagle was already mentally composing the book that would transform the journey itself back into literature, as he tried to savor both “the sweetness of having arrived and the different joy of being on my way.”
"When Peter S. Beagle, the novelist later known for “The Last Unicorn” (1968), hit the road with the painter Phil Sigunick in the early 1960s, both men were budding artists, too young to be beatniks but too old for the burgeoning hippie wave. As they puttered west from their home in the Bronx, N.Y., on a pair of Heinkel Tourist motor scooters, they carried with them a sense of the nation drawn from literature and popular culture and weighed the reality of what they saw against images they had absorbed from novels and films. The book’s title riffs on a line from the song “Streets of Laredo”: “I can see by your outfit, that you are a cowboy.” At times even the landscape seemed to imitate art. In the desert outside Colorado Springs, Colo., Mr. Beagle saw his surroundings as “a science fiction magazine cover conjecturing the surface of Mars.” By the time the two reached California, Mr. Beagle was already mentally composing the book that would transform the journey itself back into literature, as he tried to savor both “the sweetness of having arrived and the different joy of being on my way.”
June 12, 2021
In 1964, the author and his best friend Phil, an artist, travelled from New York to California on their motorscooters. The account of this journey would probably have appealed to me more if I had actually visited any of the places they stopped by on the way, but I have never been to the U.S. and also have no interest in motorscooters. I found it rather tedious.
March 1, 2018
Beagle rides on a motor scooter with his buddy across the USA. The cops are always nagging them. The world has changed since the 1960s, and I think the watershed in this instance was a scene in Dumb and Dumber.
3.5.
3.5.
July 30, 2021
It’s about a x country road trip on scooters. Cmon. 5 stars all day long. U had me at scooters.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 24, 2014
copied and pasted review from "KIRKUS REVIEW
The publisher's comment, ""travel book with a difference,"" seems a bit of an understatement as the author and his friend Phil, two nice young bearded bohemian Jewish boys from the Bronx, roar cross-country on their beloved motor scooters. It's early spring and these two likable troubadours make their way to California with joy in their hearts, sheathed in thermal underwear, and a rapacious desire to taste America, not to mention its cooking. They develop their own all-purpose American speech ""hoping for a vaguely Midwestern effect,"" practice entertaining routines for conversational crises (like the time they had to explain what it's like to be a Negro in New York to an inquiring Navaho), sing for their supper and record their adventures with high-octane zest...Phil paints, Peter writes. An exuberant, wide-eyed look at America that will probably have no effect on American Airlines' passenger list, a 1960ish, squared off On the Road."
One of the few, on two shelves, books I owe. Contains many "stickies" for passages to be re-read. Captured American road reality much as I remembered it.
Hitching rides while in uniform in the early "60s was a relatively fast and fear free wandering time. Omaha hub. Time beat the big dog bus from Offit to Portland time wise. Catch a hop somewhere, hike back to base, starting with a flight on a SAC to Massachusetts, hauling brass in style. Tablecloths and white gloved server. First long ride was in a Texas rancher's newish Caddie, after USAF computer school near Wichita Falls, Texas, beginning trip to Portland, Oregon non-stop. Unknowing its power, took a bennie from woman in convertible on an LA freeway. Got a second ride in a Texas rancher's caddie about 8 years later from the Costa Rica border through most of Nicaragua.
The publisher's comment, ""travel book with a difference,"" seems a bit of an understatement as the author and his friend Phil, two nice young bearded bohemian Jewish boys from the Bronx, roar cross-country on their beloved motor scooters. It's early spring and these two likable troubadours make their way to California with joy in their hearts, sheathed in thermal underwear, and a rapacious desire to taste America, not to mention its cooking. They develop their own all-purpose American speech ""hoping for a vaguely Midwestern effect,"" practice entertaining routines for conversational crises (like the time they had to explain what it's like to be a Negro in New York to an inquiring Navaho), sing for their supper and record their adventures with high-octane zest...Phil paints, Peter writes. An exuberant, wide-eyed look at America that will probably have no effect on American Airlines' passenger list, a 1960ish, squared off On the Road."
