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A Walk Across America
A Walk Across America
320 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1979
About the author
Peter Jenkins
69 books155 followersBorn July 8th, 1951 in Greenwich, Connecticut,
Peter is the eldest of the six children of Frederick and Mary Jenkins.
Graduated from Greenwich High School in 1969.
Attended Woodstock in summer of 1969.
Graduated from Alfred University in 1973 with a BFA, majoring in Sculptor/ Ceramics.
Began his Walk Across America on October 15, 1973 in Alfred, New York. It ended in mid-January of 1979 in Florence, Oregon.
When not traveling and exploring he lives on a farm in middle Tennessee . He is the proud father of six children, Aaron, Brooke, Rebekah, Jedidiah, Luke and Julianne and is married to the former Rita Jorgensen of Michigan .
Peter is the eldest of the six children of Frederick and Mary Jenkins.
Graduated from Greenwich High School in 1969.
Attended Woodstock in summer of 1969.
Graduated from Alfred University in 1973 with a BFA, majoring in Sculptor/ Ceramics.
Began his Walk Across America on October 15, 1973 in Alfred, New York. It ended in mid-January of 1979 in Florence, Oregon.
When not traveling and exploring he lives on a farm in middle Tennessee . He is the proud father of six children, Aaron, Brooke, Rebekah, Jedidiah, Luke and Julianne and is married to the former Rita Jorgensen of Michigan .
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 814 reviews
November 23, 2011
After reading Looking for Alaska, I really wanted to love this book. What could possibly be more awesome and interesting than crossing America with nothing but your trusty dog and the contents of your pack? Jenkins was also going through some of the early-20s unease that I'm not done growing out of, so I figured the story of his first adventure would have a strong impact on me.
Unfortunately, I think the book is too dated: It doesn't stand the test of time well enough for me to identify with it.
The first part of A Walk Across America is excellent—I loved being able to travel through Jenkins vicariously and encounter the kind and generous people he did. He can wax a little overly sentimental about the dog, but there's nothing wrong with being an animal lover. Interesting characters like Homer the mountain man really enrich the book and remind you that the United States is an endlessly fascinating country, and Jenkins's time living with a black family and his willingness to work at a sawmill and as a tree surgeon give him rich experiences to talk about.
However, some of Jenkins's ways of talking about race are decidedly uncomfortable. He has a tendency to try to write in dialectical English for both African Americans and southerners, meaning that his dialogue is peppered with words like "foo'" and "yaw." Throughout his chapters on living with a black family, Jenkins makes comments that indicate he is hyperaware of color distinctions, usually because he is meditating on the awesomeness of white and black people interacting peacefully. Yet on two separate occasions, Jenkins claims to notice that he "forgot" he was white at all and instead felt that he must look like his new black family. All of this was well-meant, of course, but there is no way Jenkins could truly understand the experiences of the people he stayed with even if he toured their lives for a few months.
The description of the hippie commune farm was both fascinating and difficult for me to relate to—all of that psychedelic spirituality is so out of style that reading about it was like entering a time warp! After this section of the book, my interest began to fade. Jenkins had some interesting observations about Alabama, but I wish he had given even more detail about staying with M.C. the rancher. From this point on, his descriptions of people he meets deteriorate in terms of depth and detail, as if he can feel the end of the book coming and is starting to rush. Jenkins is not an amazing writer to begin with, so when you lose the richness of his story it can get a lot more annoying to read his prose, as well.
Jenkins closes his book with a major religious conversion and with the story of meeting his second wife (by the time he wrote Looking for Alaska he was married to someone else). This part of the book pretty much sucked. I am not a religious person, but that wasn't the problem—the problem was that the focus of the book changed from America and its people to the saccharine emotional experiences of Peter Jenkins. The moment he got into all of the internal revelations he was experiencing, as well as the soppy account of falling in love with his wife-to-be, I started to feel embarrassed and repelled. Those sorts of things are rarely communicable on paper.
Anyway, A Walk Across America is a very interesting book, but it's not the best book. It's also not about the America I live in, so it is more of a historical relic than a book that is meaningful for me right now. If you'd like to read it, go for it, but if you are just looking for good travel writing, I would suggest you look elsewhere.
Unfortunately, I think the book is too dated: It doesn't stand the test of time well enough for me to identify with it.
The first part of A Walk Across America is excellent—I loved being able to travel through Jenkins vicariously and encounter the kind and generous people he did. He can wax a little overly sentimental about the dog, but there's nothing wrong with being an animal lover. Interesting characters like Homer the mountain man really enrich the book and remind you that the United States is an endlessly fascinating country, and Jenkins's time living with a black family and his willingness to work at a sawmill and as a tree surgeon give him rich experiences to talk about.
However, some of Jenkins's ways of talking about race are decidedly uncomfortable. He has a tendency to try to write in dialectical English for both African Americans and southerners, meaning that his dialogue is peppered with words like "foo'" and "yaw." Throughout his chapters on living with a black family, Jenkins makes comments that indicate he is hyperaware of color distinctions, usually because he is meditating on the awesomeness of white and black people interacting peacefully. Yet on two separate occasions, Jenkins claims to notice that he "forgot" he was white at all and instead felt that he must look like his new black family. All of this was well-meant, of course, but there is no way Jenkins could truly understand the experiences of the people he stayed with even if he toured their lives for a few months.
The description of the hippie commune farm was both fascinating and difficult for me to relate to—all of that psychedelic spirituality is so out of style that reading about it was like entering a time warp! After this section of the book, my interest began to fade. Jenkins had some interesting observations about Alabama, but I wish he had given even more detail about staying with M.C. the rancher. From this point on, his descriptions of people he meets deteriorate in terms of depth and detail, as if he can feel the end of the book coming and is starting to rush. Jenkins is not an amazing writer to begin with, so when you lose the richness of his story it can get a lot more annoying to read his prose, as well.
Jenkins closes his book with a major religious conversion and with the story of meeting his second wife (by the time he wrote Looking for Alaska he was married to someone else). This part of the book pretty much sucked. I am not a religious person, but that wasn't the problem—the problem was that the focus of the book changed from America and its people to the saccharine emotional experiences of Peter Jenkins. The moment he got into all of the internal revelations he was experiencing, as well as the soppy account of falling in love with his wife-to-be, I started to feel embarrassed and repelled. Those sorts of things are rarely communicable on paper.
Anyway, A Walk Across America is a very interesting book, but it's not the best book. It's also not about the America I live in, so it is more of a historical relic than a book that is meaningful for me right now. If you'd like to read it, go for it, but if you are just looking for good travel writing, I would suggest you look elsewhere.
March 30, 2011
Chronicle of a 1973-1975 walk from New York to New Orleans. For the entire trip (west), you have to buy the sequel. Check your local library or buy from the quarter bin at a flea market. Any more time or money invested in this book is a waste.
I do envy the guy his journey—sort of. I was curious to learn about the logistics of undertaking such a long hike. Unfortunately he would rather write of his love affair with his "forever friend" and make up lame similes for every little thing he encounters. I needed an insulin shot about half way through.
Don’t even get me started on the dog.
Here is what one reviewer said (I laugh and agree): “Guy walks across America, meets girl and God on the way, marries girl in the end. Guy and girl walk across America again (The Walk West), meet with God constantly, make children and write about Him. Today, guy and girl write separately and are divorced and have since remarried. Go figure.”
I do envy the guy his journey—sort of. I was curious to learn about the logistics of undertaking such a long hike. Unfortunately he would rather write of his love affair with his "forever friend" and make up lame similes for every little thing he encounters. I needed an insulin shot about half way through.
Don’t even get me started on the dog.
Here is what one reviewer said (I laugh and agree): “Guy walks across America, meets girl and God on the way, marries girl in the end. Guy and girl walk across America again (The Walk West), meet with God constantly, make children and write about Him. Today, guy and girl write separately and are divorced and have since remarried. Go figure.”
