The Roads Taken: Travels Through America's Literary Landscapes

After a conversation with his cousin about the carefree travels of Beat writer Jack Kerouac, Setterberg ( Beyond Profit ) embarked on a journey across the U.S. to seven locales that had inspired well-known works of literature. His entertaining memoir of his own time on the road details the differences between his experiences and his expectations, which were based on the books he read in preparation for his journey. Included is a visit to Nebraska inspired by the novels of Willa Cather, a stop in New Orleans--where African American writer Zora Neale Hurston studied voodoo--and a search for the moose that Thoreau described when he camped in the Maine woods. Setterberg's account of mistaking his companion for a rampaging moose is hilarious. This is thought-provoking reading for fans of travel, literature and humor. (Aug.)