Short drive, sweet chariot

In this zestful, happy, and wonderfully rambling book, one of America’s favorite authors takes the reader with him on a leisurely drive across the U.S.A. It all started in the summer of 1963 when Saroyan impulsively bought a 1941 Lincoln so that he might be chauffeur to the “few remaining dignitaries in my family.” He and his cousin John take a leisurely pilgrimage across the North Central states while the reader just sits back and enjoys the scenic countryside and the good conversation. In addition to looking for authentic American hoboes and commenting on the vista, they find time to chatter on every imaginable subject, from Hemingway and American place names to the first Armenian-American President, Fellini’s flaws, and a writer’s quest for lasting truths.