February 14, 2009
So when i was at the Anchor Archive in Halifax this Fall, I was poring over old National Geogrpahics and found this article about a young man in the 1970's who decides to walk across the USA with his trusty dog Cooper, his "forever friend." A few things that really caught my eye were that he spent some time at The Farm in Tennessee (of the New Farm Cookbook fame) and that he, a white dude, lived with a black family in rural Tennessee for several months. And the intesne dog-companion-love, which I can relate to. Interesting. Months later, I was at the Lawrenceville library in my new neighborhood in Pittsburgh and stumbled across a paperback of this book in the book sale section. 25 cents! Okay.
While the writing isn't great at all, and sometimes Peter's tone is preachy (he does find God on his journey, at a Baptist revival in Alabama), there is something about his story that is still compelling. Especially for me having just returned from some time down South, which feels like a different country from the Northeast/Midwest...I was born in South Carolina and toured through the Deep South several times with the Mobilivre-Bookmobile Project, and feel really good when I'm there. Some of the photos of Cooper are really great too. A good story, it kept my attention, even if the way it was written was at times annoying...
While the writing isn't great at all, and sometimes Peter's tone is preachy (he does find God on his journey, at a Baptist revival in Alabama), there is something about his story that is still compelling. Especially for me having just returned from some time down South, which feels like a different country from the Northeast/Midwest...I was born in South Carolina and toured through the Deep South several times with the Mobilivre-Bookmobile Project, and feel really good when I'm there. Some of the photos of Cooper are really great too. A good story, it kept my attention, even if the way it was written was at times annoying...
August 24, 2018
5.0 stars ...
An amazing adventure ...
and I felt like I was walking right beside him & Cooper! 😁
An amazing adventure ...
and I felt like I was walking right beside him & Cooper! 😁
October 20, 2012
Unique book. A stunt memoir from before the days of stunt memoir and, therefore, stirringly earnest. A book that is, in some ways, badly written, but whose bad writing contributes to what is ultimately a very effective narrative presentation. (The sense I kept getting was that of reading a novel whose first-person narrator has, deliberately, not been given a slick way with words–because a slick narrator wouldn't work with this particular story.)
Peter Jenkins, 22, raised in comfort in NYC-metro Connecticut, leaves the town where he has gone to college, with the idea of walking across America. He's sick at heart, tired and doubtful of himself and his country.
The book is a reminder that a journey is one of the simplest and most effective narrative structures there is. Peter walks, becomes involved with a few of the different communities he passes through, changes. The story is earnest but moving; if it had been more wry or intellectual, it probably wouldn't work so well. Like another successful travel book of a later generation—Eat, Pray, Love—A Walk Across America is an old-fashioned spiritual memoir dressed up as an individualistic modern quest.
It also reads like a portrait of an America on the brink. Jenkins walks through parts of Appalachia and the South that are thoroughly rural; it's a landscape seemingly untouched by cable TV or national chain stores, a landscape unimaginable today. He stays with hippies who are living off the land in Tennessee but, even more interestingly, meets people in North Carolina who've been living off the land since the World War II era and just never stopped, and he gives a vivid, in some ways idyllic portrait of their brand of rural poverty.
The most moving episode in the book, to me, was also the longest: the author's quasi-adoption into a poor, rural black family. (Reminded me how little has changed since '73? That a story of reaching across race & class lines that are still so real holds emotional charge? Found myself beating back tears on the subway a couple of times, at what seemed like pretty random moments in the text.)
Jenkins started this book, I think, as an article for National Geographic, which I'd sort of like to track down. They armed him with a camera, and the edition of the book I read had a number of his very good pictures, which added a lot to the book as a whole.
Peter Jenkins, 22, raised in comfort in NYC-metro Connecticut, leaves the town where he has gone to college, with the idea of walking across America. He's sick at heart, tired and doubtful of himself and his country.
The book is a reminder that a journey is one of the simplest and most effective narrative structures there is. Peter walks, becomes involved with a few of the different communities he passes through, changes. The story is earnest but moving; if it had been more wry or intellectual, it probably wouldn't work so well. Like another successful travel book of a later generation—Eat, Pray, Love—A Walk Across America is an old-fashioned spiritual memoir dressed up as an individualistic modern quest.
It also reads like a portrait of an America on the brink. Jenkins walks through parts of Appalachia and the South that are thoroughly rural; it's a landscape seemingly untouched by cable TV or national chain stores, a landscape unimaginable today. He stays with hippies who are living off the land in Tennessee but, even more interestingly, meets people in North Carolina who've been living off the land since the World War II era and just never stopped, and he gives a vivid, in some ways idyllic portrait of their brand of rural poverty.
The most moving episode in the book, to me, was also the longest: the author's quasi-adoption into a poor, rural black family. (Reminded me how little has changed since '73? That a story of reaching across race & class lines that are still so real holds emotional charge? Found myself beating back tears on the subway a couple of times, at what seemed like pretty random moments in the text.)
Jenkins started this book, I think, as an article for National Geographic, which I'd sort of like to track down. They armed him with a camera, and the edition of the book I read had a number of his very good pictures, which added a lot to the book as a whole.
April 27, 2010
I have to start by saying this is a review from the 20-year old me, not the 47 year old me. That said, this book had a profound effect on me in college. It helped make me the person I am today, who has traveled by bike for months across the US, backpacked in Mexico, Central America and Europe, and visited three continents (and adding a fourth--Africa, this summer. I can't remember how well-written (or not)the book was, I just know that even looking at the cover still fills me with wanderlust. A part of me would like to re-read the book, but I don't think I will--I don't want to tarnish my memory of what this book meant to me.
November 6, 2023
Not my usual read, but very enjoyable! I won’t say this compares to my 5 star ratings in other genres like horror and fantasy… but it’s a definite 5 star read within the non-fiction genre! It was interesting and informative!
August 29, 2007
Love this story. The writing is passable, by which I mean that sometimes I cringe at the style, but am enough engaged in the drama and the cast of characters that I forgive it happily.
December 19, 2013
This book is very good because it has the mood of being free in the woods, which is every person's dream at one point or another. This is shown when Jenkins says, "You know, there's no such thing as being lost! It's all in your mind. Right?" (Jenkins 92). The notion if being lost is impossible if you don't have a return point like Jenkins. To just wander through woods and mountain towns until you reach the Gulf of Mexico is what he means by not getting lost. The book also showcases the bond that can be shared between a man and his dog. Not the way the Beverly Hills housewives "wuv their wittle puppies," and not the Pomeranians that are a dime a dozen but a true connection between man and animal. Jenkins shows his love for his dog after its death in, "Right now I really didn't care if I ended up with my own blanket of dirt since it would mean he and I could be together again" (212). The quote might come off as weird but the context behind it helps it make sense. Being free nature and your only worry is where to lay in the grass is the true American Dream, not roads paved with gold or starting your own business, being in God's green Earth away from everything is what people aspire to do. Also, The shirts with a wolf and full moon that full grown men with wire framed glasses wear, those shirts were most likely based on this book. Which is reason enough to lay your eyes on these pages.
February 22, 2018
Had me contemplating what I wanna do with my life. Also restored my faith in people. Prejudice will always be part of society, but there will always be those few who turn those prejudices a full 180 degrees.
March 20, 2011
I've really been getting into the travel books lately. And this one ranks pretty high with me. The author was excellent and really described his trip with a different tone than I've seen from most travel writers. Sure there were a couple of things that could be changed, but despite these, it really is an excellent book.
After leaving college Peter Jenkins isn't quite sure what he wants to do with his life. He is discontent, most especially with America in general. After voicing this to a friend, the friends surprises him by suggesting that he get out and see America before making judgments. That fall, he takes off from his home to the North and starts heading South, towards the gulf, on the first let of his journey. Accompanying him is his half Malamute Cooper (who despite being a bit wild, is really a good dog). Through their trip they encounter some dangers (storms, sickness, etc.) but the real stand outs are the good things on the trip. Most especially the people. Since this trip takes place in the early seventies Jenkins has an attitude starting out that would be considered offensive today. But he changes his thoughts throughout the journey as he learns more. For instance, despite racial tensions in the South around that time, he finds himself living with a Black family where he evaluates his perception and instead just enjoys being a part of everything. He also expects to hate Alabama and die there, but then finds that it is better than he thought. While he doesn't get clear across America in this book, he does get pretty far.
