An intimate journey across and in search of America, as told by one of its most beloved writers, in a deluxe centennial edition In September 1960, John Steinbeck embarked on a journey across America. He felt that he might have lost touch with the country, with its speech, the smell of its grass and trees, its color and quality of light, the pulse of its people. To reassure himself, he set out on … himself, he set out on a voyage of rediscovery of the American identity, accompanied by a distinguished French poodle named Charley; and riding in a three-quarter-ton pickup truck named Rocinante.
His course took him through almost forty states: northward from Long Island to Maine; through the Midwest to Chicago; onward by way of Minnesota, North Dakota, Montana (with which he fell in love), and Idaho to Seattle, south to San Francisco and his birthplace, Salinas; eastward through the Mojave, New Mexico, Arizona, to the vast hospitality of Texas, to New Orleans and a shocking drama of desegregation; finally, on the last leg, through Alabama, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey to New York.
Travels with Charley in Search of America is an intimate look at one of America’s most beloved writers in the later years of his life—a self-portrait of a man who never wrote an explicit autobiography. Written during a time of upheaval and racial tension in the South—which Steinbeck witnessed firsthand—Travels with Charley is a stunning evocation of America on the eve of a tumultuous decade. This Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition also features French flaps and deckle-edged paper.
For more than sixty-five years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,500 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
From the Trade Paperback edition.
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I would venture to guess that a large portion of the US population has read at least one book by John Steinbeck. I would take that guess one step further, in that a large majority have not read Travels With Charlie, which is a big shame. For anyone who is a fan of On The Road, and the beat-era romantics, this is right up your alley. At its essence, the book is about John Steinbeck traveling across the country in a camper with his dog, Charlie. It begins on the East coast, as Steinbeck prepares to depart, and then we follow his journey up the coast, and through the mid-west, all the way to California. My favorite scene was with Charlie encountering the red woods in California, and it made me reminisce about my own travels, and hope that one day I can do the same trip with my own dog, Wyatt. Throughout the trip, Steinbeck offers personal insight into how he sees America changing, with technology advancing, the environment threatened, and racial tensions escalating. This book should be required reading in all classrooms across the US. It displays an era gone by, yet fraught by the same problems.
This travelogue was one of my favorite books in my 20s, and made me want to jump in my car and travel.
In this time of shelter in place, I throughly enjoyed riding along on a roadtrip with Steinbeck and his dog. A pure joy…especially now!
I decided to revisit this classic after reading it decades ago, and it was even more delightful than the first time I read it. Steinbeck’s journey drew me back to an era I never knew first-hand and made everyday life in that earlier America feel fresh and remarkable.
In the fall of 1960 Steinbeck had a truck designed with a live-in cabin built upon its bed. He christened the vehicle, Rocinante, after Don Quijote’s inseparable horse, and then he set out on a cross-country road trip with his beloved poodle, Charley, as his sole companion. His goal was to remain anonymous in attempts to reestablish himself with the pulse of America. In traveling on back roads whenever feasible and through as many small towns as possible, his great fervor and reverence for the natural world are a cause for celebration. Whether he’s regaling over the entrancing beauty of the sunsets in the Bad Lands or marveling over the majestic wonder of the Sequoia and Redwoods, he sees everything with the keenest eye to uncover its mystery and awe. Equally compelling are his shrewd and honest observations of society. He captures the changing dynamics of cityscapes and the frightful conditions of race relations in the South. With his remarkable powers of description, he pontificates, muses, and ultimately settles on having borne witness to the country caught up in the ever-advancing flow of modernity. Showing compassion, anger, humor, and sorrow, he resigns his emotions to understanding America in all its glory and deficiency. Travels with Charley is an unforgettable memoir and arguably one of Steinbeck’s greatest works.
Like most people, probably, I had to read Grapes of Wrath in school. A classic of American Literature no doubt, but now many years later I find John Steinbeck could be funny? Amazing. I really enjoyed this autobiographical look into Steinbeck’s thoughts and insights. It also show’s how true the old saying, “the more things change, the more they stay the same.”
Read this book when I was 16 and immediately wanted to get a truck and a dog and travel all around the US.
The ultimate road trip, written by a master. I was swept along in Steinbeck’s wake to meet an America now gone, and I was richer for the experience.
I’ve read much of Steinbeck’s work and have always loved it. Travels with Charley is one I never got around to. Seeing the movie and reading the book NOMADLAND remedied that. And I’m so glad it did, because, in this chronicle of America, of traveling, of dog ownership, of life, I sat for a few hours with someone who became a friend and I listened as he shared his adventures, his opinions, his heartaches, and joys. The most surprising thing about the book was how little has changed in the US since this book was first published in 196o. Highly recommended.
