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Rating: 
Summary: Stay on the highway
Review: He spends considerable time dissing travel writers and their fixations for back road travels, that the "real" search for America belongs on the Interstates. Unwittingly, he proved their point for everytime he went in search of a story, he got off the hyways and onto the back roads. Hmmmm The author is under the misguided notion that boomers and liberals have the monopoly on good and that anyone who does not fit these narrow paramaters is an idiot. Less preaching and more driving please
Rating: 
Summary: He's not William Least Heat Moon
Review: Mike Bryan doesn't like Blue Highways. He doesn't like the book of William Least Heat Moon, and he doesn't like the concept, either. For Bryan, the Interstate is what we've become and the real place to acquire knowledge. Although the book is entertaining in spots, the revelations are shallow and the writing, for the most part, uninspired. And the road trips themselves are not very comprehensive: the book revolves around roads between Dallas and El Paso, with brief excursions elsewhere. If you're looking for something in the road trip genre other than Blue Highways, I'd suggest the books of Dayton Duncan instead.
Rating:
Summary: He's not William Least Heat Moon
Review: Mike Bryan doesn't like Blue Highways. He doesn't like the book of William Least Heat Moon, and he doesn't like the concept, either. For Bryan, the Interstate is what we've become and the real place to acquire knowledge. Although the book is entertaining in spots, the revelations are shallow and the writing, for the most part, uninspired. And the road trips themselves are not very comprehensive: the book revolves around roads between Dallas and El Paso, with brief excursions elsewhere. If you're looking for something in the road trip genre other than Blue Highways, I'd suggest the books of Dayton Duncan instead.
Rating: 
Summary: Looking for the soul of America in West Texas
Review: Mike Bryan starts with the premise that the true soul of America is to be found along its interstates, which have replaced its small towns as the true heart of the nation. This is a perfectly reasonable premise, but then he botches it by limiting his search to, of all places, west Texas, with some forays into New Mexico and Arizona. There is also a memorable stopover in the quirky community of Laughlin, Nevada, which is sort of like Vegas for people without teeth (see, I can be a witty travel writer, too!). The problem at the heart of this book is that Bryan has focused his narrative on a part of the US that is just too darned boring and soulless (and this coming from a customer-reviewer in Saskatchewan - oh well). The best passages are when the author interviews law enforcement personnel. He rides with the highway patrol, and spends time with border patrol officers and trucking enforcement officers, all of whom see humanity from a different perspective than the rest of us. Any travel writer must strike a balance between revealing too much versus too little of one's personal life, and Bryan errs on the side of revealing too much. I really don't care about his sperm motility, and his accounts of how he and his wife visited various fertility specialists fall under the label of "too much information." The book's premise is a sound one - the interstate system is quintessentially American, and a better place than most to measure the pulse of the nation - but a broader geographic scope would have been a plus.
Rating: 
Summary: On the Road Again...
Review: The first thing I noticed about Mike Bryan's UNEASY RIDER was a review proudly displayed on the back cover. "Easily the best road book since Blue Highways" I believe it said. Of course anyone who has enjoyed William Least Heat-Moon's classic journey across America knows that is would be almost impossible to repeat his brilliance, though Bryan gives it his best shot. At times his constant need to remind us of his love for the interstates can get a little old and i believe he would have been better off attempting to tone down his distaste for the "blue highways" so many have come to know and love. I personally am ambivalent about the subject, any road that can take me from here to somewhere else is alright with me. What Bryan does accomplish is an in depth look into some of the quirky (strange) people and places lying on the interstates (or in some cases, the back roads). At times I believe he gets too caught up in the supposed significance of some event and could stand to lighten up on the philosophical underpinnings of some of his subjects. All in all, I enjoyed the book. I particulary liked Bryan's ability to weave history and information together as he did in the chapter about Texas Highway Construction. Anyone who spends their time reading road books has to accept them as creations of the author who has his own set of beliefs and feelings about the greatest creation in the modern world, highways. With this thought in mind (it is Bryan's trip, not yours) Uneasy Rider is one of the better road books out there. Please let me know if you find any better.
Rating:
Summary: On the Road Again...
Review: The first thing I noticed about Mike Bryan's UNEASY RIDER was a review proudly displayed on the back cover. "Easily the best road book since Blue Highways" I believe it said. Of course anyone who has enjoyed William Least Heat-Moon's classic journey across America knows that is would be almost impossible to repeat his brilliance, though Bryan gives it his best shot. At times his constant need to remind us of his love for the interstates can get a little old and i believe he would have been better off attempting to tone down his distaste for the "blue highways" so many have come to know and love. I personally am ambivalent about the subject, any road that can take me from here to somewhere else is alright with me. What Bryan does accomplish is an in depth look into some of the quirky (strange) people and places lying on the interstates (or in some cases, the back roads). At times I believe he gets too caught up in the supposed significance of some event and could stand to lighten up on the philosophical underpinnings of some of his subjects. All in all, I enjoyed the book. I particulary liked Bryan's ability to weave history and information together as he did in the chapter about Texas Highway Construction. Anyone who spends their time reading road books has to accept them as creations of the author who has his own set of beliefs and feelings about the greatest creation in the modern world, highways. With this thought in mind (it is Bryan's trip, not yours) Uneasy Rider is one of the better road books out there. Please let me know if you find any better.
Rating: 
Summary: What fun!
Review: This book definitely kept my interest. Full of random adventures across America, the author has many encounters with eccentric people, strange sights, and discovers the spirit of our country. A very fun read, inspired me to take a road trip!
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