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 enlarge | Creators: Dayton Duncan, Ken Burns, Tom Hanks
Publisher: Random House Audio
Category: Book
List Price: $24.95
Buy New: $14.78
You Save: $10.17 (41%)
New (12) Collectible (1) from $14.78
Avg. Customer Rating:  13 reviews
Sales Rank: 811488
Format: Unabridged
Media: Audio CD
Edition: Unabridged
Number Of Items: 3
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 5.7 x 5 x 1
ISBN: 0739306359
Dewey Decimal Number: 973
EAN: 9780739306352
ASIN: 0739306359
Publication Date: July 2003
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: BRAND NEW
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| Customer Reviews:
 Intersting book October 21, 2004
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This was a good nonfiction book that read like a journal or a novel. It was about the first transcontinental automobile drive in America: all the obstacles that the drivers had to overcome, what the conditions were like, and how people reacted to seeing this car. Horatio Jackson, accompanied by Sewall Crocker, left San Francisco in 1903 in an attempt to be the first man to ever traverse the U.S. from coast to coast in an automobile (and to win a bet). Jackson funded the trip by himself. They went over the Rocky Mountains, across the plains of the Midwest and all the way to New York City in 63 days. This book was an easy read, but I found it interesting and even learned something. I liked all the excerpts from Horatio Jackson's letters and the excerpts from the newspapers of the towns that he drove through. It also had great pictures and lots of them.
 Surprisingly good! December 21, 2003
11 out of 11 found this review helpful
In 1903, a dinner guest at the prestigious University Club in San Francisco, Vermont Dr. Horatio Jackson, took up a bet that said that he would not be able to drive one of those newfangled automobiles to New York City in less than three months. Now, this was in the days before expressways or highways or even descent roads! But, Horatio Jackson was a man of limitless energy (and deep pockets), so in four days he got himself a car (a Winton touring car), supplies and an assistant-driver, and he was off! Facing bad road, no roads, no maps, sharp rocks, deep rivers, rapacious store owners and bad directions, Jackson and compatriots (he picked up a bulldog in Idaho) overcame all obstacles and won the bet!This is a surprisingly good book! I mean, you may not believe it, but the authors succeed in taking this subject and making a positively gripping book. I absolutely loved the many pictures of early automobiles, and the story carried me along, watching each of Horatio's adventures unfold. This is a great book, one that I highly recommend.
Authors narrate this own companion to the PBS documentary October 14, 2003
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
The authors narrate this own companion to the PBS documentary about the first 1903 automobile trip across the US. There were only 150 miles of paved roads in those days - but Horatio Jackson bet fifty dollars that he could drive his 20-horsepower auto from San Francisco to New York City - and his endeavor comes to life in this vivid audio memoir.
 Good, but not Great. September 23, 2003
5 out of 10 found this review helpful
It is a fascinating story, no doubt about that. I expected a more detailed, in-depth treatment of the story though.This book is more like a collection bits and pieces of the story. I would rank it around the sixth grade level.
Great History August 25, 2003
10 out of 10 found this review helpful
As the great grandson of Horatio Nelson Jackson and knowing the story intimately, (Used for many a book report in school) I must say what a wonderful job done by Dayton Duncan. To see all the letters and photographs so beautifully displayed initially took my breath away. He has shared the history of the time so well and I also enjoyed his travelling experience with his own father and son. Thank you Dayton. Be sure to watch the Ken Burns, Dayton Duncan PBS movie that is scheduled to air in early October.
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