Twenty West: The Great Road Across America

Editorial Reviews. Review. Nelson manages to pull off the not-so-easy feat of being quirky, Twenty West: The Great Road Across America by [Nelson, Mac].
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Preview — Twenty West by Mac Nelson. The Great Road Across America 3. It has become the Main Street of my life. I am fond of it, and want to tell its very American story. As the "0" in its route number indicates, US 20 is a coast-to-coast road, crossing twelve states as it meanders 3, miles from Boston, Massachusetts, to Newport, Oregon. Nelson, an experienced "shunpiker," travels west along the Great Road, ruminating on history, literature, scenery, geology, politics, wilderness, the Great Plains, and national parks--whatever the most interesting aspects of a particular region seem to be.

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Beginning with the great writers and founders of religion in the East who lived and wrote on or near US 20, including Anne Bradstreet, Phyllis Wheatley, and Sylvia Plath, then crossing the plains to the forests, mountains, and deserts of the West, Nelson's journey on this beloved road is personal and idiosyncratic, serious and comic. More than a mile-by-mile guidebook, Twenty West offers a glimpse of a boyish and very American fascination with the road that will entice the traveler in all of us to take the long way home.

Hardcover , pages. To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. To ask other readers questions about Twenty West , please sign up. Lists with This Book. This book is not yet featured on Listopia. Nov 28, Kelly rated it did not like it Shelves: He only cares about the Boston area, apparently, and he leaves little to talk about further west since there aren't many places of literary excellence. This guy is irritating, self-absorbed, and tenure-hungry. Did you really need to inform us your friend!!!!

It doesn't give you any more credit. Also, why route 20? Route 30 is the real Great Road of America. Run far, far away from this book.


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It's like a terrible history text book with the author seeking credibility for know He only cares about the Boston area, apparently, and he leaves little to talk about further west since there aren't many places of literary excellence. It's like a terrible history text book with the author seeking credibility for knowing a bit about Boston's literary scene.

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As a guide to US20, this book is a failure. Nelson uses the location of the highway to riff out on other subjects: Very few nuggets of information can be found about the highway itself. An interesting, even captivating, historical and personal account of U. There's a wonderful depth and detail throughout, but with special attention to Yellowstone National Park. I've known the author and have been a very close friend of the author for over 40 years.


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    • I knew he wrote the book, but hadn't read it simply because I was too busy to do so. I've very glad that I finally found the time to do so.

    leondumoulin.nl: Twenty West: The Great Road Across America eBook: Mac Nelson: Kindle Store

    I got this book for my husband who is riding his motorcycle across the US on Highway 20 this summer. We live in Eugene Oregon so he will start in Newport and ride east to Boston. He absolutely loved this book and all of the history that Mac included. Before reading this book, he was planning on doing the trip in 7 days - now, he has realized that there is so much to see, that he will be taking 2 weeks!

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    Thank you Mac, for putting sense into his head!!! Really good reference about a trip we may take, east to west on hwy 20 coast to coast. I bought this book to help plan for a road trip across the country on Highway The author is from the east coast so most of the information is about New York state. His political twist on things grated, repeatedly.


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      • Once past NY the information was sketchy at best. I read the book because I am planning a trip west on The author has a style that is well suited for this kind of story. There was a nice blend of personal stories and travel log though some of the stories about Yellowstone were out of character with the rest of the book in that they were quite detailed. Yellowstone also elicited some coverage of the politics of National Parks management. All in all a good read for those interested in America and the lure of the open road. Prairies and Plains, the Big Empty and the Sandhills 5.

      The Struggle for a Continent 6.

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      Yellowstone, the Peaceable Kingdom 7. The Great Road to Wilderness 8. You Have 0 Item s In Cart. Click on image to enlarge. Mac Nelson - Author. Table of Contents Acknowledgments Introduction: