In this companion book to a new Twin Cities Public Television documentary also called "Tales of the Road" (airing in November 2008), Wurzer unearths stories about Highway 61, spotlighting famous and fascinating locations, many of them little remembered today.
“There’s nothing semi about Finn Murphy’s trucking tales of The Long Haul.”—Sloane Crosley, Vanity Fair More than thirty years ago, Finn Murphy dropped out of college to become a long-haul trucker. Since then he’s covered more than a million miles as a mover, packing, loading, hauling people’s belongings all over America. In The Long Haul, Murphy recounts with wit, candor, and charm the America he has seen change over the decades and the poignant, funny, and often haunting stories of the people he encounters on the job.
Ron Levy, blues keyboardist, has written his memories of being a musician on the road with artists like B.B. King, and also recorded with Freddie Hubbard, Melvin Sparks, David T. Walker, Idris Muhammad. He includes anecdotes covering his career as a back-up musician, a solo artist, as well as a producer and record label owner.
‘I have come to believe that the best kind of walk, or journey, is the one in which you have no particular destination when you set out.’ Ruskin Bond’s travel writing is unlike what is found in most travelogues, because he will take you to the smaller, lesser-known corners of the country, acquaint you with the least-famous locals there, and describe the flora and fauna that others would have missed. And if the place is well known, Ruskin leaves the common tourist spots to find a small alley or shop where he finds colourful characters to engage in conversation. Tales of the Open Road is a collection of Ruskin Bond’s travel writing over fifty years. Here, you will encounter a tonga ride through the Shivaliks, a hidden waterfall near Rishikesh, walks along the myriad streets of Delhi (one of which used to be the richest in Asia), trips down the Grand Trunk Road, stopovers in little tea stalls in the hills around Mussoorie, and an excursion to the icy source of the Ganga at over ten thousand feet above sea level. Enriched by rare photographs that Ruskin took during his travels, Tales of the Open Road is a celebration of small-town and rural India by its most engaging chronicler.
Sex. Violence. Scandal. These are words we rarely associate with the sacred text of the Bible. Yet in this brilliant new book, Jonathan Kirsch shows that the Old Testament is filled with some of the most startling and explicit stories in all of Western literature. These tales of seduction and rape, voyeurism and exhibitionism, intermarriage and illegitimacy, assassination and murder have been suppressed by religious authorities throughout history precisely because they are so shocking. "You mean that's in the Bible?" is the common reaction of the contemporary reader to the stories that Kirsch retells and explores. In The Harlot by the Side of the Road, Kirsch recounts these suppressed and mistranslated tales in the grand storytelling tradition. Here is the tale of Dinah, the young Israelite daughter raped by a princely suitor. The price for her hand in marriage? The circumcision of every man in his kingdom. Here, too, is the story of Lot's daughters, who, when faced with the possibility that they are the last survivors on earth, must copulate with their drunken father to continue their race. And the story of Tamar, the harlot by the side of the road, who must disguise herself as a prostitute and seduce her father-in-law in order to bear the child who has been promised her. Kirsch places each story within the political and social context of its time, and delves into the latest biblical scholarship to explain why each story was originally censored. He also brings to light when and where each story was first written down, and how it found its way into the Bible. And he shows how these stories have something important to say to contemporary readers who might never pick up a Bible. Kirsch reveals that the Bible's real power lies in its unflinching lessons in human nature. And he illuminates the surprising modernity of the Bible's characters: these were, like us, people delicately balanced between their destructive and generous natures. Certain to excite controversy and ignite intellectual debate, The Harlot by the Side of the Road will undoubtedly be one of the year's most talked-about books.
This heartwarming collection of true stories reveals the thrill and the freedom of traveling America's back roads on a bicycle, and the joy of discovering unforgettable characters along the way.From the moment he borrowed his big sister's banana-seat bike and careened down the neighborhood hill at the age of five, Joe Kurmaskie has known the intoxicating freedom and power of the bicycle. In this big-hearted collection of stories, Joe -- dubbed the Metal Cowboy by a blind rancher he encountered one icy morning in Idaho -- tells of his whimsical, wild adventures through the American landscape.
"Neil Zurcher deftly observes things most of us would overlook, and that is what make his stories so enticing." --- Robin Swoboda "Neil's writing skills, wry wit, and calm, warm demeanor allowed him to move effortlessly from award-winning hard news reporter to Cleveland's king of travel." - Tim Taylor He met Prince Charles in a bathroom, and tripped and Tell on President Gerald Ford. He raced on an elephant, piloted a glider, and hung from a trapez. He survived a hotel fire, a tornado, and countless stunts for the camera. As a news reporter and host of the long-running "One Tank Trips" travel segment on Channel 8 in Cleveland, Neil visited every corner of Ohio (and beyond), met hundreds of unusual people, and took part in history-making events. He was tear-gassed at an anti-war protest and almost trapped inside the Ohio Penitentiary during a riot. He drove in a day-long high-speed police chase from Cleveland to Kentucky, and got lost in the middle of Lake Erie. He rode in jet boats, jet fighters, sternwheelers, a World War II tank, and almost every other kind of vehicle imaginable (most frequently his trademark red and white 1959 Nash Metropolitan). He was ordained as a minister in the Free Spirit Association Church and even officiated at a few weddings... He would do almost anything and go almost anywhere for a godo story. And in the process he became one of the most popular personalities on Cleveland TV. In this book, with his familiar folksy style, Neil shares dozens of his favorite personal stories from a lifetime in Cleveland television. Many will cause a chuckle, some will surprise, and all recall in era of television and of Northeast Olno that was full of color and characters.