Customer Reviews

Old Bug: The Spiritual Quest of a Skeptical Guy on a Road Trip Across America with a Long Lost Friend in a Beat-Up Beetle

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It's "A Walk In The Woods" meets "Zen and The Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance". Dry and wry as things go awry - Dan Jackson keeps us entertained and engaged from start to finish. As a former Beetle owner and a current human, I can honestly recommend it to others who fall into either category.

This book is destined to be a classic. It made me laugh out loud, wonder, feel, think, almost cry and, most of all, appreciate the journey that is life. A story teller of poetic power and straight forward engaging phraseology, Dan Jackson exudes the strength of James Dickey and observes staid conventions with the honesty of Ken Kesey. He is at the same time light and serious, surface and complex - writing to learn as much as to offer his unique take on life. This is one of the top five books I have ever read.

Old Bug: The Spiritual Quest of an Ex-Believer on a Road Across America with a Long Lost Friend in a Beat-Up Beetle lives up to its title and then some. Recounting a cross-country road trip between the author and a friend who have barely seen each other in thirty years, Old Bug is as much about a lingering question in the soul as it is about the journey, namely, "If I don't believe in traditional religion, then what do I believe in?" Pondering God, morality, mortality, meaning, and the mysteries of life itself, Old Bug recounts confronting inner demons long buried even as it mirthfully recounts the hassle of struggling to keep a '69 VW Beetle running smoothly in the twenty-first century. A gentle, thoughtful read of discovery and larger-than-life quandaries.

I couldn't put it down. I loved the way he wrote so that I felt like I was there, on the journey/quest too. It's a book I will read again and again. Wonderful observations delightfully written.

If you've ever driven a Beetle, re-connected with an old friend, taken a road trip, wondered about the meaning of life, or spent more than five minutes in New Jersey....... then this book is for you. Engaging, funny, wistful and sweet, I couldn't put it down and you won't be able to either. No wonder it's winning all these prizes! Dan, please keep on writing, I want to go on another adventure with you, if only vicariously through the written word.

Old Bug recently won the 2008 Benjamin Franklin Award for Best New Voice: Nonfiction and the IPPY (Independent Publishers Award) Bronze Medal for Best Spiritual/Inspirational Book of 2008.

I loved this book! This is quite a journey to the inner thoughts and outward conversations of two men (in opposite worlds) on a middle-aged roadtrip. You won't be able to put the book down.

Dan's spiritual quest drives you with him across country on every turn of the page. The fact that he's trapped in an old VW Bug with no comforts and an old school chum who's lost in the 60s, is hysterical. This really needs to be a movie. Give this book to every man in your life. It will take them on a journey they will never forget.

I've passed it on to my 90 year old mother who could be heard laughing on every page turned.

"This is a book with questions of importance to every living person. It is written with humor and insight and a feeling of respect for the human spirit. I'm certain that I will come away with new realizations each time I reread it. And it is a book that one will want to enjoy over and over. It brings comfort to my bookshelf."

It's not always easy to find a good non-fiction book that actually tells a story and keeps you entertained as you read. Old Bug was well written and did just that.