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Summary: For all those...........
Review: folks out there that at one time or another during their lives they wish they had dropped everything for a pilgramage, or a trip of self realization.
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Summary: this journey goes one better....
Review: unlike william least-heat moon's "blue highways, " peter jenkins didn't see the country by truck; he walked acrossed america with only a backpack, his dog, and a few dollars..he wanted to see if the country was still worth believing in...and it was...he met a mountain man and learned the importance of living off the land...he lived with a black family and discovered the power of love and the sense of community that shatter prejudices...he went to alabama, met the governor, who told him to discover the south and then judge it for himself, and finally, he met a woman and fell in love... the writing is nothing special...but he just wanted to tell you what happened...i was not suprised at the treatment he recieved from southerners,; southern whites have always viewed northern whites as snooty intellectuals with no common sense; northerners see southerners as ignorant, lazy, uneducated, and racist...i thought it was funny how jenkins condemned southerners whites for wanting to "rub black people off the face of the earth," when northern people can be just as racist;only difference is southerners are just open with their hatred. It took alot of guts for him to take the journey..to be harrassed for being a free spirit...it was good to see that while he lived an alternative lifestyle, he didn't resorting to forcing it on anyone. i'm an agnostic, but his finding god was refreshing and uplifting... and how fitting that he met the love of his life in new orleans ! i grew up 80 miles west of new orleans in baton rouge,louisiana and visited it alot when i was in high school and college...new orleans has an european old-world charm that anyone can fall in love with... and i fell in love with this book...
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Summary: No Man is an Island.
Review: My Dad & Mom both read this book and loved it. That's somewhat unusual because my parents' reading tastes are usually different. My Dad enjoyed it so much that anytime he was given a chance, he would mention this book. Nearly a decade later, I finally got around to reading it. I wish I would have read it much sooner. The book was first published about twenty-five years ago, but it's content will probably never be dated. It is true that many things have changed in America since Jenkins first set out to walk across America: Vietnam is just another chapter in the history books instead of a recent memory, the cold war has ended, and there aren't as many hippies roaming the country as there used to be. Nevertheless, the more things change the more things stay the same. Most people are truly remarkable. We tend to forget that in our current times where violence and abuse seem the norm. We live in a society where children kill each other because some other kid called them a name. People are murdered, beat, raped, and abused every day. In the violent times in which we live, Peter Jenkins' story is more meaningful than ever. We are a culture that seems to be plagued by violence. However, this doesn't have to be the case and for the most part it isn't. There really are people out there like Homer the Mountaineer and the commune of The Farm; people who don't live according to the system. However, most people do play by the system and are like the people Jenkins met and lived with in Tennessee and Alabama: people who will stop to see if you need a lift or a place to stay, buy you a meal, or give you a glass of water. You don't hear about these people much. They are the silent majority. You don't hear much about them because a murder sells more papers and makes for better television that an old man picking up a stranger and buying his meal for him. If you don't believe me, maybe you should try taking your own walk across America.
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Summary: Very personal
Review: I have often traveled in the United States, but unfortunately never taken the time to get to know the "real" people as well as Peter Jenkins on his admittedly much longer journey. This, then, is also the strength of his book: the clear, feeling description of a completely arbitrary yet strangely representative cross-section of the American people. All of Jenkins' narrative is of course deeply tainted by his own personality and sometimes annotated by what hindsight has taught him, which makes this a highly personal read. The weaknesses of this book are in the language: Peter Jenkins himself admits to being no writer. Odd similes and metaphors are relatively frequent, as are repetitions or platitudes, just like in spoken, somewhat unreflected language. A diamond in the rough, some may say, but nevertheless at times annoying. Still, this book is an entertaining read and deserves its four stars.
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Summary: For people who love people
Review: This book has it all! Romance, action, death, sickness, family, weather, and friendship that breaks racial barriors. Jenkins and Cooper, his dog, takes you on a wonderful trip that makes you want to do it yourself. I have emailed him and he responded warmly. He walked through my town (I was a only a gleam in my mom's eye when he did), and I find pleasure knowing my town was important enough for an unintintional revelutionary to walk through. Great story!