Peter is a great narrator. He tells everything how it is and isn't afraid to show how he's wrong. As mentioned before he holds different views about parts of the country and its inhabitants and doesn't mind being wrong about them. In fact, he relishes the fact that he was wrong and is appreciative. This is kind of a spiritual quest for him too and he brings up his experiences with different faiths and what he's thinking throughout the book.
The writing is smooth and descriptive and I was saddened by the fact the end of the novel did come so soon. The first half of the book had a lot of description while he was with Cooper, but the second half of the book goes quicker and he doesn't spend as much time in description. As previously mentioned, there are some religious aspects to this book, but it isn't overly preachy, its just showing Peter's thought processes and journey with religion. Since this is a book about his trip, it is appropriate.
Another great thing about this book is the amount of pictures. After visiting National Geographic, Peter obtained a camera from them for use on his travels (he also wrote an article for them). There is a whole section of colored photos and another section of black and white photos in the book. However, these pictures do give away spoilers for later in the book so proceed with caution.
I did love this book and despite its flaws I think it is one of the best I've ever read. I'm going to be eagerly searching to see if there is another edition with more of his travels out there and do all I can to get my hands on it. I highly recommend this book to anyone.
A Walk Across America
Copyright 1979
291 pages
Review by M. Reynard 2011
After leaving college Peter Jenkins isn't quite sure what he wants to do with his life. He is discontent, most especially with America in general. After voicing this to a friend, the friends surprises him by suggesting that he get out and see America before making judgments. That fall, he takes off from his home to the North and starts heading South, towards the gulf, on the first let of his journey. Accompanying him is his half Malamute Cooper (who despite being a bit wild, is really a good dog). Through their trip they encounter some dangers (storms, sickness, etc.) but the real stand outs are the good things on the trip. Most especially the people. Since this trip takes place in the early seventies Jenkins has an attitude starting out that would be considered offensive today. But he changes his thoughts throughout the journey as he learns more. For instance, despite racial tensions in the South around that time, he finds himself living with a Black family where he evaluates his perception and instead just enjoys being a part of everything. He also expects to hate Alabama and die there, but then finds that it is better than he thought. While he doesn't get clear across America in this book, he does get pretty far.
Peter is a great narrator. He tells everything how it is and isn't afraid to show how he's wrong. As mentioned before he holds different views about parts of the country and its inhabitants and doesn't mind being wrong about them. In fact, he relishes the fact that he was wrong and is appreciative. This is kind of a spiritual quest for him too and he brings up his experiences with different faiths and what he's thinking throughout the book.
The writing is smooth and descriptive and I was saddened by the fact the end of the novel did come so soon. The first half of the book had a lot of description while he was with Cooper, but the second half of the book goes quicker and he doesn't spend as much time in description. As previously mentioned, there are some religious aspects to this book, but it isn't overly preachy, its just showing Peter's thought processes and journey with religion. Since this is a book about his trip, it is appropriate.
Another great thing about this book is the amount of pictures. After visiting National Geographic, Peter obtained a camera from them for use on his travels (he also wrote an article for them). There is a whole section of colored photos and another section of black and white photos in the book. However, these pictures do give away spoilers for later in the book so proceed with caution.
I did love this book and despite its flaws I think it is one of the best I've ever read. I'm going to be eagerly searching to see if there is another edition with more of his travels out there and do all I can to get my hands on it. I highly recommend this book to anyone.
A Walk Across America
Copyright 1979
291 pages
Review by M. Reynard 2011
August 13, 2010
A man and his beloved dog walk across America (or, more precisely, from upstate NY to New Orleans). They live with black farmers, befriend white Southerners whom Gov. George Wallace addresses on TV as if they are family members, and moonlight at a farming commune in Tennessee. The book ends in New Orleans, where the author finds a wife, marries her, and convinces her to walk the remaining 3,000 miles across America.
In her book Wanderlust: A History of Walking, Rebecca Solnit has a perceptive precis of the book -- but it is perhaps overly dismissive of too.
In a chapter mischievously titled "A Thousand Miles of Conventional Sentiment," she writes, "By the time Peter Jenkins set out to walk more than 3000 miles across the US in 1973 (with Nat Geo sponsorship), the cross-country expedition had become a kind of rite of passage of American manhood, though by that time the means were more often vehicular. Crossing the continent seemed to embrace or encompass it at least sumbolically, the route wrapped around it like a ribbon around a package.
...Jenkins set out to have social encounters, the America he was looking for was, unlike Muir's, made up of people rather than places. Like Wordsworth in his incessant encounters with characters eager to tell their tale, he takes the time to listen to everyone he meets and tells about them in his naively earnest Walk Across America and Walk Across America II. In part a reaction against the anti-Americanism of the young radicals of the time, Jenkins's journey brings him into close contact and often friendship with the white southerners so reviled by northern civil rights activists...This is truly a journey as life, for Jenkins goes as slowly as experience demands."
In her book Wanderlust: A History of Walking, Rebecca Solnit has a perceptive precis of the book -- but it is perhaps overly dismissive of too.
In a chapter mischievously titled "A Thousand Miles of Conventional Sentiment," she writes, "By the time Peter Jenkins set out to walk more than 3000 miles across the US in 1973 (with Nat Geo sponsorship), the cross-country expedition had become a kind of rite of passage of American manhood, though by that time the means were more often vehicular. Crossing the continent seemed to embrace or encompass it at least sumbolically, the route wrapped around it like a ribbon around a package.
...Jenkins set out to have social encounters, the America he was looking for was, unlike Muir's, made up of people rather than places. Like Wordsworth in his incessant encounters with characters eager to tell their tale, he takes the time to listen to everyone he meets and tells about them in his naively earnest Walk Across America and Walk Across America II. In part a reaction against the anti-Americanism of the young radicals of the time, Jenkins's journey brings him into close contact and often friendship with the white southerners so reviled by northern civil rights activists...This is truly a journey as life, for Jenkins goes as slowly as experience demands."
June 20, 2018
This book was written the year I was born and I remember a copy of my family bookshelf while growing up, but hadn't read it until my book club chose it.
I hate spoilers but I looked through the pictures at the beginning and saw the one of him burying his dog Cooper (wahhhhh) so I knew that was coming. He wrote so flowery and over the top about the dog and I wondered how that would have changed if he would survived the whole trip. Since I knew it was coming I didn't tear up but a few other places I did.
Anyway, it was a great travelogue from a guy in the 70s walking from New York to New Orleans (nice little surprise at the end). He didn't like America (crazy how his introductory thoughts could be written by a young person of today and is a little how I felt at 22 as well) but the walk made him fall in love with his country-the beauty and the people (though there were negative experiences as well).
I had heard about the Farm in TN because I had a baby with a midwife and it was the birth place of modern midwifery but I didn't realize quite how interesting it was!
I really enjoyed it and was glad to read a book about some of the states we will be driving through this summer!
I hate spoilers but I looked through the pictures at the beginning and saw the one of him burying his dog Cooper (wahhhhh) so I knew that was coming. He wrote so flowery and over the top about the dog and I wondered how that would have changed if he would survived the whole trip. Since I knew it was coming I didn't tear up but a few other places I did.
Anyway, it was a great travelogue from a guy in the 70s walking from New York to New Orleans (nice little surprise at the end). He didn't like America (crazy how his introductory thoughts could be written by a young person of today and is a little how I felt at 22 as well) but the walk made him fall in love with his country-the beauty and the people (though there were negative experiences as well).
I had heard about the Farm in TN because I had a baby with a midwife and it was the birth place of modern midwifery but I didn't realize quite how interesting it was!
