Following the recent publication of Jan Morris’s final book, here is her very first. Fresh from her success reporting on the first Everest ascent in 1953, she spent a year journeying by car, train, ship, and aircraft across the United States. “I did not know it then, and nor did America, but chance had brought me across the Atlantic at the very apex of American happiness,” writes Morris in her new introduction. The author was then James Morris, and America’s identity was different then, too. In brilliant prose, Morris records with exuberance and wonder a time of innocence in America. “The prose sparkles, and everything [Morris] tells glitters.” — San Francisco Chronicle
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"A delight to read...conveys with sustained excitement and remarkable accuracy the sights and sounds of the American scene." -- Sunday Times (London)
"The spirited writing, permeated with a sense of excitement and discovery, makes it a delight to read." -- San Francisco Chronicle
"This is one of the very best travel books, one of the very best impressions of contemporary America..." -- The Saturday Review
"The spirited writing, permeated with a sense of excitement and discovery, makes it a delight to read." -- San Francisco Chronicle
"This is one of the very best travel books, one of the very best impressions of contemporary America..." -- The Saturday Review
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Envious Nostalgia,
By John the Reader "John" (Orlando, FL) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Coast to Coast: A Journey Across 1950s America (Travelers' Tales Classics) (Paperback)
Written in what must be the heyday of the American Dream - before it became soured - this is Jan Morris's lighter travel through a different empire, inducing envy for not having experienced it ourselves and nostalgia for an America that has passed.
The journey, undertaken when she was still James, is marvelously evocative and is as detailed as her other works. The travel narrative is as engaging as Theroux or Raban (with whom she is friends) with her particular eye for historical details that become almost prophecies. I recommend it as an ideal `entry point' to enjoying this historians writing for anyone not yet an aficionado and collector of her works.
1 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Tedious, No Photos,
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This review is from: Coast to Coast: A Journey Across 1950s America (Travelers' Tales Classics) (Paperback)
Written about ten years before his sex change operation, this disappointing book is suprsingly dry and tedious. Thankfully, the author does express some definite opinions however many of the cities visited were not interesting. I gave up about half way through.
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First Sentence:
A TONE time or another I have approached some splendid places, most of them instinct with mystery or age: Venice on a misty post-war morning, silent and shrouded, like a surrendered knight-at-arms; Everest, the watchtower, on the theatrical frontiers of Nepal and Tibet; or Krak of the Crusaders, high and solitary in the mountains of Moab. Read the first page Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Middle West, United States, New York, San Francisco, Key West, Lake Forest, Los Angeles, New Mexico, San Franciscans, Virginia City, New Orleans, Golden Gate, Kansas City, Civil War, Great Plains, Chicago Tribune, Gulf of Mexico, Salt Lake City, Beverly Hills, Church of God, Des Moines, Los Alamos, White Gold, Lookout Mountain, Sierra Nevada New!
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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
A TONE time or another I have approached some splendid places, most of them instinct with mystery or age: Venice on a misty post-war morning, silent and shrouded, like a surrendered knight-at-arms; Everest, the watchtower, on the theatrical frontiers of Nepal and Tibet; or Krak of the Crusaders, high and solitary in the mountains of Moab. Read the first page Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Middle West, United States, New York, San Francisco, Key West, Lake Forest, Los Angeles, New Mexico, San Franciscans, Virginia City, New Orleans, Golden Gate, Kansas City, Civil War, Great Plains, Chicago Tribune, Gulf of Mexico, Salt Lake City, Beverly Hills, Church of God, Des Moines, Los Alamos, White Gold, Lookout Mountain, Sierra Nevada New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 22
books:
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9
books
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- City of Djinns: A Year in Delhi by William Dalrymple in Back Matter
- Moby Dick (French Edition) by Herman Melville on page 46
- The Gift of Travel: Inspiring Stories from Around the World (Travelers' Tales Guides) by Larry Habegger in Back Matter
- Coronation Everest by Jan Morris in Back Matter
- Sitting Bull (Houghton Mifflin Leveled Library: Theme Book: The Dreamers) on page 143
See all 22 books this book cites
- A Dictionary of Writers and Their Works by Michael Cox on page 205, and page 353
- Lonely Planet USA by Jeff Campbell in Front Matter
- The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, Seventh Edition by Tim Brooks on page 194
- Lonely Planet Canada by Mark Lightbody on page 52
- The Spiritual Gifts of Travel: The Best of Travelers' Tales by James O'Reilly on page 158
See all 9 books citing this book
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