From the Pulitzer Prize finalist and National Book Critics Circle Award–winning author of Newjack, an absorbing book about road...
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reviews
Jul 27, 2011
In the introduction to this new book, Ted Conover describes travel as "an expression of personal curiousity, of a broader education less mediated by received thought." I completely agree, and I now realize that this is exactly why I like Conover's books so much. Through them, he takes me to places and introduces me to people I don't have the courage or means to visit myself.
This is another example of his outstanding storytelling. He again brings to the masses a better understandin More...
This is another example of his outstanding storytelling. He again brings to the masses a better understandin More...
Jul 28, 2010
BOOK REVIEW
Tracing our roads and the bumps along the way
By Ethan Gilsdorf, Boston Globe Correspondent | February 9, 2010
Roads bring us together. They shape where we live, and how we interact with each other. Choices are forks, decisions are paths. Robert Frost tells us this, and so does Bob Seger.
But “not all connections are good,’’ warns Ted Conover in “The Routes of Man: How Roads Are Changing the World, and the Way We Live Today.’’ “Connection means v More...
Tracing our roads and the bumps along the way
By Ethan Gilsdorf, Boston Globe Correspondent | February 9, 2010
Roads bring us together. They shape where we live, and how we interact with each other. Choices are forks, decisions are paths. Robert Frost tells us this, and so does Bob Seger.
But “not all connections are good,’’ warns Ted Conover in “The Routes of Man: How Roads Are Changing the World, and the Way We Live Today.’’ “Connection means v More...
Apr 23, 2010
Stephany
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I was simultaneously encouraged and envious while reading this book: I travel not an iota as much as I'd like, and here is a man whose life work is comprised of lighting out for the road. Wonderful!
The Routes of Man is a keenly observant, often humorous travelogue that welcomes and digs into (but fortunately does not attempt to solve) many of the world's complex issues that the author encounters while traveling. He follows mahogany from its source in the rain forest to Manhattan (a More...
The Routes of Man is a keenly observant, often humorous travelogue that welcomes and digs into (but fortunately does not attempt to solve) many of the world's complex issues that the author encounters while traveling. He follows mahogany from its source in the rain forest to Manhattan (a More...
Mar 15, 2010
Beth
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This book was mentioned on NPR and because the author explored roads in places where or near where we had been, I wanted to read it. His premise is about the power of roads to change the world- sometimes in good ways and sometimes in bad ones. In Peru he traveled with loggers who were denuding mahogany in Amazonia and brining it over the Andes to sell. In East Africa, he went with truckers. It is assumed that truckers had brought aids to towns along the routes when they visited whores. He also
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Jul 29, 2011
This is one of the greatest books ever; the journalist is a hero. He travels through six of the world's major roads (or locations of potential roads) in Peru, Zanskar of Northern India, Kenya, the West Bank, China, and Lagos in Nigeria in order to explore some of the issues surrounding roads. As stated brilliantly in his introduction, "...the same roads that carry medicine also hasten the spread of deadly disease; the same roads that bring outside connection and knowledge to people starving
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Nov 09, 2010
Emily
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The stories in this book, telling the tales of six different roads all over the globe and exploring their implications, actual and potential, for the people who use them or live near them, were amazing and engaging, bringing us to parts of the world that I will almost certainly never experience and introducing us to many insightful and memorable people. Important questions concerning globalization, cultural assimilation, and environmentalism are raised and addressed, sometimes obliquely, by the
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May 04, 2011
Bruce
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This is a well-reported series of six long-form "immersion journalism" reports loosely linked by the theme of "roads." But perhaps its best sections are what's between the main chapters.
The roads in the main chapters are a Peruvian highway across the Andes and related river routes in the far western Amazon (the subject is the impact of development on indigenous peoples and on the environment), a Himalayan track atop a frozen river (same subject), an East African t More...
The roads in the main chapters are a Peruvian highway across the Andes and related river routes in the far western Amazon (the subject is the impact of development on indigenous peoples and on the environment), a Himalayan track atop a frozen river (same subject), an East African t More...