I really enjoyed it and was glad to read a book about some of the states we will be driving through this summer!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 25, 2015
10/31/15:
There's a review in here somewhere, but first I'm going to ramble on about me for a bit which seems to be what I do best, and since goodreads doesn't discourage that, here we go.
I've never done a buddy read before, and I don't reckon this really counts. My nephew got assigned this in his English class, and I said I'd read it with him. This is the first book I've checked out at the library in years, and I displayed how out of touch I am with the times when I asked the librarian if they didn't use the due date stamp cards anymore. (There was a slot for it in this book). She looked at me as if I had just said "mmphwangphnarglethaksenthtooz" and meant it. Still, I liked those cards. They made great bookmarks. The piece of receipt paper just isn't the same.
I finished this in a week, and I think my nephew is still on chapter five. The class seems to be taking it slowly, and he hates reading anyway (and there's not a thing wrong with that; different strokes for different folks, after all). I'm sure he'll finish it, but does this count as a buddy read? I'm confused about the rules for that.
The title is a misnomer. He goes from New York to New Orleans, so this is really a walk alongside the Appalachian trail with a flagella at each end of it. Now this is a walk across America:
This is a map I planned out 11 years ago and never acted on. A friend said he wanted to walk across the country, and the fever took me. I wanted to see the sights, and I mapped out something where I could do that and hit all 48 contiguous states, and get the extreme ends of the compass in them as well. I was giving it serious consideration. I was only 26, and there was nobody really counting on me for anything. I had a job, but I was young enough to quit and get another one later. Then my friend pussed out and said he might do it on a motorcycle. I wanted to walk. It was all moot though since we were both full of shit and neither of us took as much as a trip to the end of the block let alone across the country. Now I'm nearly 37 with a bad back which would leave me on the cold ground permanently the first night I tried to sleep on it. In the intervening years I've sprained my ankles several times, cracked a couple of ribs that never healed properly, developed my family's bunions, gotten a continually visiting crick in my neck, and I've grown quite fat. I get bronchitis like it's my job, have a touch of asthma, and some other minor ailments. In short, I'm ill-suited for pedestrian pursuits, but that doesn't mean I can't dream and live vicariously through Peter. I guess one day I could take my walk if I got a couple of things taken care of, but one thing I never seem to run out of is excuses. I still have nobody depending on me for anything. Somewhere in Alabama Peter meets Mr. Earl who tells him "Ain't many like ya who'd do what thair (sic) heart tells 'em, when they ain't got too many years on 'em. Usually they realize what they missed when they get 'bout as old as me." We aren't told how old that is, but I suspect it's way past 37.
Let me get the bad out of the way. Peter's writing style is not above reproach. He takes some liberties with facts for the sake of style and flat out contradicts himself in some places. They aren't lies, but just someone trying to spin a yarn and dropping the ball and accidentally kicking it across the floor because he's inexperienced. It's filled with cliches that he tries to hip up but remain cliches in a mask, and there are mixed metaphors galore, but I'm willing to cut him a lot of slack (unlike James Dashner who makes writing his vocation... Jesus, am I ever going to get over The Maze Runner Series)? Peter was only 25 or so when he wrote this, and was asked by National Geographic to take some pictures and write about his trip. He tells us "the society knew I wasn't a writer. I knew even better, but I would give it a try. If I couldn't produce a workable manuscript, they would send Harvey Arden down to help me."
Below is an example of the type of prose peppered throughout. In chapter 30, the last and slowest in the book, he was staying at a seminary while writing his article for National Geographic, and he's describing the first time he saw his future wife at a party there. (The parenthetical insertions are mine.)
I'm glad they got together before she read that, or their eventual nuptials might've remained an open question indefinitely, sign from God or no. Well, I guess I shouldn't be so tough on him since true love is boring except to the participants.
The journey was all Peter, though. Nat Geo didn't enter the picture until after he had started, and he only contacted them because an old college professor suggested he swing by DC and look them up. He was disenchanted with America (much like myself lately, but for different reasons) and was convinced to go and find out what America was really like first hand. I suppose you could say he saw the good, the bad, and the ugly, but most of it was good. He got himself into good shape one summer, then set off with his dog Cooper the following fall. A year and a half later he winds up in New Orleans. He travels for several weeks, stops for several more to earn some money, then sets off again. Along the way he meets some interesting characters, and not all of them are too keen on him which is to be expected since he's an atheist, suburban, yankee hippie strolling through Dixie in the early 70's. However, he's very open minded, and genuinely interested in learning what this country has to offer. At one point he even goes to meet Governor George Wallace for whom he has no affection at all and even harbored a bit of spite, but finds that he likes the guy even if he didn't like his policies. Could I do the same for my own governor Terry McAuliffe who makes me want to retch every time he shows up in the news, which is, unfortunately, nearly every day? I don't know. Way to go, Peter.
Peter meets a mountain man named Homer who lives as rustically as possible. At this point Peter had been a vegetarian for a couple of years because meat was grain fed, and murder, and something like that. He was served a lamb chop from stock raised right there on Homer's mountain, and Peter suddenly felt all his suburban blab was meaningless and stupid, at least in that instance.
He gets sick and nearly dies a couple of times on his trip, but makes it through. He sees examples of southern hospitality in several places, and paranoid southern hostility in a few. In fact, one entire town, Robinsville, NC, turns against him for absolutely no reason at all other than he's an outsider. He was at the point where he needed a job to replenish his traveling funds. He rolled into Robinsville, stayed with a friendly man and his family for a few days, but by the end of the first day the entire town had deduced that he was a drug pusher come to corrupt their fair city. He applied for a job everywhere in town, tried to explain what he was really doing, but nobody wanted to hear it. This is the only time he called home for money which had to be delivered by mail and took several days. He left the friendly man's house because they were getting death threats if they didn't kick Peter out. Peter, too, was getting death threats, so he was hiding in the woods outside of town, and just going to the post office each day to see if his traveler's checks had showed up. On the last day he was visited by an SBI (State Bureau of Investigation) officer and told to move on by nightfall or be killed. The checks came, and he left.
In another place he stopped for a few months and worked for a saw mill. The crew came to respect his work ethic which they didn't expect in a yankee. Then they found out he was living with a black family in "niggertown," and were quite shocked, but most didn't hold it against him though they offered alternative living arrangements. This part of the book would come across as quite racist by today's standards, but it was all new to Peter, and he expressed it in terms he knew. Some of the black people wanted to kill the honky living in their midst, but he made it out of there okay too. This part of the book was a little sad, seeing how the families in that area lived in such filth and squalor, but it also had its charms. And I loved the way they nicknamed Peter "Al," which he eventually found out was short for "Albino."
"If you'll be my bodyguard, I can be your long lost pal."
Later Peter stops at a hippie commune called The Farm for a few weeks. He doesn't find what he's looking for there, though the denizens try to convince him to stay in their far-out place. Up through this point Cooper had been a major part of the trip, had saved Peter's bacon a couple of times, and was his constant companion. Unfortunately he dies here when he runs under the back wheels of a water truck. Apparently he had had enough of the communists, and felt "better dead than red" should be put into practice. It was completely unexpected, and Peter comes a little unglued for a bit, but manages to move on. Other reviews on here revile Peter for pet abuse, and not just for this. Cooper goes hungry sometimes, though he always eats better than Peter in any given circumstance; Peter makes sure of it. The dog also gets cold in a couple snow storms and wants to cower out of the wind, but I guarantee he's warmer than Peter who coaxes him to a safer shelter further down the road.
In Alabama Peter finds God at a revival. I've seen some reviews on here that actually seem to take offense to this. Maybe the Christians really are being persecuted in today's USA? I thought that was mostly Christian paranoia. Anyway, I don't begrudge Peter finding God, and actually am all for it, not that what I think of it matters one whit one way or the other. God seems to be what Peter was looking for all along, though he didn't know it at the onset. He finds glimpses of Him along his journey, especially while living with the black family in North Carolina, but it's at the revival where the thunderbolt hits.
