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Summary: Praise for On the Back Roads
Review: "...Graves descriptively captures the essence of towns that boast bizarre claims to fame. Readers will warm to his easy-going nature." --Publisher's Weekly"I picked it up, began to read, and hated to stop for food or drink." --America Online Family Travel "A top-notch word picture of life and times of charming small towns...his descriptions of the intriguing people he meets along the way...make this a book that needs to be on your travel-book shelf. --KKGO Radio, Los Angeles "...an entertaining and sometimes touching narrative of people and places..." --Universal Press Syndicate
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Summary: Excellent book.
Review: A most entertaining book. I had trouble putting it down. Graves has an easy style which is always humble, insightful, and extremely well researched. It makes you want to hit the road today!
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Summary: From Publisher's Weekly...
Review: Crisscrossing the West's diverse landscape, Graves descriptively captures the essence of towns that boast bizarre claims to fame. Readers should warm to his easy-going nature. Publisher's Weekly
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Summary: Insigtful Examination of RVing and Exploration.
Review: For those of you who have read Bill Graves' articles here's the book that fills in the philosophical picture. For retirees wondering whether it's better to stay put in familiar surroundings or leave the useless baggage behind and hit the road, here's food for thought. For those interested in the quirky nature of life and especially the characters found off the beaten path here's a book that rivals Travels With Charlie. I plan to give copies to friends trying to understand the lure of extended RVing. Have a safe trip. /s/ Vic Karlson
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Summary: Delightful, insightful peek at wonderful people & places
Review: Here's a book to accompany classic "Travels with Charlie" and "Blue Highways." Bill's knack for pulling stories from average small town residents is unexcelled. I can hardly wait to visit these places myself, could hardly wait to read the next few pages...entirely enjoyable.
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Summary: Delightful, insightful peek at wonderful people & places
Review: Here's a book to accompany classic "Travels with Charlie" and "Blue Highways." Bill's knack for pulling stories from average small town residents is unexcelled. I can hardly wait to visit these places myself, could hardly wait to read the next few pages...entirely enjoyable.
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Summary: Discover Small Towns: Discover Yourself
Review: I got this book so I could write a small synopsis for an RV publication and read it with some skepticism. Could Graves possibly engage my interest about towns I'm sure I'll never visit? As I scanned the chapters, as I so often do with this sort of book, I had to stop and read deeper. He wasn't writing strickly in support of tourism, but about getting to know oneself, to be in the moment, to not let life pass you by. While sharing some of his past, we're able to watch Graves' internal struggle to find peace, and traveling back roads with Rusty gave him the opportunity to do just that. Although the author often talks about his mode of travel, the motorhome was merely a conduit -- although a comfortable one -- to make this journey. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves travel, introspection, humor and good fun.
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Summary: Disappointed!
Review: I was disappointed. A collection of very short tales from the author's travels... Really not much of a theme running through it. I'm not sure what the author's objective was in writing it, other than to be able to tell people that he's writing a book. If you want to read about small town America, try Dayton Duncan's "Miles from Nowhere" or Jonathan Raban's "Bad Land."
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Summary: A Journey into the West
Review: It began as a flight from the real world, an escape really, that resulted in a remarkable journey into the soul of it - the kind of adventure most of us dream about. Retired for seven years and bored with it, I ran off in a motor home to explore the West. Alone with no deadlines or schedules, I wandered the two-lane blacktop. Curiosity led me into wondrous little towns and over back roads that most travlers never see, usually avoid - certainly places harried tourists never seek. I think that spending time in our small towns is the only way to see what we Americans are about. People's roots go deep there, and they are not far removed from them. Their communities are places lived in rather than bustling hives. This book is their story. It is also my story, my journey through some unforgettable days - days filled with meaning and relevance and some great fun. For the young reader, the student of contemporary history, I believe this book will be educational, perhaps an eye-opener. Readers of my generation - those who grew up in the 1940s - will find a refreshing reminder of other days. Maybe better ones.
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Summary: Disappointed
Review: Looking for a unique summer vacation? Take a stroll down the back roads with author Bill Graves in his new travel book, On The Back Roads: Discovering Small Towns of America. Graves invites readers on a fascinating journey through some of the best-kept secrets in the U.S. Each chapter reads like a short story exploring quaint small towns and meeting humorous, touching, unforgettable characters. Your summer vacation starts in your own backyard with this wonderful get-away book. Get your book club to check this one out!
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