The Last Great American Hobo [Hardcover]

Dale Maharidge (Author), Michael Williamson (Photographer)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1993

Examines the life of Blackie, a hobo for sixty years, as he chooses to defend his life on the banks of the Sacramento and fight America's changing attitude toward the homeless. By the authors of And Their Children After Them.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This deeply affecting essay in pictures and words focuses on the last hurrah of Blackie, who was 76 years old in 1989 when his hobo camp on California's Sacramento River, in the city of West Sacramento, was dismantled by the police. The authors' special sensitivity to the plight of the dispossessed informs this wrenching document, as previously witnessed in their Pulitzer Prize-winning And Their Children After Them , which was about Alabama sharecroppers. Blackie--whose mien struck Maharidge as a combination of New England sea captain and a leprechaun--took to the road in 1928. And except for a few intervals as a "citizen" (hobo lingo for comformists), he has lived on the hobo circuit, generally encountering at least tolerance. But the situation changed in the 1980s when, as the number of homeless people grew, hobos became pariahs to be forced out of town, much like those who lived in Blackie's camp. But Blackie does not consider himself homeless; he made his choice, he says, and wants not sympathy but only to be let be. His camp is gone now, though, and Blackie has not been heard from since.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Maharidge and Williamson, Pulitzer Prize winners for And Their Children After Them ( LJ 5/1/89) have collaborated again to create this moving picture of the near-octogenarian hobo Blackie and his last known "home" on the river's bank in West Sacramento, California. Along with the recounting of Blackie and his associates' lives, writer Maharidge explores the issue of lifestyle and goal choice as it applies to these hobos, the homeless, and his own life. Williamson's expressive photographs (almost 75 percent of the book) add visual depth to the strong and thoughtful essay about a particular representative individual and others, whose lives and mores differ from those of the contemporary, mostly middle-class "establishment." Academics, makers of social and economic policy, and concerned citizens will want to read this book.
- Suzanne W. Wood, SUNY Coll. of Technology, Alfred
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Prima Publishing; First Edition edition (November 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1559582995
• ISBN-13: 978-1559582995
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 8.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,429,253 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Insight into the dignity of the hobo culture, August 30, 2002

By 

"crazycjh" (Cookstown, NJ United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Last Great American Hobo (Hardcover)

Yes, there IS a difference between being a hobo and being homeless. And, unfortunately, hobos are a dying breed. This marvelous (yet ultimately tragic) photo-essay takes us into the life of Montana Blackie, perhaps the oldest hobo alive (at that time). Not overly sentimental, but richly empathetic, it will make the phrase "there but for the grace of God go I" come alive.
All too often the value that is in EVERYONE is hidden behind the facades that portray an image that makes it easy to be condescending. And, yet the hobo code and the brotherhood of 'bos is shown time and again in Blackie's tales.
This is a book that will (or should) break down the stereotypes of the "wrong side of the tracks". Times changes, and often the changes in modern technology do nothing to sustain the genuine character of the past.
Blackie speaks from the heart and without regard to political correctness. He speaks of an era that is virtually gone. Of hobo camps and ridin' the rails. As the author says, "A train is a poem that will take you anywhere you want to go". This book will also take you places - places that dwell within the soul of us all, if we just look deep enough

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars We are each others' mirrors..., October 2, 2001

By 

A. Ort "aorto" (Youngstown, Ohio) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Last Great American Hobo (Hardcover)

This is just a wonderfully written book and the photographs provide depth to its power. This is not a condescending or an overly sympathetic account nor is it a book that will draw pity. It tells the story and gives honor and dignity to the lives of the men around whom this story focuses.

I work with the homeless in my hometown and have long been drawn to the lives they lead. There is something appealing about their independence and apparent freedom. This story reveals to what extent that is true and to what extent it is not. It is ultimately the story that speaks. We must draw our own conclusions.

I believe this taps into the deepest parts of our being. Part of my journey in working with the homeless has been the amount of teaching they have given to me. They are not 'homeless'; 'they' are not 'they'; 'they' are human beings just like the rest of us. This book is one more story that teaches us about these men, yes, but more importantly about ourselves.