At the end he meets his wife who will join him for the rest of his trip (he moves west in the next book), and though I can't find the quote again, he indicates that she replaces his dog. I know he didn't mean it in any mean way, but I couldn't help finding this humorous.
This book isn't for everyone. It's strange that I could relate so well to a hippie without agreeing with him, though I don't suppose most hippies would consider Peter a real hippie given his willingness to check out conservative America. And even though he found God and got married, I'm pretty sure he's still a hippie at the end of the book. I enjoyed this mostly because it constantly made me think of what I could've been doing once upon a time though Peter and I had different motives. I wanted to see the sights; he wanted to meet the people. If I ever get off my ass and walk the country, I think I'll try to focus on both. In spite of what's shown in the media nowadays, I believe there is still greatness in America's people; it just isn't broadcast, and you have to look to find it. As for today's government... well, It'd be better for me to stop here and get up to take my own walk rather than start in on all that.
There's a review in here somewhere, but first I'm going to ramble on about me for a bit which seems to be what I do best, and since goodreads doesn't discourage that, here we go.
I've never done a buddy read before, and I don't reckon this really counts. My nephew got assigned this in his English class, and I said I'd read it with him. This is the first book I've checked out at the library in years, and I displayed how out of touch I am with the times when I asked the librarian if they didn't use the due date stamp cards anymore. (There was a slot for it in this book). She looked at me as if I had just said "mmphwangphnarglethaksenthtooz" and meant it. Still, I liked those cards. They made great bookmarks. The piece of receipt paper just isn't the same.
I finished this in a week, and I think my nephew is still on chapter five. The class seems to be taking it slowly, and he hates reading anyway (and there's not a thing wrong with that; different strokes for different folks, after all). I'm sure he'll finish it, but does this count as a buddy read? I'm confused about the rules for that.
The title is a misnomer. He goes from New York to New Orleans, so this is really a walk alongside the Appalachian trail with a flagella at each end of it. Now this is a walk across America:
This is a map I planned out 11 years ago and never acted on. A friend said he wanted to walk across the country, and the fever took me. I wanted to see the sights, and I mapped out something where I could do that and hit all 48 contiguous states, and get the extreme ends of the compass in them as well. I was giving it serious consideration. I was only 26, and there was nobody really counting on me for anything. I had a job, but I was young enough to quit and get another one later. Then my friend pussed out and said he might do it on a motorcycle. I wanted to walk. It was all moot though since we were both full of shit and neither of us took as much as a trip to the end of the block let alone across the country. Now I'm nearly 37 with a bad back which would leave me on the cold ground permanently the first night I tried to sleep on it. In the intervening years I've sprained my ankles several times, cracked a couple of ribs that never healed properly, developed my family's bunions, gotten a continually visiting crick in my neck, and I've grown quite fat. I get bronchitis like it's my job, have a touch of asthma, and some other minor ailments. In short, I'm ill-suited for pedestrian pursuits, but that doesn't mean I can't dream and live vicariously through Peter. I guess one day I could take my walk if I got a couple of things taken care of, but one thing I never seem to run out of is excuses. I still have nobody depending on me for anything. Somewhere in Alabama Peter meets Mr. Earl who tells him "Ain't many like ya who'd do what thair (sic) heart tells 'em, when they ain't got too many years on 'em. Usually they realize what they missed when they get 'bout as old as me." We aren't told how old that is, but I suspect it's way past 37.
Let me get the bad out of the way. Peter's writing style is not above reproach. He takes some liberties with facts for the sake of style and flat out contradicts himself in some places. They aren't lies, but just someone trying to spin a yarn and dropping the ball and accidentally kicking it across the floor because he's inexperienced. It's filled with cliches that he tries to hip up but remain cliches in a mask, and there are mixed metaphors galore, but I'm willing to cut him a lot of slack (unlike James Dashner who makes writing his vocation... Jesus, am I ever going to get over The Maze Runner Series)? Peter was only 25 or so when he wrote this, and was asked by National Geographic to take some pictures and write about his trip. He tells us "the society knew I wasn't a writer. I knew even better, but I would give it a try. If I couldn't produce a workable manuscript, they would send Harvey Arden down to help me."
Below is an example of the type of prose peppered throughout. In chapter 30, the last and slowest in the book, he was staying at a seminary while writing his article for National Geographic, and he's describing the first time he saw his future wife at a party there. (The parenthetical insertions are mine.)
Scanning the room full of proper preachers and students, I saw her. She was leaning up against a table, and one look was enough. Her hair was black and freer than a waterfall. I had never liked black hair, but now I loved it. Hers was thick and curly. (A thick and curly waterfall?) Her subtly shaped body was a like a marble sculpture. Her long fair-colored arms flowed like a perfect song. (Just what in the hell does that mean?) Every gesture she made was precisely right-not too much movement, not too little. She attracted me like nothing else. Her magnetism was more than the Gulf's virgin waves (high praise...?), and more than any other woman I had ever seen.
I'm glad they got together before she read that, or their eventual nuptials might've remained an open question indefinitely, sign from God or no. Well, I guess I shouldn't be so tough on him since true love is boring except to the participants.
The journey was all Peter, though. Nat Geo didn't enter the picture until after he had started, and he only contacted them because an old college professor suggested he swing by DC and look them up. He was disenchanted with America (much like myself lately, but for different reasons) and was convinced to go and find out what America was really like first hand. I suppose you could say he saw the good, the bad, and the ugly, but most of it was good. He got himself into good shape one summer, then set off with his dog Cooper the following fall. A year and a half later he winds up in New Orleans. He travels for several weeks, stops for several more to earn some money, then sets off again. Along the way he meets some interesting characters, and not all of them are too keen on him which is to be expected since he's an atheist, suburban, yankee hippie strolling through Dixie in the early 70's. However, he's very open minded, and genuinely interested in learning what this country has to offer. At one point he even goes to meet Governor George Wallace for whom he has no affection at all and even harbored a bit of spite, but finds that he likes the guy even if he didn't like his policies. Could I do the same for my own governor Terry McAuliffe who makes me want to retch every time he shows up in the news, which is, unfortunately, nearly every day? I don't know. Way to go, Peter.
Peter meets a mountain man named Homer who lives as rustically as possible. At this point Peter had been a vegetarian for a couple of years because meat was grain fed, and murder, and something like that. He was served a lamb chop from stock raised right there on Homer's mountain, and Peter suddenly felt all his suburban blab was meaningless and stupid, at least in that instance.
He gets sick and nearly dies a couple of times on his trip, but makes it through. He sees examples of southern hospitality in several places, and paranoid southern hostility in a few. In fact, one entire town, Robinsville, NC, turns against him for absolutely no reason at all other than he's an outsider. He was at the point where he needed a job to replenish his traveling funds. He rolled into Robinsville, stayed with a friendly man and his family for a few days, but by the end of the first day the entire town had deduced that he was a drug pusher come to corrupt their fair city. He applied for a job everywhere in town, tried to explain what he was really doing, but nobody wanted to hear it. This is the only time he called home for money which had to be delivered by mail and took several days. He left the friendly man's house because they were getting death threats if they didn't kick Peter out. Peter, too, was getting death threats, so he was hiding in the woods outside of town, and just going to the post office each day to see if his traveler's checks had showed up. On the last day he was visited by an SBI (State Bureau of Investigation) officer and told to move on by nightfall or be killed. The checks came, and he left.
In another place he stopped for a few months and worked for a saw mill. The crew came to respect his work ethic which they didn't expect in a yankee. Then they found out he was living with a black family in "niggertown," and were quite shocked, but most didn't hold it against him though they offered alternative living arrangements. This part of the book would come across as quite racist by today's standards, but it was all new to Peter, and he expressed it in terms he knew. Some of the black people wanted to kill the honky living in their midst, but he made it out of there okay too. This part of the book was a little sad, seeing how the families in that area lived in such filth and squalor, but it also had its charms. And I loved the way they nicknamed Peter "Al," which he eventually found out was short for "Albino."
"If you'll be my bodyguard, I can be your long lost pal."