My least favorite of all the Steinbeck books I’ve read. I just expected much more emotion from the book, but didn’t find it.
Not what I expected, it left me with much to think about. I left the States about two years ago but get back with some regularity. Having crossed the country in 2013 along much of the same route I found much of what he wrote about in the sixties to still be recognizable. Highly recommended.
Quite disjointed geographically
Steinbeck’s ability to create a sense of place and tell an entertaining story has always impressed me. This nonfiction account of his cross-country road trip in 1960 did not disappoint in that respect
He was 58 when he and his dog, Charley, set out in a modern, fully-stocked camper truck for a months’ long journey. Steinbeck’s goal was to rediscover the America and the people he’d spent decades portraying in his novels. He took the trip in late fall and early winter, specifically to avoid tourists and engage in conversation with the average woman and man. His description of driving isolated back-roads and eating in small-town diners, of laundering clothes on the road and cooking beans on a camp stove were transporting and evocative. It alternated between poignant and funny.
Like many of his works, Travels with Charley, provided an intimate view and insightful interpretation of human nature. Here’s one example. Midway through their travels, Charley became ill and Steinbeck took him to the nearest veterinarian. The author quickly assessed the doctor was likely an alcoholic with a serious hangover. When the vet touched the dog with “his unsteady, inept hand,” Steinbeck wrote, “I saw the look of veiled contempt in Charley’s eyes. He knew about the man, I thought, and perhaps the doctor knew he knew. And maybe that was the man’s trouble. It would be very painful to know that your patients had no faith in you.”
Though Steinbeck was unhappy with the doctor’s gruff bedside manner in the moment, he later reflected on the experience with some empathy, even a touch of compassion. “It wasn’t that this veterinary didn’t like animals. I think he didn’t like himself, and when that is so the subject usually must find an area for dislike outside himself. Else he would have to admit his self-contempt.”
The book also gave me a new perspective of Steinbeck himself and of the era during which he lived. Critical reviewers of the time lauded his searing interpretation of our nation’s shortcomings in “political apathy, environmental degradation, and strident racism.” Yet, reading many passages through today’s lens, I was struck by the irony of such praise and by a renewed sense of pride in how far we have come the past 50 years.
Steinbeck believed in racial equality. He railed against segregation. His words sang with a sincerity I believed. At the same time, some of his expressions made me wince when measuring them against today’s standards of racism.
With regard to the environment, Steinbeck’s prose reflected a man who loved nature and wild places, who championed the preservation of forests and wildlife. Indeed, he was. On the other hand, he viewed those places through the narrow view of a mid-20th century outdoorsman. He didn’t see them as ecosystems vital to mankind’s survival, but rather as playgrounds vital to man’s amusement.
In one passage, he extolled “modern designs for easy living” that made his forays into nature more convenient and enjoyable. “On my boat I had discovered aluminum, disposable cooking utensils, frying pans and deep dishes. You fry a fish and throw the pan overboard.” In another passage, he described camping in the Mohave Desert and setting two coyotes in his rifle sights. “Coyotes are vermin. They steal chickens. They must be killed. They are the enemy,” he wrote. It broke my heart, even though I know that was common, accepted belief in his day.
This memoir smashed the rose-colored glasses through which I viewed my literary hero. That doesn’t mean I no longer admire Steinbeck’s writing and storytelling talents. In fact, it may have deepened my appreciation of his work now that I have a deeper understanding for the real-life man behind the author persona.
As an owner of five dogs reading this book of the last hurrah for a beloved dog by one of my favorite authors was endearing and emotional.
A short travelogue of sorts written by John Steinbeck in the late ’50s, I again feel the pull of its pages every year or so.
In his later years, hoping to reconnect with his country and its people, Steinbeck wrote of the journey he and his poodle “Charlie” made across America in a camping truck. For anybody who ever felt the slightest pang of wanderlust or had a desire to go back to a simpler time needs to read.
One of my all time favorite books. Have read it and listened to it on a road trip. So fun.
A book for any age and one that remains timeless for all its age and that of its readers’.
Steinbeck’s writings have stood the test of time. He is one of the great literary giants. Mere words do not suffice to describe the treasure the book delivers. I loved my travel back in time to mid 20th century America.
This is Steinbeck at his casual best … an absorbing read that will take you back to a less complicated time, although the parallels to today are often head-scratching. You’ll like many of the characters he meets along the way, and you’ll like Charley. Comes to that, you’ll also like his fortified truck, which somehow matches the easy, loping prose.
Vintage Steinbeck.