Rating: 
Summary: Overrated
Review: (I won't reiterate the contents of the book -- read other reviews for a synopsis.)After reading Bryson, Thoreux, Horowitz, excellent travel writers all, I must admit I don't get the hullaballo about Blue Highways. The prose is thick, the metaphors gooey and strained, and many of the 'conversations' the author had with strangers are patently fake (all travel writers take minor liberties when quoting conversations, but the book is full of extended, half-page soliloquies from people from all over the country who all seem to be local history experts and somehow manage to speak in the same folksy tone no matter where they're from). In addition, though the author traveled through a number of small towns, his tour was essentially a whirlwind drive around the edges of the United States, and I was left with a sense that much was missed. I realize that the book is meant more to be a 'spiritual journey' than a travel movel, but there's little growth shown by the author during his travels, and the book is pervaded by a sense of brooding melancholy which isn't really resolved at the end. Perhaps there wasn't much like this book available in 1982 -- I suspect timing had more to do with the book's success than inherent quality. It's not BAD; it's just not up to the hype. Worth reading if your to-read list is short, but borrow from a friend.
Rating: 
Summary: Blue Highways . . . a Blue Print
Review: BLUE HIGHWAYS . . . These are the 1st words of the book. And they are granted one whole page. "On the old highway maps of America, the main routes were red and the back roads blue. Now even the colors are changing. But in those brevities just before dawn and a little after dusk - times neither day nor night - the old roads return to the sky some of its color. Then, in truth, they carry a mysterious cast of blue, and that's the time when the pull of the blue highway is strongest, when the open road is a beckoning, a strangeness, a place where a man can lose himself." I bought BH as quickly as I could after having read its review in NYT Book Review back in 1982. I bought a cofee, sat in a plush chair, cracked the binding and opened the book to this page. I read these words. I stopped, but my eyes remained fixed. I read these words again. Again. And, again. I could not turn the page. Suddenly, I was back in the early 60's when I was an engineering student with an Austin Healy. I remembered sitting at the top of a hill somewhere in the country just as the night's darkness was forced aside by the morning's early light. I read the opening paragraph again. Again. And, again. I could not turn the page. That was all I could read. It took years before I could read the book. I attempted to explain this experience to my friends but received little more than a supportive and patronizing smile. I bought copies of BH for a half-dozen friends and asked them to read the book and tell me what happened to them. Only one guy, a bother under the skin, seemed to 'understand.' I have read BH since . . . at least a half-dozen times. It pulls me back still like a . . . well, a Blue Highway. If the words in the 1st paragraph make your eyes grow glassy, silence your world, and stir your heart then buy Blue Highways. If the words didn't, then, uh . . ..
Rating:
Summary: Blue Highways . . . a Blue Print
Review: BLUE HIGHWAYS . . . These are the 1st words of the book. And they are granted one whole page. "On the old highway maps of America, the main routes were red and the back roads blue. Now even the colors are changing. But in those brevities just before dawn and a little after dusk - times neither day nor night - the old roads return to the sky some of its color. Then, in truth, they carry a mysterious cast of blue, and that's the time when the pull of the blue highway is strongest, when the open road is a beckoning, a strangeness, a place where a man can lose himself." I bought BH as quickly as I could after having read its review in NYT Book Review back in 1982. I bought a cofee, sat in a plush chair, cracked the binding and opened the book to this page. I read these words. I stopped, but my eyes remained fixed. I read these words again. Again. And, again. I could not turn the page. Suddenly, I was back in the early 60's when I was an engineering student with an Austin Healy. I remembered sitting at the top of a hill somewhere in the country just as the night's darkness was forced aside by the morning's early light. I read the opening paragraph again. Again. And, again. I could not turn the page. That was all I could read. It took years before I could read the book. I attempted to explain this experience to my friends but received little more than a supportive and patronizing smile. I bought copies of BH for a half-dozen friends and asked them to read the book and tell me what happened to them. Only one guy, a bother under the skin, seemed to 'understand.' I have read BH since . . . at least a half-dozen times. It pulls me back still like a . . . well, a Blue Highway. If the words in the 1st paragraph make your eyes grow glassy, silence your world, and stir your heart then buy Blue Highways. If the words didn't, then, uh . . ..
Rating:
Summary: Nostalgia for what?
Review: I didn't read the whole book when it first came out (some passages were familiar from, I think, Atlantic Monthly) which was 1982. I picked it up recently and got hooked by the magical prose. This man can write. I turned down pages and marked passages at first but then it became all turned down pages and marked passages. It describes a jouney around the United States, sticking to back roads and small towns. He emphasizes his native American Osage heritage and the has an anti-materialist philosophy full of yearning for older simpler times. Sometimes his antipathy to people who commit the crimes of being middle-aged or well-dressed or living in new houses seems overdone.(I wear a necktie myself sometimes and live in a New York suburb). He likes people to be old and poor and deeprooted in their environment, slightly eccentric, and passionately following some craft or traditional trade.
