One for the Road: Hitchhiking Through the Australian Outback [Paperback]

Tony Horwitz (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Having spent months in Sydney without seeing the "real" Australia, American journalist Horwitz sets out to hitchhike solo through the continent's rugged interior. He discovers this to be infernally hot, flat and fly-ridden, with the only above-ground liquid to be found in the "hotels" (pubs) that dot the lone highway at irregular intervals. Aptly titled, One for the Road is as much a chronicle of the pubs along the way as of the scenery. In the Northern Territory, besides being the national beverage, beer is also a unit of measure and standard of currency. It is "about a six-pack"or one beer every eight minutesto the next roadhouse; fixing a car's tail pipe costs "a carton." Horwitz has a delightfully wry style and an eye for absurdity, evident in descriptions of himself warding off a sandstorm by wearing five pairs of jockey shorts on his headwith his nose sticking out of the fliesof a sailboat race on a dry riverbed and of the nonappearance of Halley's Comet. But he also appreciates the massive beauty of Ayers Rock, seat of Aboriginal culture, the wisdom of a prosperous cattleman and the peaceful charm of Broome, a tropical seaport, where he looks up the town's only Jewish family to celebrate Passover. A glossary of Aussie terms is provided.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

This recounting of one American's hitchhiking odyssey through the outback in 1986 unfortunately gives readers only the stereotypical aspects of Aussie life. From Sydney, Horwitz travels to Queensland, to Alice Springs, through Southern Australia to Western Australia, and then across the Northern Territory to Darwin before returning to his point of departure. Although the prose is at times pedestrian, the author does capture some of this hard land's essence: the isolation, the heat, and the barrenness punctuated only at irregular intervals by pubs. Still, the work lacks the insight and perceptual gifts associated with Paul Theroux or Graham Greene. For only the most comprehensive collections. Susan M. Unger, Madison P.L., N.J.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Paperback: 225 pages
• Publisher: Vintage (May 12, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 039475817X
• ISBN-13: 978-0394758176
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,028,606 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #78 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Ethnic & National > Australian

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "You may find yourself . . . ", December 13, 2002

By 

Stephen A. Haines (Ottawa, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: One for the Road: Hitchhiking Through the Australian Outback (Paperback)

There are constraints to Australian road travel - the chief one being that the cities, hence, the roads, hug the coasts. There are dangers, desolation, loneliness, above all, heat. And flies. It takes some courage to face these conditions alone, even in modern times. Tony Horwitz faced them alone and on foot - some of the time. The result was a fantastic voyage and a superb account.

Horwitz is an unlikely prospect for an Australian adventurer. A transplanted Yank [Washington, DC to Sydney], urban [New York City to, again, Sydney] and Jewish [rather anomalous in the Outback]. These conditions might fatally impair the less adventurous, but Horwitz can "boldly go" [as he did in a later book] and so he does. With singular dedication, he even starts his trek heading West from Sydney past Dubbo to the Alice. With no direct Sydney to Alice route, the journey is circuitous, a fine introduction to the later expedition. Here, Horwitz encounters people and displays his talent at recording them. The limited number of roads implies limited options and few rides. It's a closed world and he becomes "the crazy Yank we heard about back in Nevertire."

Constricted view doesn't inhibit Horwitz' abilities. He has an advantage over many travel writers - he's a journalist first and a traveller after. A perceptive eye and a talented pen record his reaction to the land of Australia. And the people he encounters who become the focus of his attention. He's good with people, drawing them out - fulfilling the image of the chatty Yank, entertaining, but somehow provocative. The drivers, pub keepers and drinkers respond to his novelty. He records them with lively asides, keeping your interest with every page. 'Surely, these can't be real people,' you may think. No worries - Horwitz has captured them intimately, intruding only lightly as they respond to his queries.

A poignant chapter, describing his search for a Jewish family in Broome with whom to celebrate Passover, is the highlight of the book. Noting the town's multiracial population, he observes: "Australians . . . seem uncomfortable when the subject of Judaism is raised." He attributes the feeling purely to ignorance, not prejudice, a welcome change from attitudes toward the "Abos." Horowitz, although claiming atheism, remains drawn to the family assemblage of the seder. Alone in Broome, he discovers a new level of solitude - in this polyglot community, Jews are rarer than jewels. He pores over the telephone directory which only displays "an Anglo-Saxon litany of Browns, Harrisons and Smiths." A solution beckons in the guise of a local priest. "It is a common sort of misconception. If there's no rabbi about, well, try a priest. One religious ratbag's as good as another." The solution, however, lies elsewhere. The situation amply portrays Horwitz' humanity, absolving him of any stigma of the detached, unfeeling journalist. His roots are a significant element in his life, one that gently, but insistently, haunts him. This book can haunt you, as it does me.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Good on ya, Tony! Too right, Mate!", June 4, 1999

By 

A Customer - See all my reviews

This review is from: One for the Road: Hitchhiking Through the Australian Outback (Paperback)

Horwitz has captured the Outback and its weird bunch of denizens down to it's last blowfly and tortured vowel. His descriptions of unlikely places such as (the mostly underground) Coober Pedy and(unfortunately mostly above-ground) Mt. Isa are uncannily accurate and appropriately scathing. For all those about to travel the Outback; those who have been lucky enough to do so; or those who merely wish they were among the aformentioned. (Should be read along with the Lonely Planet Guide to Outback Australia.)

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Informative Yet Funny Book -No Worries!, June 16, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: One for the Road: Hitchhiking Through the Australian Outback (Paperback)

Horwitz does a wonderful job of depicting ordinary life in Australia. However, his sense of humour adds a brilliant quality to the essay which makes an ordinary account of his travels something far from mundane. I recommend this book for anyone interested in travel essays or a good laugh.