America Unchained - Dave Gorman

The plan was simple. Go to America. Buy a second-hand car. Drive coast-to-coast without giving any money to The Man. What could possibly go wrong? Dismayed by the relentless onslaught of faceless American chains muscling in where local businesses had once thrived, Dave Gorman set off on the ultimate American road trip - in search of the true, independent heart of the US of A. He would eat cherry pie from local diners, re-fuel at dusty gas stations and stock up on supplies from Mom and Pop's grocery store. At least that was the idea. But when did you last see an independent gas station? Gamely, Dave beds down in a Colorado trailer park, sleeps in an Oregon forest treehouse, and even spends Thanksgiving with a Mexican family in Kansas. But when his trip mutates into an odyssey of near-epic proportions and he finds himself being threatened at gun point in Mississippi, Dave starts to worry about what's going to break down next. The car...or him?
I have always wanted to drive from west to east cost america and was interested in how Dave did it. However he had a catch to his, no chains, which would make the journey that much harder.  This book was a great insight to how you could try and cross america. You would think it easy, and that their were plenty of independent places and although he found some truly remarkable places, like the B&B in the shape of a Beagle.  You could see some of the anguish and struggles he had.

I love Gorman's books he is a natural born writer and has a great wit about him. His books are amusing to read, easy to follow and unputdownable.  I loved this book as i got a really good sense of the travels he was on and how he was feeling at the time. (something i strive for in all travel books but don't always get).  The book is very witty and funny, easy to relate to and easy to get into.

You could tell all the issues he had, and are slightly jealous that he gets to make such a remarkable trip. The people he meets, some friendly some not, and you get a true feel to where he is and how he is feeling.  A great book, I can't really fault it.  Excellent read.