On the Back Roads: Discovering Small Towns of America

A collection of very short tales from the author's travels... Really not much of a theme running through it. I'm not sure what the author's objective was in writing it, other than to be able to tell people that he's writing a book. If you want to read about small town America, try Dayton Duncan's "Miles from Nowhere" or Jonathan Raban's "Bad Land."


Discover Small Towns: Discover Yourself   September 18, 2001
 5 out of 5 found this review helpful

I got this book so I could write a small synopsis for an RV publication and read it with some skepticism. Could Graves possibly engage my interest about towns I'm sure I'll never visit? As I scanned the chapters, as I so often do with this sort of book, I had to stop and read deeper. He wasn't writing strickly in support of tourism, but about getting to know oneself, to be in the moment, to not let life pass you by. While sharing some of his past, we're able to watch Graves' internal struggle to find peace, and traveling back roads with Rusty gave him the opportunity to do just that. Although the author often talks about his mode of travel, the motorhome was merely a conduit -- although a comfortable one -- to make this journey. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves travel, introspection, humor and good fun.


This isn't travel, but a vacation.   July 22, 2000
 8 out of 9 found this review helpful

Looking on the back cover of this book when I got it, I was lt down. In small print on the upper-left corner it says "Travel". But in big print, upper-middle, it refers to the auther and the "R.V. Author" (something like that). I come from the philosophy that one cannot truly experience the magic and wonders of the backroads in an RV. I bought the book hoping to "meet" some wonderful people from Small Town, USA. I was hoping to hear about interesting sights hidden from most Interstate travellers. I was hoping to read about the new wisdom and insight which comes from travelling alone in unfamiliar places. Bill Graves does none of this. He usually spends about 2 largely-printed pages on one town and all of the people in it. Sometimes, he only writes a half of a page. He takes the interstate when he can, and he complains about the heat. This book is also edited poorly. There are several cases where he will introduce someone with one name and have it spelled differently two or three lines down. Jessy, Jessie, and Jesse describes the same small boy who rides in his dad's truck. I do get a small smile every now and again from reading this book, which is why I didn't give it 1 star. But if you want a real travel book, read William Least Heat-Moon. Not this.


Excellent book.   April 2, 2000
 2 out of 3 found this review helpful

A most entertaining book. I had trouble putting it down. Graves has an easy style which is always humble, insightful, and extremely well researched. It makes you want to hit the road today!


Disappointed   March 30, 2000
 6 out of 6 found this review helpful

This particular book does not cover "America," but only California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado and New Mexico. When I have the opportunity to travel to these states, I think it will be somewhat helpful. I was dissapointed more of the U.S. was not covered.