Blue Highways

A Journey into America

By: William Least Heat-Moon

Narrated by: Joe Barrett

Hailed as a masterpiece of American travel writing, Blue Highways is an unforgettable journey along our nation's backroads.William Least Heat-Moon set out with little more than the need to put home behind him and a sense of curiosity about "those little towns that get on the map -- if they get on at all -- only because some cartographer has a blank space to fill: Remote, Oregon; Simplicity, Virginia; New Freedom, Pennsylvania; New Hope, Tennessee; Why, Arizona; Whynot, Mississippi."
His adventures, his discoveries, and his recollections of the extraordinary people he encountered along the way amount to a revelation of the true American experience.

road trippin ethnography

A road trip ethnography through the eastern half of the United States including the often-overlooked Midwest. Rich with geographical information /cultural backgrounds of people / dialectical curiosities... most of them about the extraordinary ordinary people of the nation. Has an Edward Abbey like perspective on modernization. Also offers a Native American perspective. Also written before cell phones, which I found a refreshing, no mention of the little devices that caused so much mischief. last two books I read were the Sixth Great Extinction and Desert Solitaire.

36 years later, Blue Highways remains a reminder

of how travel can and does make us whole again. When this book first came out, I was interested in reading about the travel experiences of others. I was happy to see that William Least Heat-Moon has held up many years later. A mix of Zen and Art of Motorcycle Maintenance and Charles Kurault's On the Road, we see interesting place and people. We also see how travel is part of life for those who let it be. If you have not read it, add it to you wish list.

Great book. Flawless narration

A long road trip story to be listened to on a long road trip. Nearly perfect story (see 'Travels with Charley") for an equal. Narrator Joe Barrett is tops. Wish Least Heat Moon's "Prairie Erth" was available on audible.

Great travel book

I listened to this on a long road trip. It lasted from Knoxville to Dallas, all on 'Blue Highways', and made the time fly. Highly recommended.

A Great Reading

Joe Barrett's reading was fantastic. I had read the book years earlier and loved it. Barrett's voice made the re-read even better. Highly recommended.