Rating: 
Summary: Don't Expect Too Much
Review: I am a big fan of non-fiction adventure stories, and bought this book based on the advice from this board. The book is basically a yawner. SPOILER COMING: Nothing happens. I kept waiting for either the adventure or the humor. Needless to say, I played the part of the jilted reader. If you read this book, your response will be: "what's the big deal, I could have done that." I think Tim's motivation for this book was solely cash (nothing wrong with that - just warn me first). It was clearly written out of contractual obligation and not because he truly had something to say.
Rating: 
Summary: A different reason for loving Road Fever
Review: I gotta tell you that I didn't find the book as laugh-out-loud funny as many of the people here did. But that fact didn't cause me to love "Road Fever" any less then they did. What I loved about it is the care Tim Cahill spent in recounting in great detail the amount of preparation - especially in the area of paperwork - required to make a journey from Tierra del Fuego to the northern tip of Alaska in record time.Because, frankly, it's not a question of how fast you can drive; rather, the BIG ISSUE is how much time it takes you to cross the border from Country X to Country Y. And then again from Country Y to Country Z. This ain't the European Community where you can whiz past the Germany - Netherlands border without realizing it. These are real border crossings - guards, official stamps, commissars, corruption, danger, you name it. Garry Sowerby and Tim Cahill spent up to a year preparing for that aspect of the trip. Yes, GM sponsorship helped in places. Yes, the Canadian government helped in places. But what carries them through at the end of the day is the intense focus and planning these two guys put into the journey before the trip even gets started. There's a lesson in there for everyone.
Rating:
Summary: A different reason for loving Road Fever
Review: I gotta tell you that I didn't find the book as laugh-out-loud funny as many of the people here did. But that fact didn't cause me to love "Road Fever" any less then they did. What I loved about it is the care Tim Cahill spent in recounting in great detail the amount of preparation - especially in the area of paperwork - required to make a journey from Tierra del Fuego to the northern tip of Alaska in record time. Because, frankly, it's not a question of how fast you can drive; rather, the BIG ISSUE is how much time it takes you to cross the border from Country X to Country Y. And then again from Country Y to Country Z. This ain't the European Community where you can whiz past the Germany - Netherlands border without realizing it. These are real border crossings - guards, official stamps, commissars, corruption, danger, you name it. Garry Sowerby and Tim Cahill spent up to a year preparing for that aspect of the trip. Yes, GM sponsorship helped in places. Yes, the Canadian government helped in places. But what carries them through at the end of the day is the intense focus and planning these two guys put into the journey before the trip even gets started. There's a lesson in there for everyone.
Rating:
Summary: I couldn't stop laughing!
Review: I have read every one of Tim Cahill's books, and have given my husband and friends the books to read as well. They are funny, scary sometimes, but always entertaining. He is a person I would like to meet, just to tell him how much I enjoy his writing. I also look forward to "Outside Magazine" every month, because he usually has an article in it.
Rating: 
Summary: The Ultimate Road Trip
Review: I'd read one other Tim Cahill book before this, and I didn't like it one bit. However, the jacket to this caught my attention long enough to skim the flaps, where the concept behind the book got to me and I checked it out. The book is about Cahill's accompanying a friend on his attempt to set the world record (as adjudicated by Guinness) for driving from the tip of South America to the tip of Alaska in 1987. Cahill's tone is very intimate and chatty as he explains the myriad of logistical steps that have to be taken to mount such an event. Almost the first third of the book is taken up by describing the process of lining up sponsors, scouting the route, securing permissions and appropriate documentation for all the countries to be traveled through, and meeting with the Guinness people to ensure everything is done according to Hoyle (or rather, Guinness, in this case). Most of the rest of the book describes the trials and tribulations of the trek up to the US border. As might be imagined, there are many wacky hi-jinks and interesting encounters along the way. Cahill does a good job of recounting these, as well as capturing the interplay between the to men who are cooped up together driving day and night for almost a month. For good measure, the reader is given snapshots of history and interesting anecdotes about the places being passed through. Once again, I am puzzled by the lack of map, but its not really crucial to this book. A very enjoyable and quick read about a subject I'd never known anything about. I could be wrong, but I think this would be a more enjoyable read for men than women.
