All Gas, No Brakes: A Hitchhiker's Diary

by Andrew Callaghan

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir

Paperback

Published January 1, 2019

About the author

Andrew Callaghan (born 1998) is an American alternative media journalist, writer, and media creator. He is best known for his role in the YouTube video series All Gas, No Brakes. His work typically explores various American counterculture events and perspectives, and is highly stylized with elements of Comedic journalism, Gonzo journalism|, and immersion journalism. He has additionally authored one book, with eventual plans for a second.

Reviews

[Zak · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Keeping this book review 55th street, you five me. Everything is going to cee alright.”

[Cooper Pitts · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an interesting guy. Could read stories from the road like this all day. Everyone depicted in the book is treated with unyielding respect and empathy in a way that humanizes those most people look over in modern-day America. The intro comes off a little pretentious and there are some typos that could’ve been brushed out with some proper editing but I found the core stories fascinating enough to overlook those flaws for the most part. Wish there was a scan online that didn’t cut off the bottom 2ish lines of every page though

[Christian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just finished it and it surpassed all my expectations. Favorite zine i’ve read and probably top 5 books. Its kinda like the Lil B book, you gotta dig for it and that process makes it all worth it.

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a white whale/holy grail literary piece for me & I didn't totally think I would ever have a print copy. What a treat.

It's pretty cute hunter worship with plenty of iykyk references tossed in. Not in a bad way, more like in the way that Rush's debut album also sounds sorta like Zeppelin. It's cool to see how this is an early practice of Andrew's later video work, just presented differently. I think that's where the divergence happens from hero worship to finding one's own voice and creative identity. Anyways, if you're cool you'll laugh and have a good time while reading this one. If you're not, you won't.

[Logan Teder]

A solid short read. Interesting stories from folks you don't often hear from. I didn't mind the intro as much as some others. He put a lot of heart into this work as his debut and it shows. It could've used an extra round of editing.

[Evan Adair · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great little read you can finish in just a couple hours. This is Andrew Callaghan’s journalistic debut and contains some of his most personal monologues. I gotta be honest I was almost turned off by the whole thing from the foreword. It came off really self important and read like a Hunter S Thompson fan fiction, but once he got into his mental health / hitchhiking stories it got really good. AC has always had a knack for doing great interviews, like HS Thompson he gets into a personal basis with the people he covers and treats them as his equal, which allows them to open up honestly and dive deep into shit that matters. You get a different side of Andrew not really seen in his modern internet persona. He paints the picture of a troubled teenager who got caught up in drugs at an early age, which permanently damaged his psyche and never having any real direction in life. It’s for this reason I think that he can connect with the characters on this journey. In classic Gonzo fashion, All Gas No Brakes is a glimpse into the most depraved side of human nature.

[Ela M · Rating 3 out of 5]

Second edition. A fun and interesting little read, I haven’t read a zine in who knows how long, so it was cool. I find Andrew’s interview style way more intriguing. I think the stories could have been a bit stronger. I get it’s a casual zine, but the type-os were kind of annoying after a while and just took away from the flow.

[Nico (Catching Up!) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the mixed media nature of this book/zine, cant wait for whatever else he's gonna come out with about his travels/ adventurws!! Wish there was more of his story and mindset through this, it was more of a modgepodge of characters but still I loved it sm and super quick read

[Mitty · Rating 2 out of 5]

He's no Hunter S Thompson

[Lannie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot of really engaging, human stories here. That's the whole point of this. Humanity. It's raw and pickled and charred.

The whole thing is rough around the edges, but that feels appropriate. Andrew is clearly in his early 20s here. He has that voice, that humor, that thinly veiled ego. The way he talks about people and things is rich and sincere, but there's an unmistakable tang of knowing how cool it is. That's a layer that could easily detract from the work, but I think it adds to the charm. You get a glimpse into a lot of real people, Andrew being one of them.

I don't know why, but Wendy's Renegade story, while being not as generally impressive as some of the others, left the biggest impression on me.

[Ciarán Crawley · Rating 4 out of 5]

More of a zine than a complete book, All Gas No Brakes serves as an interesting prequel to Channel 5 New and Andrew Callaghan.

The novella highlights Callaghans love for people our society often forgets, and exploring middle America. Definitely a worthwhile read if you’re interested in learning more about nomad life and Andrew.

Unfortunately it’s nearly impossible to find a print copy of this book now, and those that you can find feature some typos and a cutoff on the bottom of most pages that loses a sentence or two.

I would recommend googling the book and reading the copy on Reddit.

Hoping that Andrew re releases this book in a more complete form. Maybe someday!

[Blair Hoyle]

I've been a fan of Andrew Callaghan's documentary filmmaking work since the days of the All Gas No Brakes YouTube series, and with the release of This Place Rules, I figured it was long past time to read the source material for the aforementioned series. It's primarily comprised of other people's stories as opposed to Callaghan's own experiences, which is what I was expecting for some reason. Nick Cammarata's piece is the most interesting.

[Aaron Moran · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simply hiring an editor to fix the grammatical errors and missing or repeated words would have taken this from a 4 to a 5 star rating. But that’s just me nit-picking.

However, this zine (not book) has further reinforced my appreciation for Andrew Callaghan, and I’ll definitely be on the lookout for his upcoming book series mentioned at the end of this.

Subscribe to channel 5 news on YouTube and go watch “This Place Rules” on hbo. Trek god for life

[giuliano · Rating 4 out of 5]

I ate this up in a day. This feels like a type of writing I’ve never read before. Raw, unfiltered, surprisingly dense gonzo journalism with a distinctive voice that’s equal parts approachable, funny, and radically empathetic.

Andrew’s writing makes it feel like I’m just listening to a wild story from one of the homies. Looking forward to more from him.

[Ollie · Rating 3 out of 5]

While the writing isn’t anything special, so the stories don’t shine as much as they should, this is a pretty wicked anthology from Andrew showing the origins of what he’s turned into a pretty awesome career today

[Zahra Rose Duxbury · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilarious but also moving. Kerouac if he cared about the “people.”

[claire lyons · Rating 5 out of 5]

is it really bien tho fam?
yeah, i’d say it is. also the 2nd edition dearly needed a proofread but it was fire

[Enrique Arvelo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun short zine on modern day hitchhiking

[Jovan Asentić · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book really gave me what I was expecting, I believe it’s a good example of a man’s journey and a strengthening of one’s self. Definitely recommend it! Andrew killed this one!

[JJ Hicks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this. I just wish it had more of a linear path

[Colin Scanlon · Rating 4 out of 5]

a very very cool book. will look at the world very differently after reading.

[Alex Kerr · Rating 4 out of 5]

2nd edition. Long live All Gas No Brakes.

[Mikey · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