Jun 07, 2010
Sean
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Another winner from Ted Conover, who in my opinion is the best writer working in immersion journalism alive. In "Routes of Man," Mr. Conover travels six "roads" -- a Peruvian river, an Indian ice river route, an East African transnational trucking route, Palestinian and Israeli checkpoints, a Chinese road trip, and the rounds of ambulance drivers in Lagos, Nigeria. Along the way, the road becomes the vehicle for Conover to do what he does as well as anyone -- explain the nu
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Aug 27, 2011
David
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When I started reading The Routes of Man I thought it was going to be about famous roads in civilization. I was mostly wrong. It’s actually a very engrossing modern day worldwide road trip. Conover is an interesting guy and in The Routes of Man he takes the reader to many of the most desolate, dangerous and delightful places on Earth and introduces us to some of the individuals who live there. He travels the most remote roads and rivers of Peru to explore the illegal mahogany harvesting occu
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Apr 21, 2010
Andrew
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As a writer, it's clear that Ted Conover see's somewhat differently than most of us. There's an attention to the detail, a specificity that informs his narrative providing it with a grounding. Then there's the higher level associations connecting these details to broader ideas. Whether he's describing the lives of villagers in rural India while they travel 100 miles on a frozen river or he's stationed with soldiers guarding checkpoints in the West Bank, the human and the humanitarian are com
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Apr 06, 2010
Bookmarks Magazine
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Reviewers were generally happy to follow Conover as he brought to life some of the world's most interesting and dangerous routes while managing to steer clear of the thousand ""road-as-life"" metaphors that could have congested the work. But they tended to criticize him with their own transit analogy: Routes of Man, many wrote, lacks the promised path connecting Conover's adventures perhaps because many of the essays originated as magazine articles in National Geographic, the
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Jan 09, 2011
Dpdwyer
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Ted Conover doesn't just write about stuff, he lives it. In Newjack he work for a year as a guard at Sing Sing---great book! In Coyotes he crossed the border several times with illegals. In this book he explores the impacts of roads on men and cultures. He talks about the Roman roads and the early trails on Manhattan. He hikes from Zanskar, Ladakh to Leh in winter on a frozen river. He rides with a trucker in East Africa. He rides the roads in the West Bank, some of which are only for Pale
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Aug 17, 2011
Marilynmayer
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If you really want to understand transporation & trade in the modern world, this book is a must. The roads Conover travels upon are found in Peru & Brazil, where the Transamerican Highway will connect South America from the Atlantic to the Pacific; Kenya & Uganda, where a lot gets shipped in but very little gets shipped out; Kashmir, where extreme isolation is as much of a problem as the Pakistan/India conflict over this land; China, where self-driving tours are all the rage; Lagos, Nigeria, wh
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Apr 03, 2011
Marks54
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This is a book in which the author writes about six major roads in different parts of the world. Most are places that many of us will never get a chance to see. Each chapter was well written and interesting although I was less clear about the overall perspective of the book than I was with Peter Hessler's Country Driving, which I read together with this book. The most memorable chapter for me was the first one, when the author was doing some custom woodworking in Manhattan and wanted to follo
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Jan 17, 2011
Caleb
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An excellent consideration of roads and how they're changing the world. Conover writes of roads in Peru, India, Kenya, Israel, China, and Nigeria. The Israel section really stood out for being a very evenhanded look at the issues of roads in the West Bank from both perspectives. The other stories were also good. Conover has an eye for detail and seems to generally get along with people, which led him to get some people to talk to him who otherwise might not have. My only quibbles were with
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Mar 30, 2010
Becky
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If Ted Conover wrote the text on cereal boxes, I'd read every one. I can count on one hand the writers of non-fiction who have moved me with their observational AND emotional acuity, their empathy and insight. In my book, he keeps company with Caroline Knapp (RIP), Barbara Ehrenreich, David Sedaris (yup) and Jon Krakauer. This book, because of its more diffuse subject, six roads around the world, versus a year in Aspen or Sing Sing, say, has a subtler impact on the reader. But Routes is full of
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May 25, 2010
Sarah
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Another great book from Ted Conover. He proves himself again as our generation's Studs Terkel. This book is a little different than the previous, as it is not the tale of a single adventure, but a look back at lessons learned from what I'm sure was many adventures. Don't let that fool you though, it was still riveting. The central theme is roads, but the stories are really about how roads bring modernization to cultures and economies. It made me think a lot about my perspective on the moder
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Jun 28, 2010
reed
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Many nonfiction books published these days have a specific point to make and are narrowly focused on providing evidence to support their argument. This book is refreshingly broad and relaxed. Conover is an engaging writer, he's obviously really enjoying his travels and the cultures he encounters. When he turns to controversial topics (environment vs development, for instance), he presents both sides evenhandedly and admits to his own uncertainties. What comes across more than anything else is hi
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Jun 19, 2010
Dave
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A really interesting exploration of what roads mean and bring to various parts of the world, most of them in developing countries or remote areas. Conover did a great job of making me feel like I was along for the ride in several parts of the world that I will likely never visit. He makes compelling connections and shows why the roads matter; he also isn't always environmentally preachy, showing that he understands what increased economic opportunity can mean to destitute people, and at what cos
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Feb 11, 2012
Oleg
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From reading the cover flap, I expected The Routes of Man to be a historical survey of the influence of roads on society. Instead, Conover's book is more a smattering of the author's experience with different roads around the world. A quick review of Ted Conover's previous books and articles reveals that, in fact, The Routes of Man might be a comprised of previously unpublished experiences gathered during unrelated travels. If that makes this book seem derivative, I would caution against that co
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Sep 01, 2010
Jillian
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'"And what would you go there to see, exactly?" asked one culture-minded friend. She has a point. Lagos has few museums, not too many antiquities, only a handful of public spaces of buildings of note, and stunningly little natural beauty. It does, however, have a reputation for crime, and lots and lots of people.
