The National Road: Dispatches from a Changing America

This anthology of beautifully constructed, loosely connected travelogs and reflections centers on movement and mutability, as Los Angeles Review of Books editor Zoellner explores the imprint of the American people on one another and the land. Zoellner was fortified for this project by his love for driving; he calculates the equivalent of more than 30 solo coast-to-coast trips plus journeys into all 48 contiguous states over 20 years, barely stopping at times for a few hours’ sleep in his car. Here he considers all kinds of topics, from his quirky quest to climbing the highest point in every state to the decline of local newspapers and mom-and-pop stores. He visits the Czech immigrant town of Spillville, IA, as well as tiny municipalities like St. Louis, where the main industry is traffic tickets. The poignant final chapter sees Zoellner standing witness (after an all-night drive, of course) at the demolition of his grandmother’s hand-built home of 61 years.