Passing Gas: And Other Towns along the American Highway (Paperback)

~ (Author) "It was unusually quiet that Saturday morning at the upstate New York weekly newspaper where I worked part-time as a copy boy..." (more)
Key Phrases: Ding Dong, New York, Toad Suck (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

“[Gladstone's] book, like the communities in West Virginia and Ohio, is Odd and Delightful.” Entertainment Weekly“His [Gladstone's] book, like the communities in West Virginia and Ohio, is Odd and Delightful.” —Entertainment WeeklyThe Seattle Times ran several photos and a review below the headline: “From Purgatory (Maine) to Hell (Michigan).” Find out how Big Ugly got its name in this video about the making of the books Reaching Climax and Passing Gas

Product Description

“Explaining how to find her café in Gas, Kansas, Bonnie Steward said, ‘Come down Route 12, but if you blink, you'll pass Gas.'” Gas isn't all you'll be passing if you come along for the ride with author Gary Gladstone on a cross-country road trip across the U.S.A. With camera in hand and the penchant for the unexpected, Gladstone captures a photographic portrait of small towns with unusual names and the folks who keep them on the map with their (admittedly offbeat) civic pride. You'll meet bar buddies Don, Ron, and Flakey Jake from Goofy Ridge, Illinois; stop in at the mechanics shop in Nothing, Arizona, to confirm that Nothing really does sit in the middle of nowhere; and be regaled with colorful stories from the locals of Boogertown, North Carolina, about how the town got its name. So jump in the backseat of the car and get ready for an honest slice of apple-pie America, chock full of myths, legends, and laughs.• Gary Gladstone received the 1999 Award for Visual Excellence from the Image Bank, one of the nation's leading photo agencies.

 

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Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Ten Speed Press (March 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1580084567
• ISBN-13: 978-1580084567
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 8.7 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #663,703 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Passing Gas"--a little at a time!, March 26, 2003

By	Todd V. Phillips (Bloomington, Illinois United States) - See all my reviews

With an excellent blend of humor and superb photographs, Gary Gladstone has produced a visual American travelogue of places along the endless blue highways of the United States.It is a look into the smaller than small towns emphasizing not only the town (one with a population of six) but the ambience of the location as well.Have you ever been behind the scenes of a photo shoot with a professional photographer? If not, this book will tell you about the pre-planning that needs to be done, the struggle for good light (or any light at all) and the trials and tribulations of a photographer "on the road".Grab a good chair, something cold to drink, and get ready to grin!

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Classical Gas, March 19, 2003

By	CPT Kirk - See all my reviews

A fun coffeetable book with great stories and photos alike. Takes you to all of those oddly (aptly?) named places in America that you'd never visit on purpose but often wondered what went on there and what are the people really like? Truth is stranger than fiction when it comes to some of our neighbors in these United States.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars It's Not About the Gas, September 3, 2003

By	Suzanne Poor (Verona, NJ United States) - See all my reviews

When Gary Gladstone began his odyssey crossing and cris crossing the country, little did he know that his delightful and insightful daily journal entries would provide the extra je ne sais quois that makes his book so poignant and actually greater than the individual parts. The photographs are wonderful, made with careful calculations of light and subject; the language is down-to- -- touching passions, fears and joy most of us identify with.

Passing Gas is more than a coffee table book; it's an inspsiration to all of us who make photographs and aspire to being compelling writers at the same time.