One of the few, on two shelves, books I owe. Contains many "stickies" for passages to be re-read. Captured American road reality much as I remembered it.
Hitching rides while in uniform in the early "60s was a relatively fast and fear free wandering time. Omaha hub. Time beat the big dog bus from Offit to Portland time wise. Catch a hop somewhere, hike back to base, starting with a flight on a SAC to Massachusetts, hauling brass in style. Tablecloths and white gloved server. First long ride was in a Texas rancher's newish Caddie, after USAF computer school near Wichita Falls, Texas, beginning trip to Portland, Oregon non-stop. Unknowing its power, took a bennie from woman in convertible on an LA freeway. Got a second ride in a Texas rancher's caddie about 8 years later from the Costa Rica border through most of Nicaragua.
October 11, 2020
Pandemic reading - I re-read most of Keroauc since March. Then I read Peter Beagle's "I See by My Outfit" a tale of two young men riding from the Bronx to San Francisco in the early 1960's on motor scooters! - The title is from the Kingston Trio's joke about the song "Streets of Laredo"....The time Beagle writes about seems like ancient history - pre - Beatles - pre Dylan - pre hippies etc. Peter and Phil seek out Martin and Gibson guitars - and evidently play folk music well enough to be entertaining. The book has an innocent style - different from Keroauc. Vivid descriptions of crossing the desert and the cold nights are remarkable. I haven't read any of Beagle's fantasy books - there are many; the guy is a gifted writer. I look forward to reading his first book - written at age 20 titled "A Fine and Private Place" Add this to the books I wish I had read fifty years ago....As I turn 70 I am finally figuring out how to be 25....
March 18, 2019
I read an early edition (if not first) mm pb bound in boards by the library... iow, a difficult book to get through. But I did, because of lines like "We are in the desert now; before, it was around us" as the boys get on off the highway onto a smaller road. They are NYC Jews, creative, imaginative, clever, educated, silly... with aspirations to be rogues. A sort of a picaresque, I guess... but it does make me want to give the author's The Last Unicorn one more try (someday). It also makes me want to look up the poet James Stephens for "I think the mountains ought to be/ Taught a little modesty."
November 4, 2013
Peter S. Beagle's autobiographical account of his cross-country scooter trip with an artist friend is very much a slice of Americana- quintessentially 60s, a kind of low-key ON THE ROAD for a more literary, clean-cut American type with a softer, sentimental core, indicative of Beagle's usual bittersweet style. Those looking for a fantasy novel will be disappointed, but those searching for something gentle and unique will be pleased they took the time to read this subtle little volume about being young and having no where in particular to be any time soon.
January 22, 2008
Another of my all-time favorite books, an account of two beatnik-era buddies traversing the country on motorscooters, stopping in small towns, meeting people, having adventures, and recording it all with a very sensitive ear. I had the pleasure of meeting Peter Beagle (better known for his fantasy writing) and he's as delightful, observant and witty in person as he is in this book...highly, highly recommended.
Read
February 20, 2016I read this memoir when it was recently published and I was a hippie-wannabe child, and adored it. I was a bit nervous reading it again*, but aside from a few winces at the misogyny of the time, I loved it again. (In the afterword in this printing, Beagle mentions wincing himself.) It's a tale of friendship, and growing up, and seeing America.
*One naturally fears that the Suck Fairy has gotten to a book that you loved years ago.
*One naturally fears that the Suck Fairy has gotten to a book that you loved years ago.
June 10, 2012
Enjoyable read. It wasn't exactly what I was expecting (it was more about the long friendship, in the context of a specific journey), but that's OK. Beagle's an excellent writer, and you can see his bent for fantasy coming through in some of his word choices. And I know it was consistent with the times but...wow...traveling across country on motor scooters...without ANY protective gear. That could have ended badly, and Beagle admits as much in the Afterwords.
