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The Road That Made America: A Modern Pilgrim's Journey on the Great Wagon Road
In the bestselling tradition of Rinker Buck’s The Oregon Trail and Tony Horwitz’s Confederates in the Attic, The Road That Made America
is a lively, epic account of one of the greatest untold stories in our nation’s history—the eight-hundred-mile long Great Wagon Road that 18th-century American settlers forged from Philadelphia to Georgia that expanded the country dramatically in the decades before we ventured west.
Little known today, the Great Wagon Road was the primary road of frontier a mass migration route that stretched more than eight hundred miles from Philadelphia to Augusta, Georgia. It opened the Southern frontier and wilderness east of the Appalachian Mountains to America’s first settlers, and later served as the gateway for the exploration of the American West. In the mid-1700s, waves of European colonists in search of land for new homes left Pennsylvania to settle in the colonial backcountry of Maryland, Virginia, and the Carolinas. More than one hundred thousand settlers made the arduous trek, those who would become the foundational generations of the world’s first true immigrant nation. In their newly formed village squares, democracy took root and bloomed. During the Revolutionary War, the road served as the key supply line to the American resistance in the western areas of the colonies, especially in the South.
Drawing on years of fieldwork and scholarship by an army of archeologists, academics, archivists, preservationists, and passionate history lovers, James Dodson sets out to follow the road’s original path from Philadelphia to Georgia. On his journey, he crosses six contiguous states and some of the most historic and hallowed landscapes of eastern America, touching many of the nation’s most sacred battlefields and burying grounds. Due to its strategic importance, military engagements were staged along the Great Wagon Road throughout North America’s three major wars, including the early days of the bloody French and Indian conflict and pivotal Revolutionary War encounters.
In time, the Great Wagon Road became America’s first technology highway, as growing roadside villages and towns and cities became, in effect, the first incubators of America’s early Industrial age. The people and ideas that traveled down the road shaped the character of the fledgling nation and helped define who we are today. Dodson’s ancestors on both sides took the Great Wagon Road to Maryland and North Carolina, respectively, giving him a personal stake in uncovering the road’s buried legacy. An illuminating and entertaining first-person history, The Road That Made America restores this long-forgotten route to its rightful place in our national story.
Little known today, the Great Wagon Road was the primary road of frontier a mass migration route that stretched more than eight hundred miles from Philadelphia to Augusta, Georgia. It opened the Southern frontier and wilderness east of the Appalachian Mountains to America’s first settlers, and later served as the gateway for the exploration of the American West. In the mid-1700s, waves of European colonists in search of land for new homes left Pennsylvania to settle in the colonial backcountry of Maryland, Virginia, and the Carolinas. More than one hundred thousand settlers made the arduous trek, those who would become the foundational generations of the world’s first true immigrant nation. In their newly formed village squares, democracy took root and bloomed. During the Revolutionary War, the road served as the key supply line to the American resistance in the western areas of the colonies, especially in the South.
Drawing on years of fieldwork and scholarship by an army of archeologists, academics, archivists, preservationists, and passionate history lovers, James Dodson sets out to follow the road’s original path from Philadelphia to Georgia. On his journey, he crosses six contiguous states and some of the most historic and hallowed landscapes of eastern America, touching many of the nation’s most sacred battlefields and burying grounds. Due to its strategic importance, military engagements were staged along the Great Wagon Road throughout North America’s three major wars, including the early days of the bloody French and Indian conflict and pivotal Revolutionary War encounters.
In time, the Great Wagon Road became America’s first technology highway, as growing roadside villages and towns and cities became, in effect, the first incubators of America’s early Industrial age. The people and ideas that traveled down the road shaped the character of the fledgling nation and helped define who we are today. Dodson’s ancestors on both sides took the Great Wagon Road to Maryland and North Carolina, respectively, giving him a personal stake in uncovering the road’s buried legacy. An illuminating and entertaining first-person history, The Road That Made America restores this long-forgotten route to its rightful place in our national story.
416 pages, Hardcover
First published July 1, 2025
61 people are currently reading
3416 people want to read
About the author
James Dodson
62 books44 followersJames Dodson is the author of seven books, including Final Rounds and Ben Hogan: An American Life. He lives with his family in Southern Pines, North Carolina."
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
June 6, 2025
I don't know what you think about genealogy. I think it is kind of a fun hobby that should be pursued anonymously and privately, lest you bore those around you. Most fun hobbies are like this. I am a fan of one notable writer who has recently taken to collecting fountain pens, and I now know more than I want about fountain pens, and I never wanted to ever learn anything about fountain pens. And I promise that I will not bore you overmuch with my opinions on my own personal genealogy or my favorite pen (which is the Zebra F-301 Retractable Ballpoint, the best pen ever made, and I will not argue about this, so don't even try me).
Case in point: I was talking to a co-worker who was starting to get into genealogy, and she mentioned how much she wanted to be able to show that she had an ancestor on the MAYFLOWER, and I said, "Oh, well, you go back far enough, most people are, even I am," and I had to explain about my multiple great-grandfather who was the ship's carpenter, and I very inadvertantly made her feel bad about herself, and I am sorry for that but it's hardly my fault.
