Customer Reviews

12,000 Miles in the Nick of Time: A Family Tale

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

A book with an interesting title and tantalizing sleeve notes which does not deliver what it promises. I read a book about a fawning dad and his family, indeed it was mostly about the Jacobson family and a borough of New York with the rest of the world filling in time. Jacobson writes with a likeable style but has little to say when its not to do with his family or New York. There is no feeling for these places they visit. Paul Bowles would have called the Jacobsons tourists and not travellers.
And two corrections 1) Buddha (Lord Buddha) did have a wife and a child whom he abandoned in his search for nirvana. 2) The Cheops pyramid at Gizeh dates back to 3000-2501 B.C.

This is a poorly written book, that goes nowhere. There is no real story telling. Just a ramble, a family journey with little or no joy. As a reader it's my habit to see all books through to completion. So it was a relief to have the Jacobson's end their journey.

If you want any idea about the practicalities of such a trip with your family, you won't find it here.

I liked the idea of this book -- take your kids around the world and reconnect as a family, while opening everyone's eyes to the world around them. I liked the book, but not for the reasons I expected to.

The Jacobson parents decide to take the three kids on a round-the-world trip for three months when the kids are in their teens. The kids resist, but end up going. The family does seem stronger afterwards.

The trip consisted of places the parents had visited in the past, when they were seriously counterculture humanities students. Lots of third world, poverty-stricken, overpopulated cities. I can't say how much the kids got out of places like that, but it certainly made them stick close together for safety. And they were really glad to get back home.

The best parts of 12,000 Miles were the chapters written by the daughter, Rae. Even though she was going through some rough times as a teenager in New York, she still seemed more together than her father. And I'll bet twenty years from now, she doesn't drag her kids through filth-infested streets trying to save them from the horrors of television.

From the beginning I knew I was in for a treat traveling the world with this family. This book is hilarious and at the same time moving. I was overwhelmed by how candid and revealing Jacobson is about his feelings. You feel how much he loves his family. Parenting is a journey in and of itself. I can't remember ever reading such an honest and insightful view of the universal challenges of child rearing. It is apparent that this family shares a rare communication. How many fathers do you know who can co-author with their teenage daughter? Rae Jacobson's generous contributions (she was 16 at the time of the trip) definitely give a clear view of the struggle teenagers face to be independent and yet stay connected.

My wife stole the book from me before I was 20 pages into the text, so this is an osmosis review based on her unusual reactions to this chronicle. Susan, a world traveler in her own right, is enslaved to this book in a way not seen before. She says, "Jacobson is brilliant in the way he writes smoothly in the same patterns as we think. He immerses his family in a deep sea of third world realities and records everyone's responses as they experience education most rare. The pages are packed with colorful and rich insight."
This book has become a major conversation piece and I can't wait to read more.

Jacobson is a comedic genius with serious intent. Give this to a friend with "problem" kids...after you've read it. It is a hillarious travelogue thesis on parenting with social commentary. It documents the "advance" of civilization into the 4th world. To examine its pages is to examine cultural values through a myraid of "fun-house mirrors" all relating to how a family finds truth in their internal and private communications. Only in honest writing can these subjects be broached and Jacobson gives us rare insights on "How love, time and concern will make a family work".
Is there any subject that is more important?

I can't agree more with the writer above. I read this in one go. Then my wife took in from me and wouldn't leave the house until she finished it. Sure, its a great travel book, really funny, but its also a fabulous book about parenting -- for those who are, and for those who want to become parents. Jacobson's observations about New York are terrific too (esp. about the schools) and it seems that he's passed on his writer genes to his daughter very well.