American ramble : a walk of memory and renewal

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Title:

American ramble : a walk of memory and renewal

Author:

King, Neil, Jr., author.

ISBN:

9780358701491

Edition:

First edition.

Physical Description:

ix, 354 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm

Contents:

The pre-amble -- Time and the river -- The parables -- Bolts of beauty -- Walking the line -- Two tracks taken -- The memory boom -- Thunderbird, walking man -- Doughface, meet Clubfoot -- Renewing your mind -- A martyrs mirror -- Year of the destroying angels -- Road to Yellow Springs -- One winter long ago -- The eyes of God -- The second naivete -- The founding tools -- Sauntering ones -- Crossing the river -- The heart of Amazonia -- Cresting the great mound -- Pushing at the matrix -- Rapture on the Bayonne Bridge -- Angel of the waters -- The post-amble.

Personal Subject:

King, Neil, Jr.-Travel-Middle Atlantic States.

Subject Term:

Walking -- Middle Atlantic States.

Journalists -- United States -- Biography.

Geographic Term:

Middle Atlantic States -- Description and travel.

Genre:

Autobiographies.

Added Author:

Hamilton, George,

Summary:

"A stunning, revelatory memoir about a 330-mile walk from Washington, D.C., to New York City--an unforgettable pilgrimage to the heart of America across some of our oldest common ground. Neil King Jr's desire to walk from Washington, D.C., to New York City began as a whim and soon became an obsession. Determined to rediscover what matters in life and to see our national story with new eyes, Neil turned north with a small satchel on his back and one mission in mind: To pay close attention to the land he crossed and the people he met. The journey travels deep into America's past and present, uncovering forgotten pockets and overlooked people. By turns amusing, inspiring, and sublime, American Ramble offers an exquisite account of personal and national renewal--an indelible study of our country as we've never seen it before"--Provided by publisher.

Holds:

Available:*

Library	Call Number	Status
Searching... Hardwood Creek Library (Forest Lake)	921 KING	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Stillwater Public Library	921 KING	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Valley Library (Lakeland)	921 KING	Searching... Unknown

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Summary

"American Ramble is a dazzling mixture of travelogue, memoir, and history. At times profound, funny, and heartbreaking, this is the story of a traveler intoxicated by life. I couldn't put it down." -- Nathaniel Philbrick

A stunning, revelatory memoir about a 330-mile walk from Washington, D.C., to New York City--an unforgettable pilgrimage to the heart of America across some of our oldest common ground.

Neil King Jr.'s desire to walk from Washington, D.C., to New York City began as a whim and soon became an obsession. By the spring of 2021, events had intervened that gave his desire greater urgency. His neighborhood still reeled from the January 6th insurrection. Covid lockdowns and a rancorous election had deepened America's divides. Neil himself bore the imprints of a long battle with cancer.

Determined to rediscover what matters in life and to see our national story with new eyes, Neil turned north with a small satchel on his back and one mission in mind: To pay close attention to the land he crossed and the people he met.

What followed is an extraordinary 26-day journey through historic battlefields and cemeteries, over the Mason-Dixon line, past Quaker and Amish farms, along Valley Forge stream beds, atop a New Jersey trash mound, across New York Harbor, and finally, to his ultimate destination: the Ramble, where a tangle of pathways converges in Central Park. The journey travels deep into America's past and present, uncovering forgotten pockets and overlooked people. At a time of mounting disunity, the trip reveals the profound power of our shared ground.

By turns amusing, inspiring, and sublime, American Ramble offers an exquisite account of personal and national renewal--an indelible study of our country as we've never seen it before.

Reviews (2)

Kirkus Review

A journalist recounts his walking journey through the "original heartland" of America. After enduring both the pandemic and a frightening cancer diagnosis, King Jr., a longtime reporter for the Wall Street Journal, felt the urge to set out on a 330-mile walk from Washington, D.C., to New York City to get a better feel for the character of his nation. Though he notes that there is nothing heroic or newsworthy about the walk, the author's storytelling skills transform a seemingly insignificant trip into something revelatory. In just under a month, King trekked down back roads, across farmlands, and along riverbanks, meeting individuals from various walks of life. Alongside details about the adventure, he reflects on the history of this region of the U.S., sharing numerous keen insights and observations. At the beginning, King strolls past the Capitol, and he reflects on the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection, an event still very fresh in the minds of many Americans. Crossing the Mason-Dixon Line, King ponders what enslaved people heading north along the same path may have thought about the country that treated them reprehensibly. While in Amish and Mennonite farm country, he receives a lesson in the renewal of the mind, pondering the values of nonconformity. Writing about Valley Forge, he considers the concept of perseverance, and later, he makes his own personal crossing of the Delaware River. Climbing a landfill in New Jersey, he mourns the excessive consumerism of American society. But the author is largely optimistic. "As I went, day after day, opening myself to the people and places I encountered," he writes, "I became in turn more open to those people and places….Absent the otherworld distractions buried in our phones or laptops, I could feel my capacity for awe and wonder grow exponentially with the days." Readers who enjoyed Rinker Buck's Life on the Mississippi should try this one next. Hamilton's drawings complement King's text. An enlightening book with lessons for us all. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Booklist Review

In the spring of 2022, author King, a cancer survivor, stepped out of his Washington, DC, home to take a walk--specifically to walk from his house near the U.S. Capitol to New York City. This accounting of his undertaking is enriched by King's musings on the history, geography, architecture, people, small towns, and hidden places he encounters along his carefully-designed path. It's also a spiritual journey, as he reflects on his internal life in comparison to the values and priorities he observes as he passes through various communities and meets an array of fascinating individuals. King, who began his career as an overseas investigative reporter, is a great storyteller, and every brief, satisfying chapter rises and falls over the course of a few days of travel, creating uniquely complete scenarios. He includes a map of his route, and black-and-white sketches introduce every chapter. Armchair travelers will enjoy being taken along on King's walk and will be grateful that he chose to share his emotional wanderings too.

Maps	x
Chapter 1 The Pre-Amble	1
Chapter 2 Time and the River	13
Chapter 3 The Parables	27
Chapter 4 Bolts of Beauty	43
Chapter 5 Walking the Line	55
Chapter 6 Two Tracks Taken	71
Chapter 7 The Memory Boom	83
Chapter 8 Thunderbird, Walking Man	97
Chapter 9 Doughface, Meet Clubfoot	111
Chapter 10 Renewing Your Mind	127
Chapter 11 A Martyrs Mirror	141
Chapter 12 Year of the Destroying Angels	155
Chapter 13 Road to Yellow Springs	169
Chapter 14 One Winter Long Ago	183
Chapter 15 The Eyes of God	197
Chapter 16 The Second Naivete	211
Chapter 17 The Founding Tools	225
Chapter 18 Sauntering Ones	235
Chapter 19 Crossing the River	245
Chapter 20 The Heart of Amazonia	257
Chapter 21 Cresting the Great Mound	275
Chapter 22 Pushing at the Matrix	293
Chapter 23 Rapture on the Bayonne Bridge	307
Chapter 24 Angel of the Waters	321
Chapter 25 The Post-Amble	337
Acknowledgments	347
A Note on Reading, and Walking	351
List of Illustrations	353

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Summary

Reviews (2)

Kirkus Review

Booklist Review

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