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Summary: Inspiring jouney into America and personal discovery.
Review: A Crossing took me into familiar territory as I too once took off across America (not on a bicycle!) in search of myself. The book speaks volumes to those of us trying to get closer to a father or mother, to a relationship with another man or woman, to ourselves spiritually. In the great tradition of travel fiction (Travels with Charley, Blue Highways), A Crossing sets us on the miraculous road to personal discovery.
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Summary: Too religious
Review: A good book but not really about cycling and the rider's RIDE EXPERIENCE. Where was the adventure and the RIDE EXPERIENCE?
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Summary: A solo ride from Pacific-Atlantic frames father-son conflict
Review: A solo ride from the Pacific to the Atlantic frames this father-son story of religious and emotional conflict. A rigorous physical journey and a triumph of hope. For anyone who loves to bike, and/or has survived childhood.
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Summary: Not a cycling book
Review: Although I thought A Crossing was a well-written book, I found it disappointing when compared to other tales of cycling journeys. I'm sure Brian (author) would be the first to explain that his book was not meant to be simply a road travel story, but it unfortunately left me wanting to know more about the people he met and the places he saw. He overlooks vast parts of his travels as he broods about his personal problems. Admittedly, Brian's personal struggles and resolutions were interesting, and on one level his physical journey works as a metaphor/backdrop for his mental journey. But that's not what I was looking for. Perhaps I was expecting the wrong thing, but then again the book is being marketed as a travel book. The magic and beauty of being free and on the road was missing from this work. Brian's preoccupation with his dilemmas made him seem almost insolent, like he had no interest in any of the people he ran into (other than the few he wrote about in more detail) or in their towns--and those were the very things I was interested in hearing about. It did not seem like he enjoyed his bike trip and he did not manage to pull me into the story. But again, perhaps my expectations were too high.
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Summary: A Heartening, Vivid Adventure
Review: Before I say anything else, I want to congratulate Brian Newhouse on his first book. For someone who hadn't considered himself a writer before putting this story to paper, it is a remarkable achievement. It would be for a writer of any experience. That he succeeded in conveying to this reader the fiber of his journey is a credit; such a book could have only been written from a place deep inside. A CROSSING rang with an honesty, a certain innocence, that disarmed me. The book pulled virtually every heartstring I possessed: I'll remember my gusts of laughter at gems like "The Rim Wizard of Fergus Falls"; punching my fist in the air when Brian caught that forever-in-coming first prairie tailwind and THROTTLED; the kinship I felt (having been on my own, though shorter, bike trips) when reading his aptly fragmented account of the Return, the bizarre nature of it all; and how, after turning the last page, this was the first book I'd ever read that managed to tug a tear from me. Why? Because I felt as if I too had made the journey and had to leave it behind. Because the people in the book felt real (and are real). Because the story, carried on the shoulders of elegant prose, succeeds. And because, well, I'm 28, have a father, and still dream of the poetry this country might write in me when I finally cross it on two wheels. But, reader, you needn't have ridden a bike to appreciate this book. After all, though there's plenty of miles covered between coasts, it is really a backdrop for a much larger voyage not measured in days or miles, only felt. Treat yourself, your family, and your friends to this wonderful read.
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Summary: For fathers and for sons, a must read.
Review: Brian touches heart strings here in a most remarkable manner. Are you a father? Boy the book for your son(s). Are you a son? Buy the book for your father. Father/son relationships in our country are often a troubled one. They need not be this way. No other book has spoken to me as Brian's book. As a 22 year veteran of daily bike commuting, I have never crossed our continent by bike. I have read other cross country bike books, but this one tops it all. My copy is so dog eared it barks at my bike!
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Summary: The conflicts of life embodied at 10mph on a bike ...
Review: Brian's journey is much like all of ours ... discovery of self, pushing the limits, while struggling to find our own place in the world ... I must wonder now if Brian came to terms with Jesus in the same way that we are left thinking he has come to terms with his father.
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Summary: One of the most profound, touching books I have edited.
Review: From the very first moment I saw a preliminary manuscript of Brian Newhouse's A CROSSING, I knew this book was incredibly special. A CROSSING, the story of Brian Newhouse's quest to both cross the arduous terrain of America by bicycle and to resolve his troubled relationships with his father, his girlfriend, and God, is one that works on so many levels. The notion of breaking away from one's past, and looking for answers to guide one's future somewhere out in the greater world is something we have all experienced at one time or another -- and Brian's honesty and ability to convey his thoughts and feelings with such a raw emotional intensity draws the reader into his story completely. Already, the book has touched the hearts of many. Will Weaver, Minnesota's eminent writer and commentator, was moved to write the following praise for A CROSSING: "One of the best ways to find ourselves is first to lose ourselves. In England there is the tradition of 'The Grand Tour,' or travel about continental Europe; in Germany and the Scandinavian countries it is the 'Wanderjahr,' a time when young people strike out on the road. But in America, it is A CROSSING. Brian Newhouse has written his way deeply and wonderfully inside a central American metaphor: crossing America from sea to sea. His trip is by bicycle and the mountains and plains are intensely real, yet his steady progress across his personal spiritual landscape is the great pleasure of his book." Whether you are a biking enthusiast looking to find out what it is like to bike across America, or someone who has struggled with their faith, or have experienced frustration relating to close family or friends, or if you are just looking for a great literary non-fiction read, this book will certainly enthrall you. And it is my hope that in in the process of reading A CROSSING, you will also cultivate a better understanding of yourself through Brian Newhouse's remarkable prose.
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Summary: A Crossing, A Cyclist's Journey Home by: Brian Newhouse
Review: I am an avid Bicycling and Touring book reader. "A Crossing" by Brian Newhouse was a treasure. I read the book in less than 24 hours. It has everything a book like this needs. Insight into crossing the United States by bicycle, a positive attitude, fun, amusing, and one of the best writers I have had the priviledge to read. Thank You Amazon.com, for without you I wouldn't have found this wonderful book. Connie McAyeal
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Summary: Simon Shuster - anyone home?
Review: I am sorry, but this book was not very interesting, I never really came to care about Newhouse and his description of his trip was spotty. There are many better cycling/cross-country books and there are a few books out there that deal with man's search for meaning in life.
This book is poorly edited with examples such as the simile describing the Columbia as being as wide as the Mississippi, or perhaps spelling mistake on page 22 where the bike "fled" down the mountain instead of "flew". This was followed on the next page by "what was wet and cold and lush with ferns on the eastern side of the Cascades had turned to sand, heat, scrub pine here on the west", sorry but the writer and editor got that one mixed up - the story is moving west to east, and the eastern side is the dry side. A little further on, we meet John who tells us about an early baseball experience at the Met, the Metrodome in Minneapolis opened in 1982, in which Harmon Killebrew hit a home run. Harmon retire in 1975. On page 143 Newhouse says the sun threw my shadow probably a quarter of a mile over the handlebars.
How does this stuff get published?
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