Rating: 
Summary: a book to fill in the blanks...
Review: As the title states, this book is an epiloge to The Bridges of Madison County. If you read and loved TBOMC and you're curious to know what happened in the lives of Francesca and Robert between their last day together and their deaths, this is the book for you.
TBOMC told the story of how Robert and Francesca met, their few days together and how her children find out about all of this when their mother dies. It gave us a pretty good picture of Francesca's life and left most of Robert's a mystery. We do know that they never see each other again, so don't expect this to happen here. However, if after reading TBOMC, you want to know more about the mystery that is Robert Kincaid's life and find out how Francesca lived the rest of her life, this will be a very enjoyable book for you.
Rating: 
Summary: disappointing
Review: I was disappointed with the book. It was not what I was hoping for. The whole thing with the son, it just really went off course.
Rating: 
Summary: A Thousand Near Misses
Review: Called an epilogue, "A Thousand Country Roads" reveals the separate pathways of Robert Kincaid and Fransesca Johnson since their torrid four day love affair in "The Bridges of Madison County". The primary focus is on Kincaid as the complexity of his background and character is explored. As he contemplates the end of his life, Kincaid is anxious about his past, concerned about leaving this earth with a broken heart and no legacy. The reader will be surprised with what he discovers. Fransesca has a minor role. Her affair with Kincaid strengthened her. While she lives with its memories, she never regrets their brief relationship.Robert James Waller is a gifted writer with poetic prose and a creative use of settings. His weakness is how he designed the story - more like an engineer than an artist. To add drama and suspense he engineers a number of coincidences and close encounters between Kincaid and some key characters throughout the story. Unfortunately, it isn't natural or realistic. The reader often loses one's suspension of disbelief. Otherwise, Waller delivers a fine story about aging and dealing with a haunted past. As one of the zillions that read "Bridges", I am curious if "A Thousand Country Roads" will appeal to someone that is clueless about the Roseman Bridge. Probably a mute point - only a fraction of us zillions need to try it for Mr. Waller pave quite a few roads with gold.
Rating: 
Summary: A Thousand Country Roads
Review: Very disappointing! Save your money and read Bridges again.
Rating:
Summary: Somewhat disappointing
Review: This book was not as good as Bridges of Madison County. I don't think it's necessary to go into a synopsis of the book as the other reviewer have done--that's what the book description is for. Despite being disappointed, I still enjoyed the book and would suggest it to others who liked Bridges. It is written with the same flowery style that really paints a picture but is still somewhat disappointing. At times I found it hard to put down, hoping I was predicting what would happen next. I was usually wrong and again, disappointed.
Rating: 
Summary: Not Bridges, but a fine book
Review: A few years ago I came home from work and found my wife sobbing on the front porch of our house. Did some one die I wondered, our dog ran away? No, she had just finished Bridges. Some days later I picked up the book and like her found it to be compelling. I was even one of those who sought the National Geographic issue hoping to find the photo essay on the bridges of Madison County. To my embarassment, the libraraian deflated my balloon. I suppose, like Carlisle, I was hoping to catch a glimpse of elusive photographer from Bainbridge Island. For days I was dismayed and heartbroken for the two lovers. But, like most broken hearts, time dulled the ache and finally it faded. As many readers, I found a review for A Thousand . . . . and immediately ordered it. It acutally sat on my night stand for a week. I wasn't sure if I was ready to pry back into the lives left shattered by the departure in Iowa. Maybe, I wondered, it was just best to leave it alone. Would they just meet again and live happily ever after - way to simple. After all, Waller could have done that with Bridges. But, deep inside, I begged for Francesca and Robert to have a chance. Perhaps they would have grown apart - the chemistry gone. Perhaps they only needed a chance meeting to reunite the two lovers. In that vein I felt that Waller kept the dream alive as Kincaid and Highway set out on their odessey. Where Bridges avoided the trials and tribulations of the subplot, Country Roads led us down a maze that exposed the troubled, yet intriguing world traveler all the while keeping the engine running on the trusty old pick up as it pointed east toward the farmlands of southern Iowa. Like most readers, my heart began to race as the meeting between Francesa and Robert seemed possible. But, with the quick hand on the keyboard, Waller eluded us all. Had he drawn this out, I might have felt robbed - angry with him for setting us up only to see Kinciad drive away in the pouring rain. It was at this point that I noticed many pages left unturned - some roads still to be traveled. Would Carlisle really track down his father with the dogged dtermination that he shared with him I wondered? How would Waller paint a potenitally awkward meeting. Finally, Carlisle's burning of his father's photographs seems to draw a somewhat tidy conclusion to the novel.
