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Tim Cahill

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Road Fever Paperback – March 3, 1992

by Tim Cahill (Author)

4.4 146 ratings

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Tim Cahill reports on the road trip to end all road trips: a journey that took him from Tierra del Fuego to Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, in a record-breaking twenty three and a half days.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

If you define "adventure travel" as anything that's more fun to read about than to live through, then Tim Cahill's Road Fever is the adventure of a lifetime. Along with professional long-distance driver Garry Sowerby, Cahill drove 15,000 miles from the southernmost tip of Tierra del Fuego to the northernmost terminus of the Dalton Highway in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, from one end of the world to another, in a record-breaking 23 1/2 days. Just like the authors' camper-shelled GMC Sierra truck, the narrative bounces along at a relentless pace. Along the way Cahill and Sowerby cope with mood swings, engine trouble, Andean cliffs, obstinate bureaucracies, slick highways, armed and uncomprehending soldiery (not to mention the challenges of securing O.P.M., or Other People's Money--the sine qua non of adventure, Cahill observes). Author of such off-the-wall travelogues as Pass the Butterworms and Jaguars Ripped My Flesh, Cahill is equipped with the correct amalgam of chutzpah and dementia to survive what can only be called "The Road Trip From Hell." Readers, however, will thoroughly enjoy themselves.

From the Inside Flap

Tim Cahill reports on the road trip to end all road trips: a journey that took him from Tierra del Fuego to Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, in a record-breaking twenty three and a half days.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group; Reprint edition (March 3, 1992)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 288 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0394758374
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0394758374
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 8.8 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.19 x 0.65 x 8 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #662,655 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1,296 in Travel Writing Reference
- #1,482 in Humor Essays (Books)
- #2,229 in Travelogues & Travel Essays

Customer Reviews:
4.4 146 ratings

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Customers find the book entertaining and interesting. They appreciate the skilled writing and down-to-earth style. The writing is described as lighthearted, witty, and well-written.

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Readability Writing quality

19 customers mention "Readability"19 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the book's readability. They find it entertaining, interesting, and worth reading. The author skillfully portrays the journey as an adventure, making the experience come alive for readers. Overall, customers describe the book as a well-written and enjoyable read.

"I have to say that I loved every word of this book and I can't wait to read it again...." Read more

"This is a very funny, well written travel account by a seasoned travel writer...." Read more

"This is a fun and interesting book. I have bought three copies and passed two along to friends...." Read more

"Tim Cahill keeps you interested as he recounts the triumphs and travails of his world-record run from the southern tip of Argentina to Prudhoe Bay,..." Read more

10 customers mention "Writing quality"7 positive3 negative

Customers find the writing quality enjoyable. They describe the author as skilled and witty, making the journey come alive. The book provides detailed descriptions of the adventure, allowing readers to immerse themselves in the experience.

"This is a very funny, well written travel account by a seasoned travel writer...." Read more

"...Cahill does an excellent job of detailing this adventure...." Read more

"Cahill gives the nitty gritty details that allow the reader to be there, mentally and emotionally. What a way to make a living!" Read more

"...The language can be a bit coarse at times, so it may not be the best reading material for your pre-teen child...." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

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Jeff Wignall
The mother of all road trips, worth a read
Reviewed in the United States on September 18, 2015
Verified Purchase
I have to say that I loved every word of this book and I can't wait to read it again. Yes, the first 100 pages or so (which is a lot, granted) are kind of slow slogging setting up the financing for their epic road trip, but as someone who always dreamed of creating such a wild project, I still found it fascinating. Most author would skip over this preemptory material and get right down to the trip, but then you'd be sitting there halfway though the book wondering, "Where the heck did the guys get the money and the truck to make such a wild journey?"

Once Cahill and his partner get underway, it's a riot to read just how unprepared (after a year or more of preparing!) they were for some aspects of their trip. And when you read the *scary* accounts of crossing the Andes, all of your fantasies of "Gee, I'd love to go on an adventure like this" simply vanish--they vanish over a 7,000-foot cliff to certain death (in a snow storm).

If you are a devoted nonfiction reader and you can muster the patience to read the backstory of how this trip came to pass, I think you'll really appreciate the time you invested and just how amazing the road trip really was (from Tierra del Fuego to Prudhoe Bay). I have to admit I was a bit disappointed that the end of the journey (the U.S. portion) seemed like it was rushed (in the writing) and I wish they had gone into more detail. But I gather that after a month of almost nonstop driving and very little food or sleep, they were both pretty much hallucinating.

Anyway, I love adventure books. Would love to find more like this.

