Travels with Charley: In Search of America in The Complete Idiots Guide to the Ultimate Reading List

Jul 15, 2018 Lianna rated it really liked it

John Steinbeck has a serious case of the mollygrubs road tripping across America in 1960 and comparing it mostly unfavorably to 1930's (?) America.

The end where he watches Ruby Bridges getting escorted to school was riveting. Particularly how the 'Cheerleaders' were angriest at white students. From Wikipedia:

"As soon as Bridges entered the school, white parents pulled their own children out; all the teachers except for one refused to teach while a black child was enrolled. Only one person agreed John Steinbeck has a serious case of the mollygrubs road tripping across America in 1960 and comparing it mostly unfavorably to 1930's (?) America.

The end where he watches Ruby Bridges getting escorted to school was riveting. Particularly how the 'Cheerleaders' were angriest at white students. From Wikipedia:

"As soon as Bridges entered the school, white parents pulled their own children out; all the teachers except for one refused to teach while a black child was enrolled. Only one person agreed to teach Ruby and that was Barbara Henry, from Boston, Massachusetts, and for over a year Henry taught her alone, "as if she were teaching a whole class."

That first day, Bridges and her mother spent the entire day in the principal's office; the chaos of the school prevented their moving to the classroom until the second day. On the second day, however, a white student broke the boycott and entered the school when a 34-year-old Methodist minister, Lloyd Anderson Foreman, walked his 5-year-old daughter Pam through the angry mob, saying, "I simply want the privilege of taking my child to school ..." A few days later, other white parents began bringing their children, and the protests began to subside.[2][16] Yet, still, Ruby remained the only child in her class, as she would until the following year. Every morning, as Bridges walked to school, one woman would threaten to poison her, while another held up a black baby doll in a coffin;[17] because of this, the U.S. Marshals dispatched by President Eisenhower, who were overseeing her safety, allowed Ruby to eat only the food that she brought from home.

The Bridges family suffered for their decision to send her to William Frantz Elementary: her father, whose parents were sharecroppers, lost his job as a gas station attendant[18], the grocery store the family shopped at would no longer let them shop there, and her grandparents, who were sharecroppers in Mississippi, were turned off their land. She has noted that many others in the community, both black and white, showed support in a variety of ways. Some white families continued to send their children to Frantz despite the protests, a neighbor provided her father with a new job, and local people babysat, watched the house as protectors, and walked behind the federal marshals' car on the trips to school."

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Mar 08, 2022 Diana rated it liked it · review of another edition

This much later second reading- this time on audio with Gary Sinise - was more of an internal journey than travelogue. And for me, that perspective, far from the publication date, is a bit nostalgic for the nostalgia, as the world turns around a sense of place.

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Jun 26, 2014 Roxanne rated it it was amazing

Shelves: audiobooks, non-fiction, classics

Written in the 60's, this is an important view of the culture and society at that time. And Steinbeck's simple, yet poignant and soulful expressions of his inner thoughts and feelings while touring the country in his truck and "camper" were worth every minute of my reading.

The audiobook was excellent. I highly recommend this version to anyone who enjoys listening to books.
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