So I get the impulse to write about one's own family history, even though it's deadly, scorchingly dull. I have not only MAYFLOWER ancestry but am related to several undistinguished Civil War generals, and I toyed for a while with the idea of writing about those fellows, but eventually gave it up as a bad job because it would involve frequent travel to Utica, New York (long story). And that is basically, sorta-kinda, what James Dodson started off to do here.
Dodson's forebearers were travelers on the "Great Wagon Road," which was originally an Indian pathway turned into a colonial thoroughfare, running along several tracks from Philadelphia west to York, and then southbound from there through the Shenandoah Valley, down into the Carolinas down to Augusta. (There is a great deal of argumentation in the book about the true route of said road, most of which can profitably be skipped.)
So the intention of the book, for better or worse, was for Dodson to travel the track of this road, in an ancient Buick, with his dog, TRAVELS WITH CHARLEY-style, retracing family history and all that. There are elements of that in the book, and I think, again, much of that can profitably be skipped. In the subtitle, Dodson describes himself as a "pilgrim," which is a word with a double meaning. Generally, a pilgrim is one who follows a well-worn path to a religious site. But the American usage of "Pilgrim" refers the pioneer colonists of Massachusetts Bay, who were going somewhere no one else had ever been (except the Native Americans, of course). Your basic pilgrim is going to Mecca or along the Camino de Santiago; the only historic relic my Pilgrim ancestors left is a thoroughly unremarkable rock in Plymouth, which has been disappointing visitors since the earliest days of the Republic. So Dodson is basically a pilgrim following the path of other pioneer-pilgrims, if that makes sense.
Fortunately, that's not what the book turned out to be--a deadly dull travelogue through the Middle Atlantic backwoods with a caravan of ghosts. What THE ROAD THAT MADE AMERICA turned out to be is a series of conversations with a whole lot of interesting people who are involved in efforts to preserve local history in their towns. Fortunately (for me, anyway) the tour starts in Philadelphia and Lancaster, which are a short hop from where I live in New Jersey and are fun places to visit. (Dodson details a visit to City Tavern in Philadelphia, which closed during COVID and has yet to re-open, and I am a bit depressed about that.) The book reads like one of those over-eager New York Times "48 Hours in Staunton, Virginia" articles, and I like those, but focusing on local history rather than avocado toast.
Anyway, not a very compelling narrative, I don't think, but lots of fun interactions with interesting people and a discussion of lots of history that I never once thought about (seriously, I've been to Lancaster maybe twenty times in the last twenty years and I've never once heard about the big massacre of Native Americans, go figure). Recommended (but I have bad news for you about Dodson's dog, sorry).
Case in point: I was talking to a co-worker who was starting to get into genealogy, and she mentioned how much she wanted to be able to show that she had an ancestor on the MAYFLOWER, and I said, "Oh, well, you go back far enough, most people are, even I am," and I had to explain about my multiple great-grandfather who was the ship's carpenter, and I very inadvertantly made her feel bad about herself, and I am sorry for that but it's hardly my fault.
So I get the impulse to write about one's own family history, even though it's deadly, scorchingly dull. I have not only MAYFLOWER ancestry but am related to several undistinguished Civil War generals, and I toyed for a while with the idea of writing about those fellows, but eventually gave it up as a bad job because it would involve frequent travel to Utica, New York (long story). And that is basically, sorta-kinda, what James Dodson started off to do here.
Dodson's forebearers were travelers on the "Great Wagon Road," which was originally an Indian pathway turned into a colonial thoroughfare, running along several tracks from Philadelphia west to York, and then southbound from there through the Shenandoah Valley, down into the Carolinas down to Augusta. (There is a great deal of argumentation in the book about the true route of said road, most of which can profitably be skipped.)
So the intention of the book, for better or worse, was for Dodson to travel the track of this road, in an ancient Buick, with his dog, TRAVELS WITH CHARLEY-style, retracing family history and all that. There are elements of that in the book, and I think, again, much of that can profitably be skipped. In the subtitle, Dodson describes himself as a "pilgrim," which is a word with a double meaning. Generally, a pilgrim is one who follows a well-worn path to a religious site. But the American usage of "Pilgrim" refers the pioneer colonists of Massachusetts Bay, who were going somewhere no one else had ever been (except the Native Americans, of course). Your basic pilgrim is going to Mecca or along the Camino de Santiago; the only historic relic my Pilgrim ancestors left is a thoroughly unremarkable rock in Plymouth, which has been disappointing visitors since the earliest days of the Republic. So Dodson is basically a pilgrim following the path of other pioneer-pilgrims, if that makes sense.
Fortunately, that's not what the book turned out to be--a deadly dull travelogue through the Middle Atlantic backwoods with a caravan of ghosts. What THE ROAD THAT MADE AMERICA turned out to be is a series of conversations with a whole lot of interesting people who are involved in efforts to preserve local history in their towns. Fortunately (for me, anyway) the tour starts in Philadelphia and Lancaster, which are a short hop from where I live in New Jersey and are fun places to visit. (Dodson details a visit to City Tavern in Philadelphia, which closed during COVID and has yet to re-open, and I am a bit depressed about that.) The book reads like one of those over-eager New York Times "48 Hours in Staunton, Virginia" articles, and I like those, but focusing on local history rather than avocado toast.