Rating:
Summary: A Challenge for Us 'Bridges' Fans
Review: I had to buy A Thousand Country Roads. Simply had to find out 'the rest of the story.' I tore into this book and flipped page after page, but it seemed to lack the spark that Bridges had. I guess that was to be expected, but I still wanted more drama and to feel that same longing that consumed me in Bridges. It was worth the time I spent reading even if the anticipation of receiving it was more fulfilling than the actual story. The best thing to come out of this was that I took a previous reviewer's challenge and read this novel next to Shade of the Maple, whose cover says it is 'the most intimate novel since The Bridges of Madison County.' I beg to differ. It is more intimate and better than Bridges. Heresy to some, I know, but find out for yourself. Plus the author is donating $1.00 from every sale to breast cancer research. If half the people who pick up A Thousand Country Roads also pick up that novel, we'd raise a lot of money, and I can guarantee a lot of people will have found a new favorite author. Check both of them out.
Rating:
Summary: A Desecration to The Bridges of Madison County...
Review: Once in a while, a writer spins a tale that touches your heart and connects your soul with the souls of the characters in the book, who in this case would be Francesca and Robert Kincaid. The Bridges of Madison County did just that, not only for me, but for millions of other readers as well. A Thousand Country Roads is a book that I feel was written only to capitalize upon the fame (and fortune) the previous book generated for Waller. He knew people would buy this book because of their love of the first book. A Thousand Country Roads should have been titled A Thousand Disappointments...Really, I don't know what I expected from this book, I knew from Bridges that Robert Kincaid and Francesca would never meet again. Bridges did not need an epilogue, some things are just best left to the imagination of the heart.
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Summary: The Longest 500 Yards
Review: .
...On The Road & Travels with Highway and Harry It is now 1981 - Robert Kincaid is 68. He still has his old truck, Harry, and has a golden retreiver named Highway. Francesca is 60. It has been 16 years since their previous encounter.
I confess, I never read the first book, The Bridges of Madison County, (I'm gonna call that Bridges I,) but I cherish the beautiful Streep/Eastwood movie, and I went and read the excerpts of Bridges I here on A.c while reading A Thousand Country Roads (I'm gonna call it Bridges II.) Obviously, author Robert Waller is "stuck" within the parameters of Bridges I while writing Bridges II, so, ja, sorry, there is going to be no "and- they-lived-happily-ever-after-together Ending." But it is a good tale, well-told, nonetheless. Now, a Note to Hollywood: Bring `it back! But it better be the perfectly-cast Streep and Eastwood again! Thank you.
Rating:
Summary: OK, so maybe this ending wasn't the one you imagined...
Review: ...but I don't believe that's reason enough to trash the book. Waller states clearly enough in his beginning author's note that people clamored for more after "Bridges." Here he's given you more, and you're not satisfied. Hmmm. Guess the old adage about not being able to please everyone still holds true.
Why not look at this slender volume as an interesting twist to a previous tale? Or as a wonderful lesson in writing and in characterization? To be able to create a _Who's Who_ citation of one of your characters: how cool is that? To be able to write fiction as if it were true -- and the occasional footnotes used here *still* make you wonder -- how marvelous is that? Do you know how many people looked up the original _National Geographic_ article after "Bridges" and were severely disappointed to discover that there never was a photospread about Madison County, Iowa? (Can you imagine how many others will follow the citations in "Thousand Country Roads" to the same result?) What a wonderful compliment to the author! Have you ever driven across Iowa on the interstate and followed the signs and seen the actual farmhouse where the "Bridges" movie was shot? To be sure, there is magic surrounding both the storyline and the place. Waller has simply extended the spell to include the West Coast and South Dakota. And that's real life for you, that's how it works. It rarely stays in one place, and not everyone lives happily ever after.
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