February 18, 2018
I read this for the first time, many years ago (late 70s-early 80s). When I searched for other books by this author I could only find A Fine and Private Place and The Last Unicorn, but I had limited resources for searching then, no internet!
As a native of northwestern Ohio. My favorite line (forgive me for misquoting this, it really was a long time ago) was all the streets in Toledo/Maumee being named after Mad Anthony Wayne. There is only 1 street but it's a long one ;)
As a native of northwestern Ohio. My favorite line (forgive me for misquoting this, it really was a long time ago) was all the streets in Toledo/Maumee being named after Mad Anthony Wayne. There is only 1 street but it's a long one ;)
Read
March 18, 2023If you had told me before I read this that I would really enjoy a book almost no one has heard of about a couple of twenty-something dudes and their cross-country trip (from the Bronx to San Francisco) on motor scooters in 1964, I would have laughed. But I did! This is a perfect example of why I prefer prowling used bookstores on narrow side streets to shopping for books based on reviews and popularity.
July 15, 2009
What a blast from the past! I'd forgotten a time when you had to explain why you were growing a beard, and called people "dad" instead of "man." The best line in this book is still "Only dogs and escaped criminals walk in California." A lovely evocation of friendship, people met on the road, and the hopes of the vanished sixties.
August 22, 2014
A road trip of two best friends, to see about a girl. My favorite parts were when they took on the personas of something ridiculous to discuss something. The lone ranger and tonto, a general and his collective men...
October 26, 2008
A bit out-dated in 2008 but I had this book MEMORIZED I read it so often in 1971. No matter how often I read it,it made me laugh!
July 1, 2017
Yes, I'm falling for Peter S Beagle. This nonfiction road trip recount is the best kind of travel story. I'm ready to be off on the road to see what I can see and who I can meet.
February 4, 2021
I am not really a camper, especially in my old age, I am not inclined to sleep on the ground. I like my bed, indoor plumbing and internet access. Having said that, there is something appealing about being a free spirit and taking a cross country trip on a motorcycle, and live a happy carefree life, even if just for a few weeks.
This book is not a self help book in disguise like so many of these books tend to be. It really is just a story about Peter Beagle and his best friend Phil making a cross country trip to see a girl. The story is mostly about the people they meet along the way. Beagle does not spend a ton of time on any one person, but manages to convey what each persons life is like anyway. All of the people depicted were shown as likeable in some way, I would suppose this is more of a reflection of the time then probably the actual character of the people. In the early 60's life was different and our expectations of other people were different. Mothers taught their children that if you could not say something nice about someone don't say anything at all, and I think Beagle took this to heart while writing this book.
Many of the characters were outright racist, both Peter and Phil were very tolerant of this, even being Jewish themselves, they accepted even anti semitic statements, with a sort of blasé attitude. Beagle. in spite of this, still painted there people in the best light possible, which says more about Beagle's kind heart than anything else. His depiction of Jilly, the hooker from Los Angeles was an interesting one. On the one hand, she was depicted as this person who had lived and adventurous, if criminal life, who was maybe a good person under it all. However as Beagle tells her story, you come to realize that she really is not a good person, not particularly evil, but willing to do what it takes to survive. Jilly is probably the most interesting character outside of Peter and Phil in the book. Beagle also spends the most time on her.
Overall, I really enjoyed the book, it is not an action adventure story by any means, it is just a slice of real life in 1962 America. It reminded me why I like to travel and I don't really mind driving across the country, as long as I have someone fun to share the experience with.
This book is not a self help book in disguise like so many of these books tend to be. It really is just a story about Peter Beagle and his best friend Phil making a cross country trip to see a girl. The story is mostly about the people they meet along the way. Beagle does not spend a ton of time on any one person, but manages to convey what each persons life is like anyway. All of the people depicted were shown as likeable in some way, I would suppose this is more of a reflection of the time then probably the actual character of the people. In the early 60's life was different and our expectations of other people were different. Mothers taught their children that if you could not say something nice about someone don't say anything at all, and I think Beagle took this to heart while writing this book.
