One for the Road: An Outback Adventure

4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars | 180 ratings

Price: 13.78

Last update: 07-30-2024


Top reviews from the United States

Linda Linguvic
5.0 out of 5 stars A backpack and a sense of adventure
Reviewed in the United States on August 16, 2000
Tony Horwitz is fast becoming my one of my favorite authors. I loved "Confederates in the Attic" and "Baghdad Without a Map" and looked forward to reading "One for the Road", his very first book which describes his adventures hitchhiking across the Australian outback in 1987 at the age of 27.
With only a backpack and a sense of adventure, he shares his journey with the reader, skillfully describing the mostly desolate terrain and the people he meets along the way. His sense of humor and instinctive quest for the quirky detail made me smile often and I tried to read this small 206-page book as slowly as possible because I just wanted it to last.
I'm a mature city-dwelling grandmother and it's unlikely I'll ever stand by the side of the road with a cardboard sign and an outstretched thumb (or index finger as they do in Australia) waiting for a stranger to open a car door and share a little piece of his or her life with me. But for the moments that I was engaged in the book, Tony Horwitz brought me right there.
He made me feel the 100-degree-plus heat, the flies so dense he had to squint his eyes. My head swirled with the countless bottles of beer he described drinking as he tried to ignore the fact that most of the drivers who picked him up were drunk. He slept in his clothes by the side of the road, met aboriginals and opal diggers and got seasick working as a deck hand on a fishing boat.
And I also experienced the wonder of it all, the freedom of waking up in the morning and not knowing what the day will bring, the time to relish each moment, and the writer's eye to make the trip real for the many people destined to read his book. Occasionally, the book got a bit slow, but that is not a criticism, but rather just part of the reality of the experience.
I really loved this book. And wish there were more books out there by this author. Hopefully, he'll write another book soon. And I know I'll be one of the first in line to order it.
William J. Higgins,III
4.0 out of 5 stars Hitchin' with Horwitz
Reviewed in the United States on January 21, 2009
A witty, cleverly written "pleasure" trip through Australia.

Though this is Horwitz' first book, one can easily see that his skills as a writer would only improve over the years. His similes, imageries and overall craftiness with the pen make his books a joy to read. That aside, they are also informative of history, geography and culture.

With 7,000 plus miles of hitchhiking through the desolate and barren Outback, to the oftentimes seamy coastal towns, Tony describes every ride with vigor and comical insight. Beer, of course, is the main fervor of his free Australian rides and he drolls out every one of these episodes. He looks at life through lighthearted lenses.

A fun read and he only gets better as the years advance.
The Honourable Husband
5.0 out of 5 stars I want to buy Tony a beer...if he still needs one.
Reviewed in the United States on July 19, 2005
As another American who lived in Australia for many years, let me assure any prospective buyer of this book that the author really gets the place.

He started out like many, seduced by life in megalopolitan Sydney, thinking that the superficial similarites between two essentially suburban cultures mean that there's little for an American to learn from his adopted home.

Life on the road teaches him otherwise.

There's a certain melancholy to life in Australia, which Horwitz comes to understand over his journey; the physical journey across a forbidding continent contrasts with his internal journey as a moden young man, a lapsed rebel, a faithful husband and a sentimentally observant Jew (Is this trip his own wandering in the desert, perhaps?)

I was moved by the story of Horwitz's passage across the northwest of Western Australia (beginnning on page 136). It's here that he surrenders his obsession with getting to the next town, and begins to understand the weft and weave of his surroundings.

The story of finding a Jewish family in Broome with whom to celebrate Passover--an Akubra sunhat acting as a makeshift yarmulke--warmed my heart, simply because I know that any true Australian would be equally welcoming to a displaced stranger.

And the story of Anzac Day the following morning...well, I've never heard anyone capture the curious mixture of joy and pain that marks the Australian Memorial Day as succinctly as Tony did. An ostesnsible victory witout glory--what kind of a nation does this make? He summed it up in three paragraphs or so.

Buy it, even if you never intend to visit Australia. It will help you understand the mind of an eventual Pulitzer Prize winner, and the experiences that opened his mind.

Oh, by the way, Tony, I'm serious about the offer of a beer.
Alex B.
3.0 out of 5 stars Light and fun read.
Reviewed in the United States on April 23, 2017
Always entertaining, sometimes informative and insightful. Horwitz is a sensitive, and astute observer with an easy writing style. He opens up the ancient geography and quirky cultural idiosyncrasies for all to see. Liked it very much!
Matej Hargas
4.0 out of 5 stars Outdated but fun to read
Reviewed in the United States on June 3, 2013
I quite enjoyed reading this book as it's written in a witty and entertaining style. Having travelled through Australia myself, I can relate to some of the experiences, making the reading that more personal. When it comes to the facts though, the book is quite outdated, so don't take this as a guidebook. Take it as a memory from a vast country that has not changed in eons and still has changed so much in the past 20 years...
Mar
5.0 out of 5 stars Such a fun read
Reviewed in the United States on September 21, 2021
For readers who are Australian, have been to Australia, or have always wanted to go.
J.R. Mc
5.0 out of 5 stars Try To Put It Down
Reviewed in the United States on January 20, 2014
Tony Horwitz has the gift of language and a sense of humor that make his books, including this one, a fun read . Hitch a ride with him through an improbable landscape, the Austrailian outback. You'll want to look up his other books to read, I promise. All are books that are hard to put down.
Nana Linda
4.0 out of 5 stars Great read! His hitchhiking trip through interior Australia was a wonderful tale.
Reviewed in the United States on June 10, 2019
I have always been fascinated by Australia. After reading this crazy story I have crossed interior Australia off my bucket list.

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