Rating: 
Summary: One of his best
Review: In the 1960s when Steinbeck always lived up to our expectations for powerful fiction, Travels with Charlie drew our scorn without having to read it. John Steinbeck and a poodle dog traveling together? Gradually we read it anyway. And read it again. And again throughout the years. It's always a joy.
Rating:
Summary: Travels with the best
Review: I had read most of Steinbeck's books as a child or young adult, but somehow overlooked "Travels with Charley" until this summer. The best thing about this book is the insights into Steinbeck's own character; his intelligence and humanity shine through every chapter. Steinbeck also went out of his way to witness and describe a particularly shameful episode of racism in New Orleans -- (...). His heartsickness over this incident and over the country's struggle with racism in general is as moving as anything I've read on the subject. Anyone who enjoys road trips will identify with this episodic journal and be charmed by Steinbeck's timeless wit and wisdom.
Rating: 
Summary: Terrific!
Review: Another Steinbeck great! I LOVE that Charley is a poodle!! Enjoy.
Rating: 
Summary: A car, a dog, and a big crab
Review: In "Travels with Charley" Steinbeck takes a break from the exploitation fiction that made him famous and hits the road. He and Charley, well, travel. That's it. Along the way there are plenty of things for him to offer opinions of, mostly negative. One gets the feeling that Steinbeck is out looking for more pathetic people to exploit, er, uh, I mean downtrodden subcultures to champion. But in the end, it is clear that Steinbeck concludes that the America of 1962 wasn't such a bad place. Gee, thanks Mr. Steinbeck, hey eveybody, we can get on with our lives, John Steinbeck thinks we're okay!Overall "Travels..." reads like a supreme testament to Steinbeck's ego. One can almost hear him saying, "My opinion of this truck is 100% relavent, I am, after all, John Steinbeck." What's more, it is a "personal experience" and nothing dates faster than a "personal experience." I can see how in 1962 rambling around the country offering sporadic opinions might have been the height of literature (it was right in between "On The Road" and "Easy Rider") but America has changed a bit in the past 40 years. So why is this book still in print? Apparently, because it was written by John Steinbeck. Although this vidicates his superhuman ego, it does make one grateful that Steinbeck's publisher did not get a hold of his grocery list. Otherwise we would be subjected to "Truffles with Chutney; The John Steinbeck Diet."
Rating:
Summary: Eloquent!!!
Review: This book was excellent. I would reccomend this as a book for anyone to read. You can relate with Steinbeck's need for travel. You can relate to his travels and canine companion. Excellent book for all ages! 12+
Rating:
Summary: Travel Along!
Review: "Travels with Charlie" is the delightful narrative by a master story teller of his 1962 journey across America with his pet poodle, Charlie. Feeling a need to become reacquainted with America, Steinbeck purchased a custom made mobile home which he outfitted, by his own admission, to excess, before setting out on his travels. Although warned that his fame and familiarity would prevent him from maintaining his anonymity, Steinbeck was able to meet America at its own level. From sea to sea he was recognized only by friends and relatives. This anonymity permitted him to drift in and out of American society, tasting and testing, interacting and remembering. From New England to California and back to New York, we are admitted to his conversations with taciturn Yankees and French-Canadian migrant agricultural workers. Traveling west, we read of border guards, the representatives of the government bureaucracy, state specific highway designations and Steinbeck's observations of topography. His roadside visit with an actor and his entertainment by rich friends in Texas provide a sharp contrast in outlooks and behavior of different Americans. During his return to his hometown of Salinas, California, Steinbeck learns the truth that "you can't go back home again." Home has changed, his friends have changed, and Steinbeck had changed. It is sad, but true. Steinbeck dreaded the South but knew that he could not be avoided. Traveling in 1962, Steinbeck saw some of the dramatic events of the Civil Rights movement while he sampled the prevailing racial attitudes of Southerners of the day. At the start, Steinbeck was looking to become reacquainted with America. I was hoping that the would finish with some wise conclusions gleaned from his experience. He did conclude that Americans were more united as Americans than they were divided as residents of different regions. He is amazed to find the degree to which diverse immigrant groups have amalgamated into a new nationality in less than two centuries. I passed this on to a distant cousin in France with whom I have been discussing themes in American and French history. Beyond this, we are left to draw our own conclusions from the facts reported. I wonder how many of the people to whom Steinbeck referred have read and recognized themselves in this book. How many of us, who did not meet Steinbeck, see ourselves or our acquaintances reflected in its pages? This a a hard book to put down, so don't try. Pick it up, free your mind and enjoy "Travels with Charlie."
Rating:
Summary: Classic
Review: I read this just before going to the States for 4 months and I really enjoyed and appreciated the image it gave of the country, we even managed to make it to some of the places he talks about. It's a really entertaining read.
Rating:
Summary: A Journey Through America
Review: I find this to be an influential novel about one writer's experience through the country. From coast to coast the story is filled with remarkable quotes and tales of the America so many of us take for granted. The story makes us see that America is more than a piece of land, it is a piece of history. So many of us see our land and our inalienable rights as simply every day pleasures that we will always have. By reading this book I began to think of how often I simply take a right for granted and do not stop to think of what past peoples have had to do to give these rights to me. I am glad to have read this book. It is an inspiration to the way I look at the world. I will never simply travel to go somewhere, I will travel to see the country and understand my history.
Rating:
Summary: Worst book ever
Review: I am completely indifferent to Steinbeck, no biases, nothing, but I would have to say that this is by far the worst novel that I have ever read. Long, dull depictions of possibly the dryest parts of America dominate this book, along with not-so-clever interactions between Steinbeck and his dog, Charley. Though for a novel this book may be short, it certainly could have ended about 200 pages before it did and we would have gotten the message: geography and people influence each other, and it is obvious that Steinbeck traveled only through the wastelands of America.
Rating:
Summary: A Great American Road Trip
Review: In this wonderfully entertaining book, Steinbeck takes a road trip across America and back, exploring its geography, culture, religion and society. In the process he explores the very nature of travel, why so many of us are so drawn to it and how that affects our lives. Travels with Charley in Search of America is similar in some respects to Steinbeck's 1948 A Russian Journal, although here the writing is somewhat more about America than A Russian Journal was about Russia. This book is also very different in that here Steinbeck travels with his dog as his only companion, whereas A Russian Journal was about travels with Steinbeck's close friend Robert Capa. This book is a very thought-provoking and entertaining exploration of many aspects of America. I highly recommend it.
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