Anyway, not a very compelling narrative, I don't think, but lots of fun interactions with interesting people and a discussion of lots of history that I never once thought about (seriously, I've been to Lancaster maybe twenty times in the last twenty years and I've never once heard about the big massacre of Native Americans, go figure). Recommended (but I have bad news for you about Dodson's dog, sorry).
January 1, 2026
James Dodson is an American journalist and memoirist. His 2025 book The Road that Made America is a travelogue of his intermittent 6-year exploration of the Great Wagon Road, the primary backcountry route by which indigenous peoples and later early European settlers traveled from the Eastern seaboard to the modern-day Carolinas and Georgia. Though the exact route is somewhat disputed, most believe that the version used by European settlers originated around Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, continued through Lancaster and Gettysburg, briefly crossed Maryland by way of Hagerstown and the West Virginia Eastern panhandle, traversed much of Virginia including modern-day Roanoke, and from there forked off into a Western path culminating around Knoxville, Tennessee and a Souther path passing through Charlotte, North Carolina, Camden, South Carolina, and finally, Augusta, Georgia.
Dodson, who grew up in North Carolina descended from early European settlers, had heard of this trail in passing through family lore. He began a passion project to explore this road in the mid-2010s, focused on exploring the historical context of the road, pivotal moments in American history which occured along the road (notably, the Civil War battlefields at Gettysburg and Antietam), and visiting and learning from modern-day Americans who live along the road. About a quarter of the book contains Dodson's ruminations on his own life and family history, as he tracks down evidence of his ancestor who may have been the only Confederate in the family, and .
This was an interesting and well-written albeit uneven read, but not quite the book I was expecting when I picked it up. This was my first time hearing of the Great Wagon Road, though it makes sense that there had to be an accessible path southward through the Appalachian range for early settlers who arrived along the Eastern seaboard.
Further reading: early American trails and travels
The Oregon Trail: A New American Journey by Rinker Buck
The Last Ride of the Pony Express: My 2,000-mile Horseback Journey into the Old West by Will Grant
Grandma Gatewood's Walk: The Inspiring Story of the Woman Who Saved the Appalachian Trail by Ben Montgomery
Trials of the Earth: The True Story of a Pioneer Woman by Mary Mann Hamilton
My statistics:
Book 2 for 2026
Book 2308 cumulatively
Dodson, who grew up in North Carolina descended from early European settlers, had heard of this trail in passing through family lore. He began a passion project to explore this road in the mid-2010s, focused on exploring the historical context of the road, pivotal moments in American history which occured along the road (notably, the Civil War battlefields at Gettysburg and Antietam), and visiting and learning from modern-day Americans who live along the road. About a quarter of the book contains Dodson's ruminations on his own life and family history, as he tracks down evidence of his ancestor who may have been the only Confederate in the family, and .
This was an interesting and well-written albeit uneven read, but not quite the book I was expecting when I picked it up. This was my first time hearing of the Great Wagon Road, though it makes sense that there had to be an accessible path southward through the Appalachian range for early settlers who arrived along the Eastern seaboard.
Further reading: early American trails and travels
The Oregon Trail: A New American Journey by Rinker Buck
The Last Ride of the Pony Express: My 2,000-mile Horseback Journey into the Old West by Will Grant
Grandma Gatewood's Walk: The Inspiring Story of the Woman Who Saved the Appalachian Trail by Ben Montgomery
Trials of the Earth: The True Story of a Pioneer Woman by Mary Mann Hamilton
My statistics:
Book 2 for 2026
Book 2308 cumulatively
July 10, 2025
James Dodson is one of my favorite authors, having read several of his books about golf. This is not a subject that I would normally have been interested in, but he is such a good author, I decided to listen to the audiobook version, which was reads by the author. And, I’m very glad that I did.
Dodson tells us that the Great Wagon Road is probably the least known historic road in America. The Great Wagon Road, which his father (“Opti”), first mentioned to Dodson in 1966, was the primary road of frontier America. It was a mass migration route that stretched more than eight hundred miles from Philadelphia to Augusta, Georgia. This was the road that Dodson’s German ancestors traveled. The author takes us in “the Pearl”, his 1994 Buick Roadmaster Estate station wagon, along with his faithful dog Mulligan, on this nearly five-year (COVID interrupted) journey that began in 2017. He crosses six contiguous states and some of the most historic and hallowed landscapes of eastern America, touching many of the nation’s most sacred battlefields and burying grounds.
Dodson tells us about many historical figures that we are familiar with – William Penn, Ben Franklin, Daniel Boone, Robert E. Lee, George Washington, James Buchanan, Abraham Lincoln, Stonewall Jackson, Woodrow Wilson, the Moravians, Patsy Cline and many more. He also tells us about his visits with the interesting people he meets along the way, including MAGA Hat Man, Dwight the Auctioneer, Liberty Man, a historical narrative artist Rocco, cousin Steve, and Steamy. As he stops at historic inns, diners and pubs, you feel like you are right there taking the journey with him, as he visits Philadelphia, Lancaster, Columbia, York, Gettysburg, Winchester, Belle Grove, Old Salem, Roanoke, with its wretched racial past, attends several historic churches, and more.
We read about the Paxton Boys, who massacred 20 unarmed Conestoga Indians in Lancaster County in 1763, the burning of the Columbian bridge in 1863, and the battle at Antietam, the bloodiest single-day battle in U.S. history.
