There’s a literary history of cross-country travel that is distinctly American.  This “sub-genre” includes both fiction and non-fiction.  Each story functions as a voice in a conversation about the country that began with Lewis and Clark a couple hundred years ago and will continue for as long as there are people in this country who decide to head out for a couple thousand miles and tell the rest of us what they find.  Hearing the stories of those who went before is one of the things that fuels my desire to contribute my own tales to the mix.  What I’m trying to say is that I know I’m not the first to do something like this and to prove it I’ve included some quasi-reviews of books that already have. 

    There are basically two types of books featured here.  One type tells the story of a journey.  The other is more about a place.  The journeys are a part of the sub-genre I mentioned above.  They take place over many miles in a short amount of time.  The others cover far fewer miles but travel greater distances through time.  

    I’ve tried to avoid turning my excitement for these works into banal book reports. Nevertheless if you happen to be visiting this site because you have a book report due tomorrow, there may be something in here worth ripping off.  Let me know what grade you get.