Chasing Steinbeck's Ghost

The timeline for John Steinbeck's 1960 'Travels With Charley' road trip from the author of 'Dogging Steinbeck'

De: Bill Steigerwald

Narrado por: Virtual Voice

In the fall of 1960 John Steinbeck and his standard poodle Charley set out on a 10,000 mile road trip around the USA that would become his iconic best-selling nonfiction travel book, 'Travels With Charley.' In 2010, exactly 50 years later, journalist Bill Steigerwald left Steinbeck's former home in Sag Harbor, Long Island, and faithfully retraced the great author's route from Maine to Seattle to Monterey to New Orleans to New York City. Steigerwald's original goal was to produce an American road book comparing the different Americas he and Steinbeck saw through their windshields on 'The Steinbeck Highway' in 1960 and 2010. But as he tells us in his spirited nonfiction road book 'Dogging Steinbeck,' Steigerwald quickly learned through his research in libraries and his dogged drive-by journalism that 'Travels With Charley' was not a true or honest account of how Steinbeck traveled, whom he met or what he really thought about America and its people. This timeline contains the most accurate information Steigerwald was able to find about Steinbeck's real trip and where he was on any given date in the historic fall of 1960. It includes photos and video that Steigerwald shot on his solo 11,276-mile journey. For the complete story of Steigerwald's own 'discovery of America' and how his journalism changed the way 'Travels With Charley' will be read forever, see 'Dogging Steinbeck.' It's available at https://www.amazon.com/Dogging-Steinbeck-Steinbecks-America-ebook/dp/B00A6X9ZR0

Nitpicking! Ugh

I read Travels with Charlie by John Steinberg in 1966 while I was recuperating in a US Naval hospital in Newfoundland. Mr. Steinbeck’s writing inspired me to see all of our own United States before contemplating a trip abroad. This remains my favorite book at my current age of 79.
I have seen, not just drove through, but spent quality time in 49 of our states, traveling with my preteen, son and daughter. My daughter made her 50th with a month long visit with her best friend, whose father was transferred to a US Coast Guard station there. The two girls were 14. I was not invited. (nor did I want to be. Giggles here.)
My rating of this book is 2 stars… because its premise was to fact check Mr. Steinbeck’s book.
Mr. Steinbeck wrote the story after he returned home from this very long and tiresome trip. He wasn’t a young man in 1960’s numbers and his health was less than ideal.
Yes, it was published as non-fiction. But it wasn’t written as a tour guide to be left for others to follow. This was a biographical story by a very accomplished writer. The opinions that he offered were true, even though anecdotes apparently slipped in here and there, perhaps from other trips. I did not finish listening to this book.