Road Trips, Head Trips, and Other Car-Crazed Writings [Paperback]

Jean Lindamood Jennings (Editor), P. J. O'Rourke (Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 29, 1998

Road Trips, Head Trips and Other Car-Crazed Writings is a delightful, eclectic look at all things automotive. Including fiction, journalism, and poetry, it offers such classic voices as Ernest Hemingway during his newspaper days, John Steinbeck and his search for America (accompanied by his French poodle, Charley), Bob Ottum's hysterical report on a trip to France with NASCAR champion Cale Yarborough (Le Mans hasn't been the same since Ol' Cale's Camaro), and the wonderfully witty S. J. Perelman, whose letters to the neighbors tell of a disastrous cross-country voyage by car to California. Whether fact or fiction, playful or contemplative, the selections in Road Trips, Head Trips, and Other Car-Crazed Writings comprise a riotous anthology that fully explores our love affair with the automobile. "As these essays, poems and stories attest, the automobile is more to us than just a transportation device. Steinbeck, Hemingway and Kerouac, along with thirty others write passionately of the road, documenting the special bond we have with our vehicles and celebrating the places, people and things we meet." -- Ann Arbor News

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

An anthology of road trip writing, Lindamood's collection includes well-known writers like Dave Barry, Calvin Trillen, S. J. Perelman, and Ernest Hemingway, plus 30 more, all rambling, philosophizing, riffing and narrating on the American pasttime of driving. From Hunter Thompson's desert drag race ravings to Allen Ginsberg's non-driver's plaint about pollution and the end of the world, you get to see the ongoing automotive love affair through the eyes of writers who know the road. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Atlantic Monthly Press; 1st Pbk. Ed edition (July 29, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0871137224
• ISBN-13: 978-0871137227
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,671,771 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Enlightening, Entertaining and Candid, June 25, 2001

By 

M. D. MCGINLEY "Chief Highliner" (United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Road Trips, Head Trips, and Other Car-Crazed Writings (Hardcover)

If you are of an autombile mind, then "Road Trips..." is a great book to read while in the coffee shop, waiting for the drawbridge to come down, or just to fill time. It is a collection of short stories from various authors, making it a collage of driving cultural tidbits that inform and entertain. The hardcover edition is nostalgical, appealing--a beautiful, classical cover with natural, thick pages--that made me want to head down to Route 66 from beginning to end, and hit every diner in between. I'm glad to be a part of the American Culture, and especially the driving culuture, as peoples past could not have imagined--nor enjoyed--the thrill at travelling at a mile a minute as easily as putting on your clothes. "Road Trips..." is a journey in itself, and I dare not spoil the trip for you. Lindamood did a fantastic editing job by keeping her hands out of the mix unless necessary; she let the writer do the talking. Great reading for all minds over 15 (language). Makes a great gift for the driver in your life.

5.0 out of 5 stars If you love cars......, February 8, 2011

By 

LakeKids (Paso Robles,CA USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Road Trips, Head Trips, and Other Car-Crazed Writings (Hardcover)

If you love cars, especially hearing fun stories about them, you will love this book. All our favorite authors and car magazine editors seem to be well represented here, including: Jean Lindamood-Jennings, P J O'Rourke, David E Davis Jr, Hemingway, Steinbeck, Dave Barry,Bob Ottum, Ken Purdy, the list goes on. Stories about cars, drivers, races, roadtrips, you just settle down with this one and enjoy the trip.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars not sufficiently focused on USA car culture, August 3, 2010

By 

DannyG - See all my reviews

This review is from: Road Trips, Head Trips, and Other Car-Crazed Writings (Paperback)

I was expecting this to be a collection of articles about the American experience of the automobile: how the industry grew, specific cars that made an impact on the culture, specific people who contributed to the advancement of technology, and well written articles by people who grew up loving cars. Unfortunately, almost none of the articles fit the bill. Many articles deal with South American and European drivers, cars, and history. There are few articles that deal with American car culture. I ended up not reading most of the articles till the end (they were all less than 20 pages long) simply because I had lost interest. The best things about this book are the title and the preface, both written by the editor, who should have written the entire book herself.