Review by Booklist Review
In the summer of 2001, the author and his 18-year-old son piled into a 1997 Ford Explorer (stocked with various supplies, including a staggering number of CDs) and embarked on an unusual odyssey: to travel Highway 61 from its beginning in Thunder Bay, Ontario, to New Orleans, where the legendary road just sort of disappears into the city. Their voyage took them, as the book's subtitle reveals, through the middle of America, through its wide-open spaces, its towns and cities. Highway 61, the author (chairman of the journalism department at the University of Florida) tells us, "connects North and South, industrial and rural, black and white, rich and poor." It also, at least in this case, connected a divorced father and son, bringing them together at a time when the son, now becoming a man, was starting to find his own road and to drift even further away. Father-son memoirs are a dime a dozen; this one, though, separates itself from the pack by looking both inward and outward and finding lots to see in both directions. --David Pitt
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Deep, abiding love for music and for his son Graham are twin emotions that emerge with touching clarity in McKeen's literary documentary about traveling through middle America. The book's lack of conflict is immediately evident when McKeen says he and Graham never shared a cross moment. Once readers accept this absence of dramatic tension, they'll be able to enjoy the chronicle as an honest, informative journey. The author capably proves his premise: having an open mind about music, whether it's Johnny Cash, Enya, Tony Bennett or Led Zeppelin, is the only way to gain maximum pleasure from it. McKeen reveres Bob Dylan, and when he and Graham hit Hibbing and Duluth, Minn., readers will gain new insight into Dylan's early years as a performer in a St. Paul pizzeria called the Purple Onion and his abandonment of college after one semester. Visiting Hannibal, Mo., leads to a compelling account of Mark Twain's tragic life. McKeen and son encounter Joe Edwards, who runs the bar Blueberry Hill in a St. Louis suburb and received Cashbox magazine's honor of owner of the best jukebox in America. McKeen is at his best portraying Scott Joplin, who died of syphilis in 1917 and was quoted as saying, "Maybe fifty years after I'm dead my music will be appreciated." Highway 61 itself comes across as a complex, colorful character, whether an open, glorious road or a boring, bumper-to-bumper drive. McKeen ends the book stirringly when he notes that he was "completely shocked to see how segregated this country still is." (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
Highway 61 is such an easy road trip for father and son, William and Graham McKeen, that it wouldn't be a surprise if the reader (metaphorically) fell asleep at the wheel. William (editor of Rock and Roll Is Here To Stay) writes with a comfortable cadence, liberally embellishing his narrative with local history and the lives of musicians he reveres. As a divorced and long-distance father, he views the summer journey as a means to connect with his college-student son; fortunately, they share a love of blues and rock'n'roll, which provides a unifying theme for the trip. Beginning in Canada, the pair heads south, following the Mississippi and exploring the hometowns of Bob Dylan and Mark Twain. Near the end of their journey, they search for the burial place of blues legend Robert Johnson (there are three reputed graves in the Delta). Along the way, accommodations are unremarkable, encounters serendipitous, and many sunsets spectacular. Graham provides an eclectic selection of photographs, but the journey lacks a map (although one could easily follow along with an atlas at hand). This is a book for music lovers as well as armchair travelers. Recommended for regional and most public libraries.-Janet Ross, formerly with Sparks Branch Lib., NV (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