Many of the characters were outright racist, both Peter and Phil were very tolerant of this, even being Jewish themselves, they accepted even anti semitic statements, with a sort of blasé attitude. Beagle. in spite of this, still painted there people in the best light possible, which says more about Beagle's kind heart than anything else. His depiction of Jilly, the hooker from Los Angeles was an interesting one. On the one hand, she was depicted as this person who had lived and adventurous, if criminal life, who was maybe a good person under it all. However as Beagle tells her story, you come to realize that she really is not a good person, not particularly evil, but willing to do what it takes to survive. Jilly is probably the most interesting character outside of Peter and Phil in the book. Beagle also spends the most time on her.
Overall, I really enjoyed the book, it is not an action adventure story by any means, it is just a slice of real life in 1962 America. It reminded me why I like to travel and I don't really mind driving across the country, as long as I have someone fun to share the experience with.
September 5, 2019
Obwohl bereits in den 60ern geschrieben, keine Fantasy und nie ins Deutsche übersetzt, ist dieses Buch nicht nur mein liebstes von Beagle, sondern eines der schönsten Bücher überhaupt. Nur im englischen Original kann man die unglaubliche Art, wie Beagle mit der Sprache umgeht, wirklich würdigen: Er (er)findet die herrlichsten Metaphern und Bilder abseits jeder Klischees (z.B. dass der Grand Canyon der Steinbruch für anderer Planeten Monde ist). Ich bilde mir allerdings nicht ein, dass ich jemals alle Anspielungen und Witze verstehen werde, weil ich weder in dieser Zeit noch in dieser Kultur aufgewachsen bin. Ein bisschen zur Klärung trägt das in dieser Ausgabe enthaltene Nachwort bei, in dem Beagle die autobiographischen Hintergründe dieser Tour zweier jüdischer Amerikaner auf ihren Scootern durch Amerika beschreibt. Es ist ein im wahrsten Sinne des Wortes kaltes Land, doch sie begegnen vielen warmherzigen und einigen leicht verrückten Menschen. Es ist kein Reiseführer, die großen Sehenswürdigkeiten erleben sie gar nicht oder auf sehr bizarre Art und Weise. Aber ich habe nie etwas schöneres gelesen als diese Tour quer über den großen Kontinent.
Beagles way of using laguage is absolutely astonishing. He invents wonderful methaphors beyond clishees. It's not a travellers guide (written in the 60th), but the characters the two guys on their scooters are meeting on their way are heartwarming. In this copy there is an afterword that explains all the autobiographical quotes somewhat better, but I will never get all the jokes, because I grew up in Germany. Still, it's one of my favourites books ever!
Beagles way of using laguage is absolutely astonishing. He invents wonderful methaphors beyond clishees. It's not a travellers guide (written in the 60th), but the characters the two guys on their scooters are meeting on their way are heartwarming. In this copy there is an afterword that explains all the autobiographical quotes somewhat better, but I will never get all the jokes, because I grew up in Germany. Still, it's one of my favourites books ever!
November 26, 2016
Ever since I read Steinbeck's "Travels With Charlie" when I was in grade school, I have sought out travel books, and especially Road Trip books. This book starts out in April of 1960 when the author and his childhood friend Phil, who from what I can discern are in their mid to late 20's, plan a trip to cross the U.S. on Heinkel scooters [note: as they correct someone, scooters, not motorcycles], which they have named Jenny and Couchette. They at times describe themselves as bearded Beatniks and their conversations are riddled with esoteric, referential, shared experience stream of consciousness ramblings that I find I skim over; although I can relate to having had a similar "insiders language" with high school friends, I found it distracting. Peter has a goal in the trip of reaching his girlfriend Enid's house in California by a certain time, which Phil understands but they both find restraining and which keeps them from fully immersing themselves in the adventure of their trip. Their experiences are both funny and poignant, and great glimpses of Americana not typically encountered, but their meager funds, hunt for pawnshop guitars and quirky personalities put them places with a unique group of "characters".
