Back Home: A Foreign Correspondent Rediscovers America

Though absent from the U.S. for over 20 years as a foreign correspondent for the Associated Press and editor of the International Herald Tribune , Rosenblum ( Coups and Earthquakes ) here draws a detailed and incisive portrait of his native land. Traveling through most of the contiguous 48 states in 1986-87, he found much to admire but also much to distress him, notably the indifference of Americans to the world outside U.S. borders. Racism in the South did not surprise this modern-day de Tocqueville, but the Midwestern variety--equally virulent, he attests--came as a bitter disappointment. The narrative also contains lighter moments, handled deftly, as in Rosenblum's account of struggling to change lanes on a Los Angeles freeway (``One after the other, drivers refused to pause. Some smirked; others tossed their heads arrogantly''). Despite his evident affection for aspects of the country (``You've got to be pretty weird not to love Kansas City''), the underlying dark note in Rosenblum's narrative is prominent albeit illuminating. Photos not seen by PW. (Aug.)