But people are interesting. So is crime.'
p268
Those last two lines made me laugh in recognition; pretty much every journalism student I know here (myself More...
But people are interesting. So is crime.'
p268
Those last two lines made me laugh in recognition; pretty much every journalism student I know here (myself More...
Jul 19, 2010
William
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I picked up this book based on the dust jacket blurb. It was all that, and much more.
The author describes events surrounding either the building or the ongoing uses of a handful of roads around the world. He visits all of them, and weaves their history or current relevance into the story of his visit and the interesting people he met.
This was very engaging and quite entertaining, and the history of the roads and their geographic areas so seamlessly woven in was something More...
The author describes events surrounding either the building or the ongoing uses of a handful of roads around the world. He visits all of them, and weaves their history or current relevance into the story of his visit and the interesting people he met.
This was very engaging and quite entertaining, and the history of the roads and their geographic areas so seamlessly woven in was something More...
Apr 03, 2010
Lori
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The author takes us on a fascinating tour of a variety of types of roads all over the world. He discusses how they have affected the communities they connect and the communities that grow up around them, in both good and not-so-good ways.
The maps at the beginning of each of the major stories are a much-appreciated feature (my only criticism: I wish they had been provided for the minor stories as well), as were the photographs.
All in all, an interesting read.
The maps at the beginning of each of the major stories are a much-appreciated feature (my only criticism: I wish they had been provided for the minor stories as well), as were the photographs.
All in all, an interesting read.
Oct 26, 2011
brook
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If you like books that take the physical world around us, man-made and natural (Botany of Desire, The Secret Knowledge of Water) and extrapolate information about us from it, you will enjoy this book. It is not as well-written or succinct as, say, Botany, but follows the same theme. We visit different "roads" around the world via the author, who travels there firsthand.
Following the great trucking roads across Africa, and it correlation to the spread of AIDS, was the most interes More...
Following the great trucking roads across Africa, and it correlation to the spread of AIDS, was the most interes More...
Dec 25, 2010
Florence
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I admire Ted Conover's sense of adventure. He goes to obscure, and often dangerous places and inserts himself into the lives of the locals in a sincere effort to understand how ordinary people live. This often involves moments of peril, such as when he walked on a frozen river in Zanskar a part of Kashmir, India. Or driving on sheer edged mountain roads of South America or in dodging lawless gangs of homeless youths in Lagos, Nigeria. I enjoyed experiencing all of these places with him from
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Jul 26, 2011
Journalistic social geography, in which the author tags along with mahogany smugglers in Peru, Nepali schoolchildren commuting to boarding school along a frozen river, Kenyan truck drivers and the systemic culture of bribery, the everyday work of IDF soldiers at checkpoints in the West Bank, the haphazard activities of a Chinese touring club for new drivers and the somewhat less than lifesaving capabilities of an ambulance in Lagos.
Mar 01, 2011
Kenneth
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Ted Conover's excellent social-anthropological writing in The Routes of Man covers trips from Park Avenue to Peru (following expensive mahogony to its source), India's Zanskar's chaddar (when the river freezes over, it becomes a major roadway), Kenya (following the routes of truck drivers as well as the path of AIDS), the West Bank (both sides: Palestinians and Israelis, and the latter's checkpoints), the burgeoning car culture in China, and the horrors of the highways in Lagos, Nigeria. Conover
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Apr 09, 2010
Katie
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This book sounded fantastic in the NY Times review I read of it. But I'm sad to say that I had a very hard time paying attention to it. I usually love the old travel "live through the eyes of someone more dangerous than yourself" kind of books, but this one left me cold, even though it starts off with Conover traveling to Peru to see where mahogany is harvested (he almost suffers an aneurysm from altitude sickness while hitchhiking with a truck driver and lady grape vendor...see? It
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Apr 25, 2010
Jill
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I found this book fascinating. Each of the areas the author explored came alive, and it was very well written. My only criticism is that the book is a bit disjointed. Had it been presented as a related set of essays, I would have been not had an expectation (unfulfilled) of a unified theme. All in all, however, I would recommend this book to armchair and seasoned travelers alike.
Feb 02, 2012
Kim
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If the 10-day highway traffic jam in China in 2010 had you wondering about global transportation systems, I have the perfect book for you! Pulitzer-finalist and National Book Critics Circle Award-winner Ted Conover traveled to six different cities around the world to explore the ways that getting around can impact people's lives financially, socially, environmentally, even sexually. From East African trucking routes to West Bank checkpoints, Peruvian mahogany waterways to a frozen Indian riverbe
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