Search - American Quest

From Publishers Weekly
In an amusing, undemanding read, the co-author of Roadside America reports on 10 "quests" that he undertook in semi-serious search of the elusive essence that may (or may not) be America. The quests include: retracing the route Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper charted in Easy Rider , this time in a Cadillac; kissing 10 of his favorite 1960s TV actresses; visiting the graves of nine famous, or at least interestingly nicknamed, baseball players; perpetrating a hoax in Harper's magazine; working in "the world's largest" McDonald's in Vinita, Okla.; and lobbying for a postage stamp commemorating comedian Freddie Prinze. Although he sometimes tries too hard, readers will find that his half-bewildered, half-belligerent attitude and pleasantly conversational assessments of the quests are worth the trip.