Later Peter stops at a hippie commune called The Farm for a few weeks. He doesn't find what he's looking for there, though the denizens try to convince him to stay in their far-out place. Up through this point Cooper had been a major part of the trip, had saved Peter's bacon a couple of times, and was his constant companion. Unfortunately he dies here when he runs under the back wheels of a water truck. Apparently he had had enough of the communists, and felt "better dead than red" should be put into practice. It was completely unexpected, and Peter comes a little unglued for a bit, but manages to move on. Other reviews on here revile Peter for pet abuse, and not just for this. Cooper goes hungry sometimes, though he always eats better than Peter in any given circumstance; Peter makes sure of it. The dog also gets cold in a couple snow storms and wants to cower out of the wind, but I guarantee he's warmer than Peter who coaxes him to a safer shelter further down the road.
In Alabama Peter finds God at a revival. I've seen some reviews on here that actually seem to take offense to this. Maybe the Christians really are being persecuted in today's USA? I thought that was mostly Christian paranoia. Anyway, I don't begrudge Peter finding God, and actually am all for it, not that what I think of it matters one whit one way or the other. God seems to be what Peter was looking for all along, though he didn't know it at the onset. He finds glimpses of Him along his journey, especially while living with the black family in North Carolina, but it's at the revival where the thunderbolt hits.
At the end he meets his wife who will join him for the rest of his trip (he moves west in the next book), and though I can't find the quote again, he indicates that she replaces his dog. I know he didn't mean it in any mean way, but I couldn't help finding this humorous.
This book isn't for everyone. It's strange that I could relate so well to a hippie without agreeing with him, though I don't suppose most hippies would consider Peter a real hippie given his willingness to check out conservative America. And even though he found God and got married, I'm pretty sure he's still a hippie at the end of the book. I enjoyed this mostly because it constantly made me think of what I could've been doing once upon a time though Peter and I had different motives. I wanted to see the sights; he wanted to meet the people. If I ever get off my ass and walk the country, I think I'll try to focus on both. In spite of what's shown in the media nowadays, I believe there is still greatness in America's people; it just isn't broadcast, and you have to look to find it. As for today's government... well, It'd be better for me to stop here and get up to take my own walk rather than start in on all that.
August 16, 2011
In early 1973 a young college graduate named Peter Jenkins realized that he was unhappy with the United States and the direction it, was headed. One day, while talking to a security guard at the college, he voiced his displeasure with the state of the country and suggested he was going to chuck it all and move somewhere else. This gentleman challenged him to get out and see the country and meet the people before he followed through with his idea to leave, so Jenkins did. He decided that he and his dog, Cooper, would give the country and its people one last chance and walk their way across the United States. What ensues is the story of an incrdible journey that takes Peter and Cooper from Alfred, NY to the Gulf Coast of Louisiana.
Starting with their training methods and "shakedown cruise", from NY to Washington D.C., Peter tells us amazing stories of the kindness of strangers, visiting with a mountain man in Appalachia, almost dying on the Appalchian Trail from influenza, living with/among an incredible black family in North Carolina, working at a sawmill and making incredible friends who are now more like family. We are taken high into the eastern mountains as hawks and other birds of prey circle above us, to an incredibly sudden, sad loss, in Tennesee, to a dangerous confrontation in Robbinsville, NC. As we walk with Peter to the GUlf Coast we are introduced to ranchers, country doctors, and all sorts of everyday people whose acts of kindness and generosity leave us smiling and happy as well as attend a religious revival that leaves us uplifted and riding an amazing feeling of "clarity"
When Jenkins finally reaches the Gulf Coast he meets a woman who will change his life forever. But, after a whirlwind courtship this young lady has to make the ultimate decision: Will she walk with Peter across the rest of the country, or will she break things off with himand leave him to wander the west alone? The determining factor and what becomes of the young couple is reveled before the end of the story, but I will not describe it here.
In the end, Peter tells us: "...I started out searchig for myself and my country and found both..." I have read and re-read this book many times over the last thirty years and each time I do, I come away feeling renewed, refreshed and fulfilled over what Jenkins ahs found and I am living vicariously. This book is my touchstone and I always come backto it, time and again, when I feel the need to "recharge the batteries of my soul". I would encourage you all to do the same...
Starting with their training methods and "shakedown cruise", from NY to Washington D.C., Peter tells us amazing stories of the kindness of strangers, visiting with a mountain man in Appalachia, almost dying on the Appalchian Trail from influenza, living with/among an incredible black family in North Carolina, working at a sawmill and making incredible friends who are now more like family. We are taken high into the eastern mountains as hawks and other birds of prey circle above us, to an incredibly sudden, sad loss, in Tennesee, to a dangerous confrontation in Robbinsville, NC. As we walk with Peter to the GUlf Coast we are introduced to ranchers, country doctors, and all sorts of everyday people whose acts of kindness and generosity leave us smiling and happy as well as attend a religious revival that leaves us uplifted and riding an amazing feeling of "clarity"
When Jenkins finally reaches the Gulf Coast he meets a woman who will change his life forever. But, after a whirlwind courtship this young lady has to make the ultimate decision: Will she walk with Peter across the rest of the country, or will she break things off with himand leave him to wander the west alone? The determining factor and what becomes of the young couple is reveled before the end of the story, but I will not describe it here.
In the end, Peter tells us: "...I started out searchig for myself and my country and found both..." I have read and re-read this book many times over the last thirty years and each time I do, I come away feeling renewed, refreshed and fulfilled over what Jenkins ahs found and I am living vicariously. This book is my touchstone and I always come backto it, time and again, when I feel the need to "recharge the batteries of my soul". I would encourage you all to do the same...
May 18, 2009
This book definitely shows its age...in attitude, language, and self-congratulatory and self-aware hippie liberalism that is beyond patronizing and painful to read. (I'm assuming the author is trying to capture local and individual lingual styles but when he writes the patriarch of a black family as saying things like "Das fo sho", etc, it just feels so inappropriate. Like your bigoted old auntie who swears she isn't, talking about and mimicking other races and ethnicities.)
And don't even get me started about him subjecting a dog to his forced homelessness, hunger and hardship. He writes of the dog as if they're partners on the journey, taking turns breaking down an building each other up. But really, it's incredibly selfish and borders on animal cruelty.
The author wrote this book soon after his wanderings, when he was still in the moment and a young man. I would imagine - and hope - that were he to write the book now, he'd have the benefit of time and wisdom to create something that offered more insights and depth.
And don't even get me started about him subjecting a dog to his forced homelessness, hunger and hardship. He writes of the dog as if they're partners on the journey, taking turns breaking down an building each other up. But really, it's incredibly selfish and borders on animal cruelty.
The author wrote this book soon after his wanderings, when he was still in the moment and a young man. I would imagine - and hope - that were he to write the book now, he'd have the benefit of time and wisdom to create something that offered more insights and depth.
October 2, 2023
I admittedly really liked this book. For the most part at least. I felt a connection to it mostly for the experiences that Peter was experiencing as I feel I’ve lived similar ones. I’ve lived with people I didn’t know across the country and traveled on my own and that’s where most of my connections are to the book. With that being said, it’s no secret that his writing is poor. He wrote the book less to write a book but more to remember his experiences and share them with the world as it is very much non-fiction. And I think that’s why most of these reviews are bad. But if you remember that this is a real person who experienced real experiences then this book is amazing. My one honest critique is that for the edition with the photos throughout, don’t look at the photos until the end because there isn’t really a rhyme or reason considering the storyline. The photos definitely spoiled what lay ahead by several chapters. Nonetheless I did enjoy the book and the photos so much. It really makes his experiences feel more surreal!
