American ramble A walk of memory and renewal

Neil King

Book - 2023

"A stunning, revelatory memoir about a 330-mile walk from Washington, D.C., to New York City--an unforgettable pilgrimage to the heart of America across some of our oldest common ground. Neil King Jr's desire to walk from Washington, D.C., to New York City began as a whim and soon became an obsession. Determined to rediscover what matters in life and to see our national story with new eyes, Neil turned north with a small satchel on his back and one mission in mind: To pay close attention to the land he crossed and the people he met. The journey travels deep into America's past and present, uncovering forgotten pockets and overlooked people. By turns amusing, inspiring, and sublime, American Ramble offers an exquisite account ...of personal and national renewal--an indelible study of our country as we've never seen it before"--

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Subjects
Genres
Biographies
Travel writing
Published
New York : Mariner Books [2023]
Language
English
Main Author
Neil King (author)
Other Authors
George Hamilton (illustrator)
Edition
First edition
Physical Description
ix, 354 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (pages 351-352).
ISBN
9780358701491
  • Maps
  • Chapter 1. The Pre-Amble
  • Chapter 2. Time and the River
  • Chapter 3. The Parables
  • Chapter 4. Bolts of Beauty
  • Chapter 5. Walking the Line
  • Chapter 6. Two Tracks Taken
  • Chapter 7. The Memory Boom
  • Chapter 8. Thunderbird, Walking Man
  • Chapter 9. Doughface, Meet Clubfoot
  • Chapter 10. Renewing Your Mind
  • Chapter 11. A Martyrs Mirror
  • Chapter 12. Year of the Destroying Angels
  • Chapter 13. Road to Yellow Springs
  • Chapter 14. One Winter Long Ago
  • Chapter 15. The Eyes of God
  • Chapter 16. The Second Naivete
  • Chapter 17. The Founding Tools
  • Chapter 18. Sauntering Ones
  • Chapter 19. Crossing the River
  • Chapter 20. The Heart of Amazonia
  • Chapter 21. Cresting the Great Mound
  • Chapter 22. Pushing at the Matrix
  • Chapter 23. Rapture on the Bayonne Bridge
  • Chapter 24. Angel of the Waters
  • Chapter 25. The Post-Amble
  • Acknowledgments
  • A Note on Reading, and Walking
  • List of Illustrations
Review by Booklist Review

In the spring of 2022, author King, a cancer survivor, stepped out of his Washington, DC, home to take a walk--specifically to walk from his house near the U.S. Capitol to New York City. This accounting of his undertaking is enriched by King's musings on the history, geography, architecture, people, small towns, and hidden places he encounters along his carefully-designed path. It's also a spiritual journey, as he reflects on his internal life in comparison to the values and priorities he observes as he passes through various communities and meets an array of fascinating individuals. King, who began his career as an overseas investigative reporter, is a great storyteller, and every brief, satisfying chapter rises and falls over the course of a few days of travel, creating uniquely complete scenarios. He includes a map of his route, and black-and-white sketches introduce every chapter. Armchair travelers will enjoy being taken along on King's walk and will be grateful that he chose to share his emotional wanderings too.

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Kirkus Book Review

A journalist recounts his walking journey through the "original heartland" of America. After enduring both the pandemic and a frightening cancer diagnosis, King Jr., a longtime reporter for the Wall Street Journal, felt the urge to set out on a 330-mile walk from Washington, D.C., to New York City to get a better feel for the character of his nation. Though he notes that there is nothing heroic or newsworthy about the walk, the author's storytelling skills transform a seemingly insignificant trip into something revelatory. In just under a month, King trekked down back roads, across farmlands, and along riverbanks, meeting individuals from various walks of life. Alongside details about the adventure, he reflects on the history of this region of the U.S., sharing numerous keen insights and observations. At the beginning, King strolls past the Capitol, and he reflects on the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection, an event still very fresh in the minds of many Americans. Crossing the Mason-Dixon Line, King ponders what enslaved people heading north along the same path may have thought about the country that treated them reprehensibly. While in Amish and Mennonite farm country, he receives a lesson in the renewal of the mind, pondering the values of nonconformity. Writing about Valley Forge, he considers the concept of perseverance, and later, he makes his own personal crossing of the Delaware River. Climbing a landfill in New Jersey, he mourns the excessive consumerism of American society. But the author is largely optimistic. "As I went, day after day, opening myself to the people and places I encountered," he writes, "I became in turn more open to those people and places….Absent the otherworld distractions buried in our phones or laptops, I could feel my capacity for awe and wonder grow exponentially with the days." Readers who enjoyed Rinker Buck's Life on the Mississippi should try this one next. Hamilton's drawings complement King's text. An enlightening book with lessons for us all. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.