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243rd out of 766 books
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1,210 voters
American Nomads: Travels with Lost Conquistadors, Mountain Men, Cowboys, Indians, Hoboes, Truckers, and Bullriders
Fascinated by the land of endless horizons, sunshine, and the open road, Richard Grant spent fifteen years wandering throughout the United States, never spending more than three weeks in one place and getting to know America's nomads, truckers, tramps, rodeo cowboys, tie-dyed concert followers, flea market traders, retirees who live year round in their RVs, and the murdero...more
Paperback, 320 pages
Published
January 7th 2005
by Grove Press
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The author is a Brit who came to America to wander. Literally, he understood that the great open spaces of the American West are made for wandering in a way that nowhere in Europe is. To say I'm jealous of this guy would be an understatement. What wouldn't I give to be able to just leave it all behind and hit the road!
Anyway, enough about me. This book covers both modern-day (railroad tramps, RV-ers, Rainbow gatherers) and historical (cowboys, Indians, mountain men) wanderers. There's quite a b...more
Anyway, enough about me. This book covers both modern-day (railroad tramps, RV-ers, Rainbow gatherers) and historical (cowboys, Indians, mountain men) wanderers. There's quite a b...more
Richard Grant is an English journalist who, unable to handle English winters, moved to the American Southwest in the mid-1980s and for 15 years traveled around, rarely spending more than a few weeks in one place. For Grant, the vast open spaces of the West were an invitation to roam, and he's encountered many sorts of people who came to live on the road. Some of these men -- and they are nearly always men -- are described in AMERICAN NOMADS (released as GHOST RIDERS in the UK): truck drivers, dr...more
American Nomads was part of my summer reading list, a little lighter reading than my usual fare I thought. While Grant's book delivered as an enjoyable and swift read that was not too heavy, it also surprised me with its grasp of Western history and valuable insights.
Richard Grant is a Brit with an inclination to ramble. He fell in love with the wide-open spaces and endless road of the American West, and began a life of rambling all over the West at will. When he ran out of money, he returned to...more
Richard Grant is a Brit with an inclination to ramble. He fell in love with the wide-open spaces and endless road of the American West, and began a life of rambling all over the West at will. When he ran out of money, he returned to...more
I selected this book at the library because I have always secretly wanted to be a traveler and always wondered if I would like RVing. About half way through the book I almost quit reading it, thinking this Richard Grant was just trying to justify is own wanderlust and not having any responsibilities. I was also learning more than I really wanted to know about Cowboys, Hoboes, Mountain Men, Indians, Truckers, etc. (I will be hardpressed to really admire many of them again.) Anyhow, as I drew towa...more
May 31, 2008
Glynn
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Humans
Shelves:
favorites
A really fascinating mixture of American history and good yarns which covers everything from Native Americans and early settlers to migratory retirement communities, hippies and truckers.
Possibly the author over-romanticises somewhat, but as I've not read a great deal on the subject before or since I couldn't say for sure. My instinct is that, the author being British and obviously enamoured with the North American landscape and the American ideal long before experiencing either, it's probably...more
Possibly the author over-romanticises somewhat, but as I've not read a great deal on the subject before or since I couldn't say for sure. My instinct is that, the author being British and obviously enamoured with the North American landscape and the American ideal long before experiencing either, it's probably...more
Interesting book. Good discussion as to whether we (Americans) have a class of Nomads. We do have the RV crowd who travel according to the weather. We have Those few who are on the professional entertainment circuit be they rodeo riders, musicians, or actors.
But in reality, none of those groups actually raise families on the road, nor do they pass along the education of nomadic life to the next generation. If there is a class of people who are true nomads that travel from place to place and rais...more
But in reality, none of those groups actually raise families on the road, nor do they pass along the education of nomadic life to the next generation. If there is a class of people who are true nomads that travel from place to place and rais...more
An English journalist follows the wanderers and lost souls journeying (mostly) around the American Southwest. The book splits its pages between a popular history of American exploration and contemporary journalism about hoboes, truckers and RVers. Both parts are fascinating, and Grant's enthusiasm makes even a sedentary creature of habit like me want to get up and roam around the country a little more.
I read this book after God's Middle Finger. I already loved Grant's style and method of investigating the past while relating into the present. It is not as 'exciting' as GMF but is interesting and taught me about my own country. The documentary on this book is now online (BBC 4, I think or a link from authors website). It made me go back and read this excellent book again.
This book is way cool. Grant weaves the story of his own personal obsession with the American Southwest and its subcultures together with historical threads about conquistadors, mountain men, and other wandering souls. It's a tough book to summarize, but I enjoyed almost all of it.
Superb read! A thorough insight into nomadism. For anyone that "when the virus of restlessness begins to take possession of a wayward [wo]man, and the road from Here seems broad and straight and sweet, the victim must find in [her]himself a good and sufficient reason for going."
I found the subject matter fascinating and the writer's attitudes frustrating. It's been pointed out to me that Grant has mainly written for Esquire, and so expecting any kind of approach that took women into account as full human beings was, perhaps, overly optimistic of me. The INS "thank you" is a joke that falls flat about how it took the fear of deportation to make him finally get married. There's no real examination of what would make a person choose to be a nomad, and there's an explicit...more
There is certainly something obsessive about Richard Grant's wanderings, but long may he continue to do so and write about it so well.This book is fascinating,erudite and amusing in equal amounts.