March 22, 2010
This book blows. I wish I had done some of the math before picking it up. The main problem is that the author wrote the book at the ripe old age of about 26 or so (I don't remember exactly). He really lacks any depth of storytelling that could've made it great. It would've done him well to READ a lot of the Beats, Hemingway, Steinbeck and others to get some sense of how to capture a story in an engaging way. Otherwise, it is just a 20-something writing poorly about what he did while in the woods. It could've been fantastic, but the author's telling is really amateur and the story isn't good enough to hold the reader. With the wealth of amazing travelogues and travel writing out there, this doesn't deserve a 2nd look. Oh...and the author uses way too many exclamation points! Is what your dog ate that exciting? Are you really comparing church service to Woodstock? The book is filled with lame cliches!! (did I mention the exclamation points?)
November 2, 2009
First off, the writing is ATROCIOUS. He sounds like a fourth grader who just learned how to use similes and has no sense of moderation.
Second off, it's marketed as "a journey to find himself". It's a religious book. Market it as such.
Third, it's such a cliche that the dog dies. Yeah, it's nonfiction, but REALLY?
Fourth, Governor Wallace is portrayed as a friendly guy. Of course he is- Peter's WHITE. We're talking about the same Governor who stood on the steps to a college in Alabama and basically said, "Black students will be let in this school over my dead body". Peter never mentions that this friendly guy is super RACIST.
Finally, it's sappily sentimental with syrupy purple prose that does not sit well.
Second off, it's marketed as "a journey to find himself". It's a religious book. Market it as such.
Third, it's such a cliche that the dog dies. Yeah, it's nonfiction, but REALLY?
Fourth, Governor Wallace is portrayed as a friendly guy. Of course he is- Peter's WHITE. We're talking about the same Governor who stood on the steps to a college in Alabama and basically said, "Black students will be let in this school over my dead body". Peter never mentions that this friendly guy is super RACIST.
Finally, it's sappily sentimental with syrupy purple prose that does not sit well.
May 14, 2013
I love this book. I love the authentic voice of Peter Jenkins. He has amazing stories to tell, and the focus is less on writing style than content, which is one of my favorite things about this book. Jenkins shares his experience about learning of and loving his neighbors - all across America. This book makes me think of a word so often used in yoga practice - connectedness. We are all connected, and this book celebrates that. Of course the fact that Kenkins travels with his best, forever friend, Cooper, is a heartwarming plus.
Read
May 5, 2008read this as a teenager (think it's the same book) and it really helped carve me into the quasi-hippie i am today...when the kids are older, we're getting a van, painting it with peace signs and setting off accross country to california...just for the experience...yeah,man....
April 5, 2017
This book was very good. It was a lot of fun to follow peter Jenkins on his journey across America. He provided great detail and literary devices to enhance the readers experience and make it feel like we were there with him. It's a great book if you enjoy adventures.
May 1, 2021
Helt fantastisk.
May 25, 2025
“A Walk Across America” by Peter Jenkins is a memoir that recounts the author’s transformative journey on foot across the United States during the 1970s. Disillusioned with America and searching for meaning, Jenkins sets out from New York with his dog Cooper, determined to discover the true heart of the country. Along the way, he encounters a diverse cross-section of people, including kind strangers, fellow travelers, and communities both struggling and thriving, who challenge his assumptions and restore his faith in the American spirit.
The writing style is very simple and straightforward. This is not the kind of travel memoir that reads like fiction, that is borderline poetry. The author, at least back when this book was written, wasn’t necessarily a good writer (he admits as such), but there is heart here. Think of this more like reading a decent travel blog, but the storytelling chops, or ability to transport you into another time and place in a really compelling way, weren’t always on display here.
This book shows its age - from the slang, to the fashion, to the types of activities and things he was interested in (staying at a hippie commune, for example) but it was a cool look and insight into the mind of a young, disillusioned person at that time, and how meeting people along his journey helped him discover that not all of America was bad. Other parts that felt a little dated was the author’s obvious tension with race relations, always mentioning when someone is black, trying to capture Black vernacular in exaggerated phonetic spellings like "das fo sho" which came off as a little cringey by today’s standards. But the characters he meets along the way are interesting to read about.
Some things that let me know I wasn’t enjoying this book as much as I thought I would: I usually like following along on a map while reading travel memoirs, but for whatever reason, I just wasn’t interested in doing that very often here. I also noticed upon finishing that he had written a number of other travel memoirs but I didn’t really have an interest in picking any of the others up. There was also a moment where I saw I had another 100 pages to go and realized I was losing interest.
When I finished, I found his Instagram and I knew I probably wouldn’t be picking up another one of his books, but seeing him now, I felt a slight sense of loss like I was losing some sort of connection there, so there was something I connected with here in this memoir and with the author. I’m not upset that I spent the time reading this, again, I think it’s a cool time capsule and worth reading. But it just wasn’t particularly well written enough for me to be considered an all time classic.
The writing style is very simple and straightforward. This is not the kind of travel memoir that reads like fiction, that is borderline poetry. The author, at least back when this book was written, wasn’t necessarily a good writer (he admits as such), but there is heart here. Think of this more like reading a decent travel blog, but the storytelling chops, or ability to transport you into another time and place in a really compelling way, weren’t always on display here.
This book shows its age - from the slang, to the fashion, to the types of activities and things he was interested in (staying at a hippie commune, for example) but it was a cool look and insight into the mind of a young, disillusioned person at that time, and how meeting people along his journey helped him discover that not all of America was bad. Other parts that felt a little dated was the author’s obvious tension with race relations, always mentioning when someone is black, trying to capture Black vernacular in exaggerated phonetic spellings like "das fo sho" which came off as a little cringey by today’s standards. But the characters he meets along the way are interesting to read about.
Some things that let me know I wasn’t enjoying this book as much as I thought I would: I usually like following along on a map while reading travel memoirs, but for whatever reason, I just wasn’t interested in doing that very often here. I also noticed upon finishing that he had written a number of other travel memoirs but I didn’t really have an interest in picking any of the others up. There was also a moment where I saw I had another 100 pages to go and realized I was losing interest.
When I finished, I found his Instagram and I knew I probably wouldn’t be picking up another one of his books, but seeing him now, I felt a slight sense of loss like I was losing some sort of connection there, so there was something I connected with here in this memoir and with the author. I’m not upset that I spent the time reading this, again, I think it’s a cool time capsule and worth reading. But it just wasn’t particularly well written enough for me to be considered an all time classic.
July 31, 2022
It was a dark time in the soul of America and just as a quick reminder to those living through this one, this is a cycle, this is not the first, nor shall it be the last. In the early 70's we were still in Vietnam, the counterculture had crashed and burned and torn itself apart, every great leader that we had hope would fix things was assassinated, and things were feeling bleak.
In that context, Peter Jenkins, an almost hippie (he may have looked the part, but I don't think he was deep down in his soul), who grew up in the rich, white suburbs of Stamford, CT and went to college at Alfred University in Western NY, got fed up with America. And in response, he and his Alaskan Malamute, Cooper, decided to walk across America to see if there was any reason to have faith and not run from America.
It's a pretty epic journey, I don't want to include too many spoilers, let's just say that lots of average Americans help Peter along his way and he gets big surprises from burly Mountain men, African American families living in trailers in rural Appalachia, rich redneck ranchers, and even an infamous racist of a Governor.
Along the way he discovers that not only is there beauty everywhere and people helping people, but that what he is really looking for is a connection to something higher, God or source.
Though I didn't realize when I picked this up at the recommendation of an awesome local librarian because I love books about walking that it was only part 1, and he only makes it to New Orleans in this edition, I am excited to eventually find out the rest of the story on his walk west.
Recommended for those that need a little hope in bleak times or those that aren't quite sure where they stand with this country but have an inkling that things are better than they seem or anyone that likes walking or travel memoirs. And any yankees that think the South is full of racist jerks, ought to give this a try, it's a good reminder that we are all decent people at heart, no matter where we live.
In that context, Peter Jenkins, an almost hippie (he may have looked the part, but I don't think he was deep down in his soul), who grew up in the rich, white suburbs of Stamford, CT and went to college at Alfred University in Western NY, got fed up with America. And in response, he and his Alaskan Malamute, Cooper, decided to walk across America to see if there was any reason to have faith and not run from America.
