Meditations from the breakdown lane: Running across America [Hardcover]

James E Shapiro (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 1982

Author's account of his 1980 solo odyssey across America, running from California to New York with only a change of clothes and a few maps tucked into a backpack. He writes with humor and charm of aspects of his "outer" journey such as roadside trash, friendly truck drivers and waitresses, and unfriendly dogs. Even more fascinating was his "inner" journey...questions and challenges he faced, problems of time and distance, effort and exhaustion, solitude and boredom.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 237 pages
• Publisher: Random House; 1st edition (1982)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0394514386
• ISBN-13: 978-0394514383
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,445,376 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent account of a transcon run, March 16, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (Flagstaff, Arizona) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Meditations from the Breakdown Lane: Running Across America (Paperback)

I have read Shapiro's book several times. It details the very dispute that goes through his head as he runs 40+ miles per day from Coast to Coast. His book helped inspire me to run across the country as well and his words were with me each day. An excellent book well worth finding.

5.0 out of 5 stars Ordinary person's review, February 21, 2012

By 

Pokey - See all my reviews

This review is from: Meditations from the Breakdown Lane: Running Across America (Paperback)

I read the book when it first came out in the 1980s. A few days ago--Feb. 2012--I pulled it from the shelf again. My markings 30+ years ago indicated how much it impressed me then. At that time I was a runner too but a marathon was a long daya and only happened twice over 28 years. Ultramarathons were but a dream. Those days and dreams ended with a knee replacement some years back.

However, now, as a long distance bicyclist, I am finding the book just as inspiring. Shapiro's writing gets at the essence, the Zen, of long sustained effort over time. You come to find out who you are. You keep going. You eventually learn you are the thing that keeps going. There is a sense of peace and deep accomplishment with that kind of sustained effort, where you finally take yourself to the essentials. As one of his teachers said, breathe in the world, breathe out the self. His writing expresses this very fine experience well. I would call it a spiritual book, one that any endurance athlete will find satisfying in a deep way, like the endurance activity itself.

5.0 out of 5 stars Aspirations, April 6, 2009

By 

Todd Salzer (Golden, CO) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Meditations from the breakdown lane: Running across America (Hardcover)

Will I ever run across the country, as James Shapiro relates in this text? I don't know, but I wouldn't doubt it. While most people laugh at the scenes of Forrest Gump running across the country, this story brings it to real life. And what a life it would be. The sections through Nevada and Wyoming are the most vivid for me, with the desolate landscapes and the longing for a supply vehicle. The mental strength required to complete this task becomes clear as Mr. Shapiro progresses through his journey. I have read this book twice and found it just as enjoyable the second time. The third time will be soon as I am looking for something to inspire me. Maybe it will get me out the door, although it won't likely to be on a journey across the country (yet.) A journey of 3000 miles begins with a single step. Maybe Meditations will be your first step.