Travel writer Richard Grant explores the American Nomad, from Native Americans right up to present day RV owners, covering the majority of the American Midwest during the course of his trips.
I'm finding myself strangely fascinated by tales of the "old West" these days. This is a great book, full of facts and information on a myriad of Native American tribes, the settlers they fought with and how nomadism is defined today. Who knew the Ulster Scots had such a say in how America is shaped?
The firs...more
I'm finding myself strangely fascinated by tales of the "old West" these days. This is a great book, full of facts and information on a myriad of Native American tribes, the settlers they fought with and how nomadism is defined today. Who knew the Ulster Scots had such a say in how America is shaped?
The firs...more
Self indulgent with some well researched background of the history of mountain men. Some really sharp observations and choices of the nature of the American itinerant...
I picked up a copy of this because I really liked Grant's most recent book "God's Middle Finger..." Of all the types of folks listed in the title Indians and Conquistadors get the most attention. Not a bad thing except I was hoping that there would be more accounts of Grant's first hand encounters with hoboes, train hoppers, hitchhikers, etc. There is quite a bit of text dedicated to the history of interaction between Native Americans and lesser known early American explorers. The sections on th...more
I could not put this down! It makes you want to pack up and get on the road.
For anyone who has felt the wonder-lust to travel, to just pick up and go with the bare essentials eschewing creature comforts, this travel book will delight. Grant encounters everything from drifters and grifters to communes of aging and 20-something hippies. This book calls to the nomad and Grant weaves together his own travel experiences across America with the history of nomadism in the States. It'll make you want to throw a backpack over your shoulder, rent a trailer and hit the road to rus...more
Jan 14, 2010
Carrie Pirmann
added it
travel narratives
Dec 21, 2007
Carla
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Anyone with wanderlust, or who knows someone with it.
Engaging explorations of various real-people's lifestyles that all have one thing in common... the compulsion to keep on the move. Each chapter explores a different person or sub-culture... train-hoppers, historical frontiersmen, retired RV-ers, conquistadors, truckers, hippie-kids. Fabulously lets the reader into these different lifestyles, the good and bad. Reminded me of John Krakaur's writing style. You walk away feeling like you've experienced a taste of these lifestyles.
Aug 15, 2007
Angie
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
people w/ wanderlust
Shelves:
travel-writing
I read this book while researching a trip to the American Southwest. I find the desert and it's draw for nomadic types and outcasts interesting. Grant takes the reader thru an entertaining history of various "nomadic cultures" from the native peoples to todays rodeo circuit and outsider cultures, such as the rail riders and Rainbow gatherings. And of course, the retired RV'ers. Can't forget them.
A web of old and new, from de Vaca and mountain man Joe Walker to modern day hitchhikers and the rodeo circuit. Books like these that have multiple angles are very difficult to pull off- they usually end up like a bad soup - but Grant is easily up to the task. He is a great storyteller with a keen eye for the colorful character; the result is a very engaging book.
Jan 28, 2008
Joy
added it
Recommends it for:
History buffs, people interested in sociology, travel, culture
Recommended to Joy by:
Kevin Paille
Shelves:
non-fiction
A great foray into the lives and travels of many a nomad: Native Americans, hobos, pilgrims, RV-er's, hippies, cowboys, etc. Written by Richard Grant, a Brit with a penchant himself for the walkabout. He's got a quick wit and outsider insight that makes this a revealing, educational, and humorous read. I've recommended this to many people, to majority appeal.
I read this quirkly non fiction tale of american nomads and the author who is drawn to this life in a hotel room in Egypt, so maybe my perception was strained, but story after story of the most interesting people who are compelled to roam ends suddendly, just as the author seems to be getting somewhere. While the ending is a letdown, the rest is great nonfiction.
Thoughtful analysis of why some people prefer a nomadic life vs. more sedentary, focusing on the American West, including the early history of Europeans travelling through the Indian country. The author is British.
The title says it all...Grant is a traveling guy, and he crosses paths with all kinds of American nomads and gets to know them. From tripping hippies to snowbirds in RV's and everything in between. If you've traveled much yourself then you'll relate to this, and one of the chapters will probably be right up your alley.
I will definitely be reading some of the bibliography--it was that good.
Some people are "Born Under a Wondering Star" or with itchy feet that have to me on the move. More power to them, they will see more of the world than I ever will.
Wish you could just hit the road and keep going? This book will take you there, with a history of America's nomadic peoples and individuals, past and present.
An interesting, if uneven book. Lots of American history mixed with stories about modern day nomads - truckers, bullriders, freight train riders, etc.
Apr 11, 2008
Annie
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Wanderlusters, people embarking on roadtrips
I read this when I was about to start my westward-bound road trip...definitely inspires wanderlust.
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Richard Grant is a freelance British travel writer based in Arizona. He was born in Malaysia, lived in Kuwait as a boy and then moved to London. He went to school in Hammersmith and received a history degree from University College, London. After graduation he worked as a security guard, a janitor, a house painter and a club DJ before moving to America where he lived a nomadic life in the American...more
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Apr 23, 2011 03:03am