It's a pretty epic journey, I don't want to include too many spoilers, let's just say that lots of average Americans help Peter along his way and he gets big surprises from burly Mountain men, African American families living in trailers in rural Appalachia, rich redneck ranchers, and even an infamous racist of a Governor.
Along the way he discovers that not only is there beauty everywhere and people helping people, but that what he is really looking for is a connection to something higher, God or source.
Though I didn't realize when I picked this up at the recommendation of an awesome local librarian because I love books about walking that it was only part 1, and he only makes it to New Orleans in this edition, I am excited to eventually find out the rest of the story on his walk west.
Recommended for those that need a little hope in bleak times or those that aren't quite sure where they stand with this country but have an inkling that things are better than they seem or anyone that likes walking or travel memoirs. And any yankees that think the South is full of racist jerks, ought to give this a try, it's a good reminder that we are all decent people at heart, no matter where we live.
October 13, 2026
I first read this book many years ago, and was enthusiastic about reading it again. He is a good writer, in my opinion, although I would question his choice of selecting the citizens he wrote about. As a long time resident of Tennessee I had never heard of the
Farm. In general, the cross section was certainly random but not typical of the average "John Doe" I would have preferred he interview. The title Walk Across America certainly misrepresented the extent of his walk. His love for Cooper was real and deep, and he emphasizes how the pet protected him, but he fails to protect the animal. I doubt he had had a pet before and was negligent in the watchful care necessary.
Farm. In general, the cross section was certainly random but not typical of the average "John Doe" I would have preferred he interview. The title Walk Across America certainly misrepresented the extent of his walk. His love for Cooper was real and deep, and he emphasizes how the pet protected him, but he fails to protect the animal. I doubt he had had a pet before and was negligent in the watchful care necessary.
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July 2, 2024Look at this cover. Gather what you know about me as a person. You can then come to your conclusion about why I BAWLED MY EYES OUT reading parts of this book.
August 21, 2021
I read this book many years ago. I enjoyed reading it again for a second time. Loved reading about the kind, generous people of the United States again.
March 11, 2009
When I first started reading this book, I thought it was going to another tale like "Into the Wild" or something. I was a little put off by the way that it was written, judging it by my "high" standards of a well-written book. But as I continued reading and became captivated by the tale, I quickly learned that this was a book unlike any other that I have read. It made me cry on no less than 4 occasions - and they sprang from a gamut of emotions: sadness, happiness, joy, beauty, mourning, and love. Peter Jenkins's walk from Alfred, NY to New Orleans, LA (as this book contains that portion of his walk) enlightened me to the beauties and dangers of our society and to ALL of the people that make up the fabric of this country that we call America.
Jenkins' starts out like any of the myriad of disillusioned, college-educated young people that graduate and gripe about the failures and evils of our country (I know that I fall into that category). But what Peter does that separates him from me is that he takes the advice of a guy that he works with and decides to discover what America is really all about and who really makes up the people of our country. And that decision to go forth and find that answer, with his forever-friend Cooper Half Malamute, begins a journey that takes him from the North to the South, down the Appalachian Trail and along the Gulf Coast until he reaches New Orleans.
In the journey along the way, Peter encounters many, many people - some who's hospitality is beyond belief, and others who's hostility is hard to swallow. One particular encounter in a North Carolina town was so harrowing, I marveled at the fact that he didn't quit his walk right then and there. He learns life lessons from a genuine mountain man in West Virginia, a black family and the rest of the community in Smokey Hollow North Carolina, a commune of people called "The Farm" who lived and worked the land and followed a religion called "Steve", and Governor George Wallace of Alabama - the same one who ordered the police to stop Martin Luther King, Jr.'s walk from Selma to Montgomery, to a revival in New Orleans when God finally found His way into his life. As Peter walks, his prejudices fall by the wayside, and I found that mine fell as well.
It is a testament to the power of his prose that a journey taken in the mid-1970s could still ring so beautifully and so truthfully. Yes, there are dark corners and evils in our country. But what Peter showed me is that there are many, many, MANY more wonderful, hard-working people who seek to etch out a living and in doing so enjoy life to an extent that I hope to know sometime in my lifetime.
Jenkins' starts out like any of the myriad of disillusioned, college-educated young people that graduate and gripe about the failures and evils of our country (I know that I fall into that category). But what Peter does that separates him from me is that he takes the advice of a guy that he works with and decides to discover what America is really all about and who really makes up the people of our country. And that decision to go forth and find that answer, with his forever-friend Cooper Half Malamute, begins a journey that takes him from the North to the South, down the Appalachian Trail and along the Gulf Coast until he reaches New Orleans.
In the journey along the way, Peter encounters many, many people - some who's hospitality is beyond belief, and others who's hostility is hard to swallow. One particular encounter in a North Carolina town was so harrowing, I marveled at the fact that he didn't quit his walk right then and there. He learns life lessons from a genuine mountain man in West Virginia, a black family and the rest of the community in Smokey Hollow North Carolina, a commune of people called "The Farm" who lived and worked the land and followed a religion called "Steve", and Governor George Wallace of Alabama - the same one who ordered the police to stop Martin Luther King, Jr.'s walk from Selma to Montgomery, to a revival in New Orleans when God finally found His way into his life. As Peter walks, his prejudices fall by the wayside, and I found that mine fell as well.
It is a testament to the power of his prose that a journey taken in the mid-1970s could still ring so beautifully and so truthfully. Yes, there are dark corners and evils in our country. But what Peter showed me is that there are many, many, MANY more wonderful, hard-working people who seek to etch out a living and in doing so enjoy life to an extent that I hope to know sometime in my lifetime.
February 11, 2013
They say it's not really about the destination, but the journey that gets you there. Peter Jenkins should be thankful that the saying's true, otherwise I would have felt like I wasted a lot of time.
His journey was interesting. He met a lot of actual unique people. It's pretty neat to see him work through his prejudices and get to know people. There were times I really loved this book while reading it, followed by a lot of groans.
Peter Jenkins sets off to walk across America (see title of book). Well, he really only wrote about half of this book. Not to give away spoilers, but if you're anything like me, where he ends the book will make you roll your eyes and think to yourself, "well, I guess that happened."
Another thing that threw me off about this one was his storytelling. Sometimes he was spot on. You really got a clear picture of what was going on. Then sometimes you're left a little confused. I remember at one point, he builds up to a story where he almost gets hit by a truck and dies. I had to read the section 4 or 5 times and check to make sure I wasn't missing a page or two. The climax of that anecdote was one small sentence that barely said what happened to him.
All in all, it was a mostly good book. Of course there were parts I could do without, but there are still a lot of positives. I'm a huge dog lover, so him bringing his buddy Cooper with him was a big plus for me. It's also fun to see his evolving view toward life and the USA throughout the book. I wouldn't put it anywhere near the level of some of my other favorite travel/outdoors books, but hey, at least it's not Blue Highways.
His journey was interesting. He met a lot of actual unique people. It's pretty neat to see him work through his prejudices and get to know people. There were times I really loved this book while reading it, followed by a lot of groans.
Peter Jenkins sets off to walk across America (see title of book). Well, he really only wrote about half of this book. Not to give away spoilers, but if you're anything like me, where he ends the book will make you roll your eyes and think to yourself, "well, I guess that happened."
Another thing that threw me off about this one was his storytelling. Sometimes he was spot on. You really got a clear picture of what was going on. Then sometimes you're left a little confused. I remember at one point, he builds up to a story where he almost gets hit by a truck and dies. I had to read the section 4 or 5 times and check to make sure I wasn't missing a page or two. The climax of that anecdote was one small sentence that barely said what happened to him.
All in all, it was a mostly good book. Of course there were parts I could do without, but there are still a lot of positives. I'm a huge dog lover, so him bringing his buddy Cooper with him was a big plus for me. It's also fun to see his evolving view toward life and the USA throughout the book. I wouldn't put it anywhere near the level of some of my other favorite travel/outdoors books, but hey, at least it's not Blue Highways.
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