We read about the author’s love of Baseball Hall of Famer Brooks Robinson, his mother, girlfriend Kristen who was murdered, Pioneer Paul, the joy of a good pipe, and his trying to find the true path of the road.
If you enjoy learning about American history, or just want to join the author on his eight-hundred-mile journey, you might want to check out this book. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Dodson tells us that the Great Wagon Road is probably the least known historic road in America. The Great Wagon Road, which his father (“Opti”), first mentioned to Dodson in 1966, was the primary road of frontier America. It was a mass migration route that stretched more than eight hundred miles from Philadelphia to Augusta, Georgia. This was the road that Dodson’s German ancestors traveled. The author takes us in “the Pearl”, his 1994 Buick Roadmaster Estate station wagon, along with his faithful dog Mulligan, on this nearly five-year (COVID interrupted) journey that began in 2017. He crosses six contiguous states and some of the most historic and hallowed landscapes of eastern America, touching many of the nation’s most sacred battlefields and burying grounds.
Dodson tells us about many historical figures that we are familiar with – William Penn, Ben Franklin, Daniel Boone, Robert E. Lee, George Washington, James Buchanan, Abraham Lincoln, Stonewall Jackson, Woodrow Wilson, the Moravians, Patsy Cline and many more. He also tells us about his visits with the interesting people he meets along the way, including MAGA Hat Man, Dwight the Auctioneer, Liberty Man, a historical narrative artist Rocco, cousin Steve, and Steamy. As he stops at historic inns, diners and pubs, you feel like you are right there taking the journey with him, as he visits Philadelphia, Lancaster, Columbia, York, Gettysburg, Winchester, Belle Grove, Old Salem, Roanoke, with its wretched racial past, attends several historic churches, and more.
We read about the Paxton Boys, who massacred 20 unarmed Conestoga Indians in Lancaster County in 1763, the burning of the Columbian bridge in 1863, and the battle at Antietam, the bloodiest single-day battle in U.S. history.
We read about the author’s love of Baseball Hall of Famer Brooks Robinson, his mother, girlfriend Kristen who was murdered, Pioneer Paul, the joy of a good pipe, and his trying to find the true path of the road.
If you enjoy learning about American history, or just want to join the author on his eight-hundred-mile journey, you might want to check out this book. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
December 24, 2025
A history of an important Colonial American migratory route which multiple branches of my family would certainly have taken to settle in the South.
An uneven work of mixed interest, the format jumps around in time and space too much to leave the reader with a solid historical timeline. Dodson's own story acts to further dilute the history, though I realized it would be partially autobiographical from the start. Wound up a bit of a chore to finish.
An uneven work of mixed interest, the format jumps around in time and space too much to leave the reader with a solid historical timeline. Dodson's own story acts to further dilute the history, though I realized it would be partially autobiographical from the start. Wound up a bit of a chore to finish.
October 26, 2025
5 star the first half and finish. I loved the mix is historical and the stories of people he met while exploring the road. But the second half was so messy and lost. I almost stopped but kept hoping it would get back on track. Maybe it fits the great country road that splintered off into many claimed avenues the further along it went.
August 26, 2025
I thought that this book was interesting in certain parts; I especially appreciated the author’s narrative of the first part of the road (Pennsylvania) and his stories about the Civil War battlefields in Maryland and Pennsylvania. However, this book would have benefitted greatly from a map of the Great Wagon Road itself. I found it difficult to follow along with where the author was traveling - Google Maps is only somewhat helpful. I also thought the last part of the book was jumbled and disconnected; the author talked to so many different people at so many times that I had a hard time figuring out what was going on. I did not finish the last two chapters due to the endless rambling.
September 22, 2025
Other than the fact that I was kind of waiting a long time while reading the book to find out what the author thought of the debate over Confederate monuments (and irritated about him not fully recognizing the reality that choosing who to glorify from history isn’t the same thing as history), I thought the reading here was good. The prose wasn’t complex - more a conversation, really - so it’s a fast read. I actually hadn’t realized that the Valley Pike in the Shenandoah Valley was a part of the Great Wagon Road, so that was a bit of a revelation as the author wandered through that familiar territory.
July 5, 2025
Phenomenal Esoteric Tale of American History You've Likely Never Heard Of Marred By Dearth Of Bibliography.
Looking back on my own ancestry off and on over the years, I've traced at least some lines to within a generation or two of when Europeans were in the Americas at all, and most of those lines come from somewhere in the British Isles - mostly England and Ireland (indeed, 5 of 6 historic Counties of Ireland), with a few Rhineland region relatives tossed in at different points for good measure. The ones that I've traced that far, they generally showed up in the Americas in Virginia or so and ultimately worked their way along the eastern side of the Appalachian foothills until they reached its southern end in the northwest corner of Georgia, not far from the border with North Carolina and Tennessee in the region known as the Great Smoky Mountains. There, I can trace nearly every line of my family tree to that same region for the past 180 years or so - including one multiple-great grandfather who died fighting for the Union in a battle in northeastern Alabama during the Civil War.
As it turns out, there was a reason my family took the geographic path it did once it got to the region now known as the United States - apparently quite a few immigrants made their way mostly down one particular road that wound its way along this very region from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania all the way to Augusta, Georgia - where even I spent a few years living directly across the river in Aiken, South Carolina.
But what do you care about all of this?