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Summary: One of my Top 5 Favorite Books of All Time!
Review: Peter Jenkins story of his 1973-1975 walk from New York to New Orleans is one of those books that you just can not put done once you have started. You will find yourself thinking about the book when you should be doing other things and you can't wait to pick it up again. When I finished reading the book I wanted more. I even purchased the old April 1977 National Geographic Magazine to read his article that he wrote for them and see even more of the pictures of his journey. Luckly, Jenkins journey does not stop in New Orleans, his walk continues and so do his books: The Walk West, The Road Unseen, Close Friends, and Across China. Peter Jenkins says, "I started out searching for myself and my country and found both." The story would have been good enough just hearing about the trip, the things that he saw, how he survived, and the companionship of his faithful dog; but what make the book great is the people. The people that he meets, how they accept him, and in some cases don't. It is the sociology as well as the adventure that make this one of the best books I ever read for pleasure.
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Summary: He was earching for America and found it.
Review: Although Peter Jenkins took his journey in the early 1970's during the Vietnam war and Watergate, his story rings true for many today. As our culture again seeks to find fulfilment in material things, Peter reminds us that much of what we seek cannot be found in that which can be bought. In one regard, he chose to take on the appearance of his "generation" with long hair and an unshaven beard. Yet in another way, chose to be true to himself and refused to "go along to get along." In this book Peter recounts his discontent as a recent college graduate after a failed marriage. Dealing with the turmoil of Vietnam and Watergate, he decided to give the USA one more chance by walking out of his protected upper middle class world in New England and experiencing America. Through his journey down the original colonies to New Orleans he experienced many triumps and trials. He was adoped by a southern black family while he earned money to continue his journey. He was more than once in fear of his life for being a "drug-dealing hippie." He lost his traveling companion, "Cooper half-malamute" while working at a religous commune. Along the way Peter recounts the many times his soul was refreshed when he thought he was at the point of breaking. By the time he reached New Orleans, he found hope, life, and his wife.
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Summary: Not the best writing, but definitely a story worth reading.
Review: Well, it's been over a year since I read this book, and yet it still constantly echoes in my mind. Essentially, A Walk Across America is a collection of encounters with enlightening individuals, each who shares something about their lives that will stay with you forever. At times I was disappointed with Jenkins' style; his writing skills are not on par with John Irving, for example, but he definitely gets his point across.
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Summary: Amazing. No, not amazing. AMAZING. Why aren't there 7 stars?
Review: To level with all the readers of this review: most of the books I read probably wouldn't be considered poignant or life-altering. A fan of mysteries, most of the things I read are pure entertainment. I had to read either Kon Tiki or A Walk Across America for summer reading two years ago (7th grade) so I bought both and ended up reading this one; it was one of the smartest things I've ever done in my life. This is without a doubt the best book I have ever put my hands on and feel it was something more that inspired me to choose it over Kon Tiki. The reality with which Jenkins writes is unequaled; you feel like you're alongside him as Cooper is underneath the truck, and in the family's trailer, and the thousand other situations where Jenkins places you in the novel itself. If you haven't read this book, either order it off here or go to your bookstore and pick it up; it shows compassion and spirit that unites all humans, and is not only touching, but entertaining as well. There are no other words that I can use to describe it; some situations give me chills even thinking about them. Rating: The strongest 5 stars I've ever awarded.
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Summary: A Most Terrific Walk
Review: I can promise you that I haven't read more than one book in the past ten years, but from the moment I picked up "A Walk Across America" I couldn't set it down. I read it cover to cover in three days and ordered "The Walk West" and "Along the Edge of America" immediately. This book is for anyone who loves the outdoors, dogs, adventure or just a heartfelt excellent story. I now plan on reading anything and everything that Peter Jenkins writes. I sent a copy of this book as a gift for my son in Florida. Thank you Peter for sharing with us your wonderful story.
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