On the whole his nostalgia for the good old days of 20 years previously has worn quite well. It's odd to realize that the book itself is now 20 years old.
Rating:
Summary: A keeper
Review: I read this book 20 years ago and I still have the original copy that I read back then. I just loved this book. In fact, I did a similar trip to Moon's, on a much smaller scale, and I even named my van "Ghostdancing" after his. It is a fun book and one in which the reader feels privileged to get a peek inside his spiritual journey. It is deeper than it first appears. I was touched by it.
Rating: 
Summary: This is ABSOLUTELY the WORST book I have EVER read!!!
Review: I was forced to read this book as part of my english gifted and talented class. It was the slowest, longest, worst written book ever! The best part of the book was the end. It ended! Finally, a long book about nothing. I will NEVER read this book again and I DON'T encourage anyone else to read this. PLEASE save yourselves the boredom and stupidity that comes from this book. This guy has nothing better to do than go around in little boondocks in the US and force people to have conversations with him. It's irritating. It's boring. Please do yourselves some good and read cool books like Les Miserables, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, A tale of Two Cities, and other classics.
Rating: 
Summary: How depressing can you get?
Review: If you're into traveling along the back roads of America, definately pick up this book. But certainly do not read it unless you are in high enough spirits that the author's continuous depression and disappointment won't get you down - not too much, anyway. Yes, he lost his job and his wife - and that's what prompted his little foray around the country to find America and find himself, but it almost seems like he deliberately set out to find the most miserable people and places in the entire land. They say misery loves company - and Least Heat-Moon sure found plenty of company every bit as miserable and depressed as he was. I had kinda hoped for a recounting of places that were fun, exciting, interesting, and a discovery of what's GOOD about America, but to Least Heat-Moon, there is nothing good about it, and he damned sure wants you to know just how bad everything is. The only reason I gave it any stars at all is that the journey, in and of itself, is interesting. But all the lamenting had me wondering if by the time he got done writing he'd just plunge his truck off a cliff and get it over with already.
Rating: 
Summary: A solid, enjoyable travel narrative
Review: In Blue Highways, we get to share in William Least Heat-Moon's journey across America in a trip taken about 20 years ago. The trip was brought about by the demise of his marriage and the loss of his job. In an effort to reconnect with himself and his fellow Americans, Heat-Moon embarks on a journey without a schedule or destination. He seeks to just go, meet people, and see what happens. And here is the real strength of this book: Heat-Moon does an incredible job of capturing the essence of the people he encounters along the way. By sticking to the back roads (blue highways), he meets average, ordinary people and isn't shy about striking up conversations with them. As he discovers, people are pretty much the same anywhere: most like to talk about themselves, many have an interesting story or two, and everyone's looking to connect with someone/something.
I found this book to be quite an enjoyable journey. Even though sections of it are somewhat dated, the essence of the trip still rings true. For someone looking for a humorous travel narrative similar to Bill Bryson, you may need to keep looking. While there are humorous sections to this story, this tends to be much more introspective than anything Bryson writes.
I guess ultimately this book will appeal to those of us who would love to be able just to pack up the car, fill the gas tank, and take off wherever the road may lead. I know I had my atlas next to me as I read this and traced virtually his entire journey on my map. What I wouldn't give to be able to do a 25-year follow-up and see what has changed (or what hasn't!). This is a great book to get your imagination going!
Rating:
Summary: This is ABSOLUTELY the WORST book I have EVER read!!!
Review: In William Least Heat-Moon's Blue Highways, he tells his personal experience of his travels across the country. He feels his life is turned upside down and he needs to escape it. Taking his van, Ghost Dancing, for the ride, he has the adventure of a lifetime. He comes to points in his journey where life is more exciting than others, and places where the wind never blows. Overall, he meets several people on his way across the country and stays in several towns. He learns the variety of ways god is believed in, the history of flying, and the way that's several of the towns he visits was started. If you like to read about other peoples travels, than I suggest this book to you. It will be hard to find at a local library, but it can be found. The author goes into detail on several different points and is very organized. He tells the story just as it seemed to happen and doesn't confuse the reader one bit. This story is very educational and leaves the reader with the want to travel the country, as did the author of this book.
Rating:
Summary: Blue Highways
Review: In William Least Heat-Moon's Blue Highways, he tells his personal experience of his travels across the country. He feels his life is turned upside down and he needs to escape it. Taking his van, Ghost Dancing, for the ride, he has the adventure of a lifetime. He comes to points in his journey where life is more exciting than others, and places where the wind never blows. Overall, he meets several people on his way across the country and stays in several towns. He learns the variety of ways god is believed in, the history of flying, and the way that's several of the towns he visits was started. If you like to read about other peoples travels, than I suggest this book to you. It will be hard to find at a local library, but it can be found. The author goes into detail on several different points and is very organized. He tells the story just as it seemed to happen and doesn't confuse the reader one bit. This story is very educational and leaves the reader with the want to travel the country, as did the author of this book.
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