Well... long before the Oregon Trail or the Trail of Tears or other famous trails that took Americans west from the Appalachian Mountains ultimately to the Pacific Ocean, there was the Old Wagon Road. The road that fueled expansion inland *to* the Appalachians, and along which quite a bit of American history took place from the colonial years right up through the Civil War years in particular. This book reveals a lot of that history in stories not as well known by many, even when some of them involve names known by most Americans. Names like Benjamin Franklin and Robert E. Lee and Woodrow Wilson, just to name a few you'll hear about in this text and recognize.
The real magic here though is in the names you *don't* recognize. The tales you've *never* heard of before. This is where the "real" history of America lies - the history that is rapidly being forgotten and overwritten. The so-called "esoteric" history that supposedly only matters to fanatics and those whose ancestors directly played roles in or who were directly affected by, But one could argue - and Dodson makes a truly excellent case for throughout this book - that this is the very history that builds communities and tightens bonds within them. It is the history that binds people to place and whole to piece. It is the vagaries of one man choosing one path over another - and walking into the history books (for good or ill, at differing times) because of the path he chose that night. It is the history of families and communities coming together to celebrate the great times - and mourn the bad times. It is our history as Americans, and it is my personal history - even though Dodson's tales here don't touch on a single name I recognize from my family tree - because it is the history of how the nation came together via the individual and community actions of those who came so long before.
Narratively, this book is both memoir and history, following one man through time and space as he travels the road - as best as he can know it - from its origins in Philadelphia to its terminus in Augusta, learning the history of each place along the way and reflecting on his experience with it.
It is a stirring narrative, both in the communal and personal histories and in Dodson's ability to craft his words in such an evocative way. And yes, there are sections where no matter your own personal politics, Dodson is likely going to say something you don't overly like, whether it be espousing support for the so-called "1619 Project" in one chapter or supporting the right for Confederate monuments to exist in seemingly the very next chapter. But don't defenestrate the book, no matter how tempting iq may be in the moment. Read Dodson's words, and carefully consider them. This is no polemic. It is a pilgrimage, and one that we're brought along for the ride on and asked to experience for ourselves via Dodson's narrative here.
Overall a particularly strong book about histories largely forgotten and certainly far too often ignored. And yet it is this particular strength that also leads to its one flaw: For a book that shows so much history and even references quite a few texts along the way, for the bibliography to be only a page or two is damn near criminal. While the book did contain quite a few personal and direct interviews, there is also quite a bit of history discussed, and it would serve Dodson's readers to have a more complete bibliography so that they could read up on the same sources he used in his own research.
Very much recommended.
Looking back on my own ancestry off and on over the years, I've traced at least some lines to within a generation or two of when Europeans were in the Americas at all, and most of those lines come from somewhere in the British Isles - mostly England and Ireland (indeed, 5 of 6 historic Counties of Ireland), with a few Rhineland region relatives tossed in at different points for good measure. The ones that I've traced that far, they generally showed up in the Americas in Virginia or so and ultimately worked their way along the eastern side of the Appalachian foothills until they reached its southern end in the northwest corner of Georgia, not far from the border with North Carolina and Tennessee in the region known as the Great Smoky Mountains. There, I can trace nearly every line of my family tree to that same region for the past 180 years or so - including one multiple-great grandfather who died fighting for the Union in a battle in northeastern Alabama during the Civil War.
As it turns out, there was a reason my family took the geographic path it did once it got to the region now known as the United States - apparently quite a few immigrants made their way mostly down one particular road that wound its way along this very region from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania all the way to Augusta, Georgia - where even I spent a few years living directly across the river in Aiken, South Carolina.
But what do you care about all of this?
Well... long before the Oregon Trail or the Trail of Tears or other famous trails that took Americans west from the Appalachian Mountains ultimately to the Pacific Ocean, there was the Old Wagon Road. The road that fueled expansion inland *to* the Appalachians, and along which quite a bit of American history took place from the colonial years right up through the Civil War years in particular. This book reveals a lot of that history in stories not as well known by many, even when some of them involve names known by most Americans. Names like Benjamin Franklin and Robert E. Lee and Woodrow Wilson, just to name a few you'll hear about in this text and recognize.
The real magic here though is in the names you *don't* recognize. The tales you've *never* heard of before. This is where the "real" history of America lies - the history that is rapidly being forgotten and overwritten. The so-called "esoteric" history that supposedly only matters to fanatics and those whose ancestors directly played roles in or who were directly affected by, But one could argue - and Dodson makes a truly excellent case for throughout this book - that this is the very history that builds communities and tightens bonds within them. It is the history that binds people to place and whole to piece. It is the vagaries of one man choosing one path over another - and walking into the history books (for good or ill, at differing times) because of the path he chose that night. It is the history of families and communities coming together to celebrate the great times - and mourn the bad times. It is our history as Americans, and it is my personal history - even though Dodson's tales here don't touch on a single name I recognize from my family tree - because it is the history of how the nation came together via the individual and community actions of those who came so long before.
Narratively, this book is both memoir and history, following one man through time and space as he travels the road - as best as he can know it - from its origins in Philadelphia to its terminus in Augusta, learning the history of each place along the way and reflecting on his experience with it.
