Heat-Moon set out with little more than the need to put home behind him and a sense of curiosity about "those little towns that get on the map-if they get on at all-only because some cartographer has a blank space to fill:
Remote, Oregon; Simplicity, Virginia; New Freedom, Pennsylvania; New Hope, Tennessee; Why, Arizona; Whynot, Mississippi.
His adventures, his discoveries, and his recollections of the extraordinary people he encountered along the way amount to a revelation of the true American experience.
Heat-Moon attended the University of Missouri where he earned bachelor's, master's, and Ph.D. degrees in English, as well as a bachelor's degree in photojournalism. He also served as a professor of English at the university.
Since its first publication date in 1982, it has appeared on the New York Best Seller's list for several weeks, and have been reprinted several times.
In 2012 a new book was published: BLUE HIGHWAYS Revisited. Forward by Heat-Moon, and written by Edgar Ailor III, and photographed by his son, Edgar Ailor IV, as they revisited all the places and compiled a photographic memory of all the people and the towns.
In 2012 a new book was published: BLUE HIGHWAYS Revisited. Forward by Heat-Moon, and written by Edgar Ailor III, and photographed by his son, Edgar Ailor IV, as they revisited all the places and compiled a photographic memory of all the people and the towns.
Great book, some of the lines in it stand as clear to me today as they did when it first came out.
ReplyDeletedang! Did you first read it in the 70s or 80s?
DeleteMust have been 1983, when I moved to the US.
DeleteAs a point of clarification, his last name is Least Heat-Moon. The hyphen throws people but he always make a point of that in interviews and talks.
ReplyDeletePoint noted, but, incorrect. His last name is actually Trogdon, but his dad decided to take and make himself a last name in the 1st nations style, and he decided to carry on that tradition. I have made that clear in my post, both ways.
DeleteWhen clarifying where I've already made something clear, unless you're adding something I didn't already have, you're not actually clarifying.
You're repeating something I wrote in the post.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Least_Heat-Moon
William's father, Ralph Grayston Trogdon, called himself "Heat-Moon," his elder half-brother from his mother's previous marriage was called by his stepfather "Little Heat-Moon," and he was called "Least Heat-Moon."
Dang, I tried to word it so as to avoid a "Jesse Scold" but I got one anyway. :-)
Delete"As a point of clarification" is a real good sign you're entering the lions den. Better carry some steaks to toss so you can get away without teeth marks
Delete