I understand that Beagle's other writings are all science fiction, which is too bad, as I found his descriptive language quiet unique and very evocative.
I understand that Beagle's other writings are all science fiction, which is too bad, as I found his descriptive language quiet unique and very evocative.
November 7, 2017
A total pleasure. My generation, Beagle's just a few years older than I am, so I can relate to the time period, the Zeitgeist.
I'm also an amateur musician, an old "folkie," so of course loved the music they played on borrowed guitars, or in the music stores, or referenced.
Their camping experiences a crack up. I'm a fairly experienced camper, so was appalled at their ignorance but admired their bravado.
Was a terrific tour of the USA, seeing areas I've either been to myself or haven't been to, thru their eyes.
They met some fascinating people, many warm hearted, generous, making them feel at home, like family.
I once had a little motorscooter, a Vespa, back in the pre-helmet days, 1970, with my little girl, age 3, on the back.
Found some You Tubes of Beagle and his partner Phil Sigunick playing guitar and also found a lot of Sigunick's art work on line; as good as I expected, and his work widely admired, still in galleries.. They did a reunion gig for I See By My Outfit in 2008.
I lent the book to an old folkie, in his 80s, who has ridden motorcycles, and is also an artist and has a variety of stringed instruments. I know he will love it.
I'm also an amateur musician, an old "folkie," so of course loved the music they played on borrowed guitars, or in the music stores, or referenced.
Their camping experiences a crack up. I'm a fairly experienced camper, so was appalled at their ignorance but admired their bravado.
Was a terrific tour of the USA, seeing areas I've either been to myself or haven't been to, thru their eyes.
They met some fascinating people, many warm hearted, generous, making them feel at home, like family.
I once had a little motorscooter, a Vespa, back in the pre-helmet days, 1970, with my little girl, age 3, on the back.
Found some You Tubes of Beagle and his partner Phil Sigunick playing guitar and also found a lot of Sigunick's art work on line; as good as I expected, and his work widely admired, still in galleries.. They did a reunion gig for I See By My Outfit in 2008.
I lent the book to an old folkie, in his 80s, who has ridden motorcycles, and is also an artist and has a variety of stringed instruments. I know he will love it.
May 10, 2020
I bought this book because of the author, and then I ignored it for ages because, when it came right down to it, the idea of it reminded me of On the Road--which I couldn't stand. And I HATED the idea that I'd read this and hate it, as well, having so loved Beagle's other works. I suppose I was afraid that the picture of Beagle offered in this book would somehow tarnish all of the novels, and I don't know what finally led me to pick it up... but I'm so glad I did.
It's lucky I didn't come across this book in high school, or my family might have been horrified and my life might have been very different, but that's the only caveat for this book. Dated as the actual journey and slang may be, there's something unutterably fresh and wonderful about this book. The fashion in which Beagle tells it--with equal beats of hope and dismay, naïve trust and skepticism in the future, and simple fascination with the world--at times reminded me of the nature writing of Edward Abbey, and made me want nothing more than to go back in time and join along for this journey. Reading the book is, of course, as close as we can come... but it is a rather wonderful adventure.
Read it.
It's lucky I didn't come across this book in high school, or my family might have been horrified and my life might have been very different, but that's the only caveat for this book. Dated as the actual journey and slang may be, there's something unutterably fresh and wonderful about this book. The fashion in which Beagle tells it--with equal beats of hope and dismay, naïve trust and skepticism in the future, and simple fascination with the world--at times reminded me of the nature writing of Edward Abbey, and made me want nothing more than to go back in time and join along for this journey. Reading the book is, of course, as close as we can come... but it is a rather wonderful adventure.
Read it.