It is a stirring narrative, both in the communal and personal histories and in Dodson's ability to craft his words in such an evocative way. And yes, there are sections where no matter your own personal politics, Dodson is likely going to say something you don't overly like, whether it be espousing support for the so-called "1619 Project" in one chapter or supporting the right for Confederate monuments to exist in seemingly the very next chapter. But don't defenestrate the book, no matter how tempting iq may be in the moment. Read Dodson's words, and carefully consider them. This is no polemic. It is a pilgrimage, and one that we're brought along for the ride on and asked to experience for ourselves via Dodson's narrative here.
Overall a particularly strong book about histories largely forgotten and certainly far too often ignored. And yet it is this particular strength that also leads to its one flaw: For a book that shows so much history and even references quite a few texts along the way, for the bibliography to be only a page or two is damn near criminal. While the book did contain quite a few personal and direct interviews, there is also quite a bit of history discussed, and it would serve Dodson's readers to have a more complete bibliography so that they could read up on the same sources he used in his own research.
Very much recommended.
September 23, 2025
What I thought would be an in-depth historical account on the Great Wagon Road, the primary route German and Scots-Irish immigrants used to travel from Philadelphia down to Georgia in the 18th century, turned out to also be a contemporary, folksy travelogue. It left me wanting more information about the immigrants themselves who traveled this historical road and their difficult, dangerous journey all those years ago.
The first 100 pages are devoted to history which made me inpatient for him to get on the road and travel. Throughout the book, readers learn a lot about historical people and events that took place on or near the Great Wagon Road. Several notable people such as Daniel Boone, Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson, and Presidents Wilson and Buchanan have ties to this road. This road also intersects major American Revolution battle sites as well as Civil War ones such as Gettysburg and Antietam. Author Dodson weaves in a lot of his personal and family history in this book.
He clearly loves history. He writes in great deal about William Penn, who was very instrumental in the settlement of Pennsylvania and immigration to that area. There was a pro-immigration mentality at that time, so different than today. The reader learns about the various religious groups such as the Amish, Quakers, and Mennonites. He writes mainly about the German immigrants. In comparison, he wrote less on the Scots-Irish’s link to this road. It does show, however, a clear connection between the rugged, independent thinking Scots-Irish and their present day southern descendants.
I like that Dodson got out of his car, explored on foot, and met very interesting local people along the way. Dodson made many stops along the way, visiting historical buildings, churches, battlefields, and cemeteries. He dined at some historical inns as well as the local eateries. He visited friends along the way and got to know the locals. I especially enjoyed the tours he took with local guides. At times he walked parts of the original old road located in an off the beaten, hidden, rural path. It took Dodson several years to complete this journey, as he didn’t have the luxury of time to travel in one trip and the Covid epidemic interrupted his quest.
What struck me the most was that not there is no concrete consensus where the Great Wagon Road goes further south through the Carolinas. Dobson presents many peoples’ theories from historians and locals. Also surprising were the many roads that broke off to other parts.
This book sorely needs maps to trail the Dodson’s journey. I used a Rand McNally Road Atlas to know exactly where he went, thus learning a lot of new geography of Pennsylvania, Virginia, North and South Carolina. And I would have liked photos to see what the road looks like today.
Dobson’s book covers a lot of historical information. For those desiring more, there is a good bibliography in the back. Even though I would have liked more first-hand experiences of those who had traveled the Great Wagon Road during its height, I didn’t find this book boring at all. Written for a non-academic audience, it’s a great introduction to those who have never heard of the Great Wagon Road or know very little about it. I like the idea of a road playing a role in history. Without a doubt, this road played a major part in American history. It makes me wonder about the roads in my area that have historical significance.
The first 100 pages are devoted to history which made me inpatient for him to get on the road and travel. Throughout the book, readers learn a lot about historical people and events that took place on or near the Great Wagon Road. Several notable people such as Daniel Boone, Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson, and Presidents Wilson and Buchanan have ties to this road. This road also intersects major American Revolution battle sites as well as Civil War ones such as Gettysburg and Antietam. Author Dodson weaves in a lot of his personal and family history in this book.
He clearly loves history. He writes in great deal about William Penn, who was very instrumental in the settlement of Pennsylvania and immigration to that area. There was a pro-immigration mentality at that time, so different than today. The reader learns about the various religious groups such as the Amish, Quakers, and Mennonites. He writes mainly about the German immigrants. In comparison, he wrote less on the Scots-Irish’s link to this road. It does show, however, a clear connection between the rugged, independent thinking Scots-Irish and their present day southern descendants.
I like that Dodson got out of his car, explored on foot, and met very interesting local people along the way. Dodson made many stops along the way, visiting historical buildings, churches, battlefields, and cemeteries. He dined at some historical inns as well as the local eateries. He visited friends along the way and got to know the locals. I especially enjoyed the tours he took with local guides. At times he walked parts of the original old road located in an off the beaten, hidden, rural path. It took Dodson several years to complete this journey, as he didn’t have the luxury of time to travel in one trip and the Covid epidemic interrupted his quest.
What struck me the most was that not there is no concrete consensus where the Great Wagon Road goes further south through the Carolinas. Dobson presents many peoples’ theories from historians and locals. Also surprising were the many roads that broke off to other parts.
This book sorely needs maps to trail the Dodson’s journey. I used a Rand McNally Road Atlas to know exactly where he went, thus learning a lot of new geography of Pennsylvania, Virginia, North and South Carolina. And I would have liked photos to see what the road looks like today.