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jurgfella
Very will written travel account
Reviewed in the United States on July 13, 2015
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This is a very funny, well written travel account by a seasoned travel writer. The narrative follows the record-setting 24-day drive from Ushuaia at the southern tip of Argentina to Prudhoe Bay in Alaska, set with professional long-distance driver Garry Sowerby, mostly following the Pan-American highway. As some reviewers have noted, it takes the book a little while to get going, as it spends a lot of time on the preparation for the trip, and some of that might have been better handled via flashback. Also, in some ways not that much happens on the trip -- Cahill and Sowerby spent a good amount of time preparing for eventualities that never happened -- but Cahill does an excellent job of giving the reader the feel of the trip, and how dangerous certain parts of Central and South American were (and unfortunately still are). All in all, a very well-done book.

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Kindle Customer
What, did you WALK?
Reviewed in the United States on December 23, 2024
Verified Purchase
Tim is such a great storyteller!
Recounting their adoption of the 'roto' persona, speculating what the Korean spare tires thought about being tossed in a smelly truck next to used tires that'd obviously been tortured, and other accounts kept me laughing and glued to the pages all the way to the end.

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bellczar
An excellent adventure!
Reviewed in the United States on December 5, 2013
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This is a fun and interesting book. I have bought three copies and passed two along to friends. Cahill does an excellent job of detailing this adventure. A lot of the book deals with the preparatory work that had to be done to establish exactly what had to be done to set the record. Cahill and his partner had to get everything in writing before they did anything, seeming trivialities like where the extreme ends of the road actually are. They had to engage in some monkey business even to be allowed to drive on the northern end of the road to Prudhoe Bay in Alaska.

Something that stood out for me but was never explicitly discussed by the author was that the team didn't seek any publicity at all as they were traveling through Latin America. Then when they were going through the US and Canada, they sought media interviews. I suspect this is because they were worried that Latin American officials would learn about their trip and cause trouble for them.

It also seems odd to me that after entering the U.S., they drove practically straight north to Winnipeg and then west and northwest to Alaska, making a square corner. It seems to me that going northwest across Texas to catch I-25 in Colorado would be the way to go, but the author never explains this choice of route.

The book is a good adventure filled with humor and irony. It's a good, fast read.

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Shiroh niichan
Entertaining account of a world record attempt
Reviewed in the United States on January 15, 2013
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Tim Cahill keeps you interested as he recounts the triumphs and travails of his world-record run from the southern tip of Argentina to Prudhoe Bay, Alaska with Garry Sowerby in 1987. Actually Gary Sowerby is the world-record driver, and Cahill describes himself as the "comedy relief." With self-effacing humor, Cahill does not hide his foibles during the trip. He also keeps the tension of the moment as they received bad or conflicting news, encountered problems they hadn't considered, or just got on each others nerves after long hours with little sleep. His character sketches of the people they meet, from German tourists in southern Argentina to locals in Colombia, are funny and well drawn. He includes interesting facts about South and Central America of the late 1980s. The further north they get, the less he has to write about that would appeal to North American readers.

The language can be a bit coarse at times, so it may not be the best reading material for your pre-teen child. It also isn't quite the classic travelogue to stand side by side with Mark Twain's _Roughing It_. Even so, it is a great read for self-described road warriors who like to drive for the adventure of it. The anecdotes about the people they met and the situations they found themselves in make you wish the trip were a little longer.

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Mick
Great subject, writing quality not so hot.
Reviewed in the United States on October 15, 2024
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What appears to be an epic journey has its story marred by "smart aleck" writing by Cahill. Just tell the story without the trash talk.

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Tim Jenkins
The Ultimate Road Trip
Reviewed in the United States on December 10, 2018
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What an adventure -- traveling from one end of the Earth to the other, at high speed, and bumping into some amazing characters and heart-breaking challenges along the way. I learned a lot about Tierra del Fuego and the people and politics that line the road north to the top of the Northern Hemisphere. Tim Cahill lives his adventures "all-in" and he narrates them the same way. Enjoy every bump in the road!

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Top reviews from other countries

Chelin
Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 8, 2017
Verified Purchase
Arrived on time, as described.

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Christopher R. Siddle
If You've Ever Considered an International Road Trip, Read this Book
Reviewed in Canada on November 9, 2024
Verified Purchase
This is the true account of a Canadian adventure driver attempting to set the world's fastest record for a well documented drive from the southern tip of South America to the north tip of mainland North America. Tim Cahill, well known adventure journalist, is along for the drive. This is a factual narrative, not quite as zany as the title and the cover suggest. Expect an interesting rather than a crazy-funny story.

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Al Dude
Four Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 12, 2014
Verified Purchase
A really interesting read although given it's from the 80s I'm guessing some of it is now outdated

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Mr. John M. Walker
Brilliant
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 20, 2015
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Brilliant

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Amazon customer
More boring than I'd expected as we don't hear much about ...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 9, 2017
Verified Purchase
More boring than I'd expected as we don't hear much about the places they travel through, so it doesn't really feel like a travel book. Guess you've gotta be big into cars to enjoy this trip.

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