November 7, 2019
This is a real fun road trip on motor scooters from New York to San Francisco.
This book made me want to slap On the Road out of every white boy's hands and politely replace it with I See by My Outfit. Beagle and Phil are: 1) actually respectful of women; 2) aware of the struggles of other minorities; 3) good, supportive, emotionally vulnerable friends to each other; and 4) not preachy or annoying. (The writing is much better too. There, I said it.) But though their friendship is the main crux of the story, it's also about them growing up and apart as they move from youth to adulthood. Throughout most of the novel, you're reminded that something is ending between them, and it's both really sad and really cathartic. After all, Phil still chose to come with Beagle to San Francisco; true friends don't leave, but grow with us, right?
That said, while I liked it a lot, it didn't blow me away. It's a memoir, so it's a little scattered thematically, but it works. It's also pretty hard to get ahold of, actually, so if anyone wants a copy, I've got one!
This book made me want to slap On the Road out of every white boy's hands and politely replace it with I See by My Outfit. Beagle and Phil are: 1) actually respectful of women; 2) aware of the struggles of other minorities; 3) good, supportive, emotionally vulnerable friends to each other; and 4) not preachy or annoying. (The writing is much better too. There, I said it.) But though their friendship is the main crux of the story, it's also about them growing up and apart as they move from youth to adulthood. Throughout most of the novel, you're reminded that something is ending between them, and it's both really sad and really cathartic. After all, Phil still chose to come with Beagle to San Francisco; true friends don't leave, but grow with us, right?
That said, while I liked it a lot, it didn't blow me away. It's a memoir, so it's a little scattered thematically, but it works. It's also pretty hard to get ahold of, actually, so if anyone wants a copy, I've got one!
April 1, 2025
I read this as a result of my daughter recommending I read, The last Unicorn by Beagle. I am not normally a fan of fantasy fiction but I took the plunge and great The Last Unicorn. I enjoy a good biography or autobiography of an author I am curious of and that is how I came to read, I see by my Outfit.
So here goes: Beagle recounts his experiences as he travels across the United States from New York to California on motor scooters. In his stories, he shares everything from quirky encounters with people to the challenges of traveling by motor scooter. His narrative is a mix of wit, introspection, and vivid descriptions of his travels, all while offering reflections on life, aging, and the freedom of the open road. Through the journey, Beagle contemplates the joys and absurdities of such an unexpected adventure, all while connecting with the people and places he visits in unique ways. I enjoyed the book as it let me get to know the author, Beagle.
So here goes: Beagle recounts his experiences as he travels across the United States from New York to California on motor scooters. In his stories, he shares everything from quirky encounters with people to the challenges of traveling by motor scooter. His narrative is a mix of wit, introspection, and vivid descriptions of his travels, all while offering reflections on life, aging, and the freedom of the open road. Through the journey, Beagle contemplates the joys and absurdities of such an unexpected adventure, all while connecting with the people and places he visits in unique ways. I enjoyed the book as it let me get to know the author, Beagle.
February 4, 2025
One of the few books I have read multiple times. Surprisingly, Beagle is one of my favorite authors, even though his genre is fantasy, which is NOT my genre. But I regularly reread this book as well as Folk of the Air by Beagle. I also have read (but only once each) The Last Unicorn and A Fine and Private Place. "Outfit" has the bonus of going through local areas--Kansas City, Salina, Hays, Oakley, Limon. I always love seeing places I know through the lenses of others. I could probably point to a quote on every page that I love, but here is one example:
"The view opens out suddenly, and I realize that we are wobbling along a mountain road, narrow enough that I would hate to meet a fat firefly going in the opposite direction." "That might be the earth's purpose in the universe, after all, to be torn into other peoples' moons."
"The view opens out suddenly, and I realize that we are wobbling along a mountain road, narrow enough that I would hate to meet a fat firefly going in the opposite direction." "That might be the earth's purpose in the universe, after all, to be torn into other peoples' moons."
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