Dobson’s book covers a lot of historical information. For those desiring more, there is a good bibliography in the back. Even though I would have liked more first-hand experiences of those who had traveled the Great Wagon Road during its height, I didn’t find this book boring at all. Written for a non-academic audience, it’s a great introduction to those who have never heard of the Great Wagon Road or know very little about it. I like the idea of a road playing a role in history. Without a doubt, this road played a major part in American history. It makes me wonder about the roads in my area that have historical significance.
August 16, 2025
The comparison to the outstanding Tony Horwitz book "Confederates in the Attic" was what drew me to this and made me want to read it immediately; thankfully, it lives up completely to that comparison and is an absolutely outstanding book in its own right.
James Dodson loves history. Really and truly loves history - the good AND bad sides of it and seems to love nothing more than doing a deep dive into that very thing, which is how this book came about.
This is a story of a man [the author], who over the course of 5 years, decides to travel the storied Great Wagon Road, an 800 mile long journey that 18th century settlers used to travel from Philadelphia to Georgia and that expanded our country exponentially, and started the eventual migration to the West. Along Mr. Dodson's travels we meet all sorts of interesting people [some more so than others LOL], hear MANY points of view [some more charged than others, but never malicious, which was refreshing], and visited so many places that made me wish I could too travel this road and experience what the author did. If you, like me, love history and all the knowledge it holds, you too will love this book and all the secrets it unfolds as you read. It is like magic.
There is also quite a bit of personal stories from Mr. Dodson's life, and I found these to be a great [and needed] addition to the travels stories as they really showed just how much Mr. Dodson loves this history and how that love all started for him. And if the end of the book doesn't make you tear up [or if you are like me, bawl like a baby], well then, perhaps you need to take some time to examine your own heart. The end was actually so beautiful and shows how things can be healed even many years later and all it takes is being open to that healing and perhaps a trip down a historical road.
Well-written and researched, this was a history-lover's dream book [its me. I am the history lover], and I am so glad I was able to read this. It is a book that will stay with me always. Thank you Mr. Dodson for taking us all on this deeply personal trip; I for one will be forever grateful.
Thank you to NetGalley, James Dodson, and Avid Reader Press/Simon & Schuster for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
James Dodson loves history. Really and truly loves history - the good AND bad sides of it and seems to love nothing more than doing a deep dive into that very thing, which is how this book came about.
This is a story of a man [the author], who over the course of 5 years, decides to travel the storied Great Wagon Road, an 800 mile long journey that 18th century settlers used to travel from Philadelphia to Georgia and that expanded our country exponentially, and started the eventual migration to the West. Along Mr. Dodson's travels we meet all sorts of interesting people [some more so than others LOL], hear MANY points of view [some more charged than others, but never malicious, which was refreshing], and visited so many places that made me wish I could too travel this road and experience what the author did. If you, like me, love history and all the knowledge it holds, you too will love this book and all the secrets it unfolds as you read. It is like magic.
There is also quite a bit of personal stories from Mr. Dodson's life, and I found these to be a great [and needed] addition to the travels stories as they really showed just how much Mr. Dodson loves this history and how that love all started for him. And if the end of the book doesn't make you tear up [or if you are like me, bawl like a baby], well then, perhaps you need to take some time to examine your own heart. The end was actually so beautiful and shows how things can be healed even many years later and all it takes is being open to that healing and perhaps a trip down a historical road.
Well-written and researched, this was a history-lover's dream book [its me. I am the history lover], and I am so glad I was able to read this. It is a book that will stay with me always. Thank you Mr. Dodson for taking us all on this deeply personal trip; I for one will be forever grateful.
Thank you to NetGalley, James Dodson, and Avid Reader Press/Simon & Schuster for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
August 20, 2025
I’m a bit torn writing this review, because this book was not what I expected—and that disconnect shaped my reading experience in ways I’m still unpacking. Whether it was a misreading of the description or unfamiliarity with the author’s previous work, I came in anticipating a deep historical dive into the Great Wagon Road: its role in shaping colonial America, its cultural legacy, and how it helped set in motion one of the defining aspects of American identity—movement.
Instead, what I found was more of a travelogue. While the journey itself was interesting and the writing strong, the historical content felt secondary. The book had a clear vision—it just wasn’t the vision I was hoping for.
That said, it’s important to recognize what the book does well. The prose is thoughtful, the structure intentional, and the author’s voice confident. This is a well-crafted narrative with a distinct perspective, even if it didn’t align with mine.
If you're looking for a reflective, on-the-road meditation with historical touchpoints rather than a full historical analysis, this may be exactly the book for you. For me, it was a detour I didn’t expect—but one that still offered moments of insight along the way.
To reflect my experience with this book, I want to share how I arrived at my rating:
Three stars for my personal response, shaped by expectations and how the summary framed the content. Four stars for the writing itself—clear, direct, and engaging, with a confident narrative voice. Averaged to 3.5 stars, rounded up in recognition of the author’s craft and readability.
Thank you to the publisher for the chance to read this as a Goodreads Win.
Instead, what I found was more of a travelogue. While the journey itself was interesting and the writing strong, the historical content felt secondary. The book had a clear vision—it just wasn’t the vision I was hoping for.