Rating:
Summary: Don't be surprised if it starts something.
Review: I've always loved Tim Cahill, but I REALLY loved this book. I'm planning an epic road trip myself, and for a while was wondering what gave me the idea to do this -- then realized it was from reading about the moment Cahill's mind snapped and he and his partner "went roto" in Peru. Don't be surprised if you too also want to go "full-tilt roto" and hit the road.
Rating:
Summary: Great road book
Review: If you're looking for something to while away the hours on a road trip, this fits that niche to a T. Cahill's account of a world record-setting drive from Argentina to Alaska is laugh out loud funny. All his stuff is generally excellent, this one in particular is filled with compassion, insight, and an eye for travel detail like nobody's business. All written with a self-deprecating humour that's refreshing compared to a lot of self-serious travel authours. Perfect read for anyone, but travellers will particularly enjoy it.
Rating:
Summary: Great road book
Review: If you're looking for something to while away the hours on a road trip, this fits that niche to a T. Cahill's account of a world record-setting drive from Argentina to Alaska is laugh out loud funny. All his stuff is generally excellent, this one in particular is filled with compassion, insight, and an eye for travel detail like nobody's business. All written with a self-deprecating humour that's refreshing compared to a lot of self-serious travel authours. Perfect read for anyone, but travellers will particularly enjoy it.
Rating:
Summary: I AM NOT MAN, I AM ROTO
Review: LOVED THIS, GAVE IT TO MY FRIENDS THEY LOVED IT. ONE EVEN GAVE ME A CAP THAT READS 'I AM NOT MAN, I AM ROTO' - CURIOUS, THEN READ THIS BOOK, IT'S A WINNER. PROBABLY THE FUNNIEST TRAVEL BOOK YOU WILL EVER READ, AND BOTTLED MILKSHAKE WILL NEVER BE THE SAME AGAIN!
Rating: 
Summary: Kings of the Road
Review: Professional driver, Garry Sowerby and the admirable Tim Cahill put together a GM-sponsored race from Terra del Fuego, Argentina to Prudhoe Bay, Alaska (in less than 24 days) and pull it off. This is the story of their 15,000-mile odyssey, the goal being to break the Guinness World Record. Tim is his usual exuberant, one-of-guys, self-deprecating self. There is no one who can recount an anecdote with quite his flair. While speeding across Honduras, a flock of birds crossed the windshield while Cahill was driving. "Garry had snapped bolt upright from his slouching position in the passenger seat. He was holding his belly as if he had been shot. 'Wah' he said in his strange, sleep clogged voice-----there seemed to be a dead bird in his lap. 'I reached down there,' Garry said, 'I felt something warm and wet. I was sure I had been shot. I thought I was feeling my own intestines. Then I started wondering why my intestines would have feathers and bird feet on them." Stories like this made me laugh aloud. The book was nonetheless claustrophobic. By the time, Tim and Garry had reached Central America; my only thought was "let me out of this truck!" All but about 20 pages are devoted to South and Central America. The last 5,000 miles of the US, Canada and Alaska are barely mentioned. I suppose this is because the last third of the trip was without incident or terrors. But it did give the book an unbalanced feel. The section regarding how you get yourself considered for setting a Guinness Record was very interesting. Hint: If you plan on setting or beating a record, check with Guinness before (not after) you do it. There were about 35 pages devoted to how one went about getting sponsored, i.e., raising money (in this case about $350,000) that I found tedious. The book was enjoyable for the most part, but I did get the impression Tim Cahill was as glad the trip was over as I was.
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