That said, it’s important to recognize what the book does well. The prose is thoughtful, the structure intentional, and the author’s voice confident. This is a well-crafted narrative with a distinct perspective, even if it didn’t align with mine.
If you're looking for a reflective, on-the-road meditation with historical touchpoints rather than a full historical analysis, this may be exactly the book for you. For me, it was a detour I didn’t expect—but one that still offered moments of insight along the way.
To reflect my experience with this book, I want to share how I arrived at my rating:
Three stars for my personal response, shaped by expectations and how the summary framed the content. Four stars for the writing itself—clear, direct, and engaging, with a confident narrative voice. Averaged to 3.5 stars, rounded up in recognition of the author’s craft and readability.
Thank you to the publisher for the chance to read this as a Goodreads Win.
July 26, 2025
This book was not what I had hoped for. There was very little provided specifically about the Great Wagon Road. There was a mention of the builder who made many of the wagons used on the road, but no detailed description of those wagons; nothing about the conditions of the road in the 1700s; nothing about the dangers and hardships about the trip at that time.
Instead, this book focuses on a current-day car trip down the Great Wagon Road. That would be OK - if it were compared to actual travel on the road 250 years ago. The book is more a collection of modern-day businesses trying to capitalize on tourists, like a collection of brochures from local Chambers-of-Commerce.
The author talks about Ben Franklin, who happened to live at the beginning of the Great Wagon Road, but was not a traveler on it. There is considerable talk about the Amish, who never traveled the road. There is relatively long discussions about the Civil War battles at Gettysburg and Antietam, neither of which were much affected by the subject road.
And worst of all, there was too much talk (IMO) about his family, of which he presumes some traveled the road in the Eighteenth Century. I did not want to read his biography, nor hear about the many churches he had once attended.
This book was compared on Amazon to Rinker Buck’s The Oregon Trail and Tony Horwitz’s Confederates in the Attic, but Buck traveled the Oregon Trail in a Conestoga Wagon with mules! Horwitz's book was about Civil War re-enactors and their zeal for authenticity doing so; it was not actually a travel book.
Instead, this book focuses on a current-day car trip down the Great Wagon Road. That would be OK - if it were compared to actual travel on the road 250 years ago. The book is more a collection of modern-day businesses trying to capitalize on tourists, like a collection of brochures from local Chambers-of-Commerce.
The author talks about Ben Franklin, who happened to live at the beginning of the Great Wagon Road, but was not a traveler on it. There is considerable talk about the Amish, who never traveled the road. There is relatively long discussions about the Civil War battles at Gettysburg and Antietam, neither of which were much affected by the subject road.
And worst of all, there was too much talk (IMO) about his family, of which he presumes some traveled the road in the Eighteenth Century. I did not want to read his biography, nor hear about the many churches he had once attended.
This book was compared on Amazon to Rinker Buck’s The Oregon Trail and Tony Horwitz’s Confederates in the Attic, but Buck traveled the Oregon Trail in a Conestoga Wagon with mules! Horwitz's book was about Civil War re-enactors and their zeal for authenticity doing so; it was not actually a travel book.
September 15, 2025
I do like Dodson's research/writing style - visits to historical places and (sometimes unexpected) encounters and conversations with interesting people, all providing fun facts about the storyline which is this case is the important native American and colonist/early American road traversing from Pennsylvania to Georgia. While the history is laid out well, I couldn't help but think that the greatest purpose of the book is to document Dodson's family history. And although he strives for balance, it is a little too much Confederacy glory for me.
July 21, 2025
There are so many details and information in this book, but written in a manner that you are able to slowly absorb it all. You feel as if you are traveling this road with the author. It was interesting that he traveled the road over the course of several years - even during Covid. I would recommend to anyone that is looking for little stories about history that bring the bigger picture together.
September 25, 2025
It's not enough to read about the Great Wagon Road, you need to travel it, and author James Dodson is your tour guide. The Great Wagon Road was very important for settlers expanding our country. I read this book to combine my love of reading with my love of genealogy (Josh Hite is my 8th great grandfather! Who? You need to read the book to find out).
September 22, 2025
Listened to this and loved the author’s narration. Very informative about the beginning of America through his adventures down the wagon road. Could tell he’s a great guy LOL. Got a little hard to finish towards the end but i just have a bad attention span. Learned a lot from this book!
November 20, 2025
Started strong. Ended up to be too much about his past, not as much about he road. I liked the anadoteal stories that he did, until it became the main book. This is probably a much bettter boook at 275 pages, not 409.
August 2, 2025
incoherent, disorganized attempt at writing history.
August 8, 2025
cool!
August 23, 2025
Fifteen hours listening time. Narrated by the author, lots of good stories as he researched this well-traveled highway.
August 27, 2025
Listened to this while traveling to and around the Smoky Mountains from York Pa! Perfect listen! We loved the stories both personal and historical.
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Want to read
October 10, 2025[rec from Bonnie; library does not have kindle or hardcopy at this time]
December 20, 2025
Interesting but lacked the story to hold together all the facts
January 7, 2026
I greatly enjoyed the first half of this book although I thought it bogged down in the last half. Some of his stories were very poignant, including the one about his first girlfriend.
November 10, 2025
Good read. Early days of the expansion to the West and South from the original 13 US Colonies
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews