-Walt Whitman, 1856
The roadtrip that you are about to embark on is the stuff of poetry. The journey along the open road in search of a new life, some new experiences, and a new understanding of America has fueled the creativity of authors long before the first Model T rolled off the assembly line. Generations of writers have used life on the road to inspire both critiques and celebrations of American culture.
FictionAround the World in Eighty Days (1872) by Jules Verne. Phileas Fogg’s madcap quest to circumnavigate the world and win a £20,000 bet.
Roughing It (1872) by Mark Twain. Semi-autobiographical journal of Twain’s journeys through the “Wild West” and disillusionment with the American Dream.
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884) by Mark Twain. A boy’s misadventures along the Mississippi River typify the American roadtrip spirit.
Grapes of Wrath (1939) by John Steinbeck. A Depression-era journey westward and one of American literature’s angriest works.
The Adventures of Augie March (1953) by Saul Bellow. An expansive, over-abundant chronicle of a Chicago youth’s quest for fulfillment.
Lolita (1955) by Vladimir Nabokov. Famous and controversial. Humbert Humbert is a classic anti-hero.
On the Road (1957) and just about everything else written by Jack Kerouac. A Beatnik’s odyssey and the seminal text of road literature.
The Getaway (1958) by Jim Thompson. Two bank robbers flee across the country and cut a violent swath across America.
Rabbit Run (1960) by John Updike. The story of Harry “Rabbit” Angstrom’s flight from his former life and search for new meaning.
Travels with Charley: In Search of America (1962) by John Steinbeck. A veteran writer takes to the road with his dog (Charley) to rediscover his homeland.
In Cold Blood (1966) by Truman Capote. An analysis of a crime and the mystery as to why two men would drive over 400 miles to kill four people whom they did not know.
Another Roadside Attraction (1971) by Tom Robbins. The story of comedic genius and 1960s counterculture recounting how a troupe of carnies come into the possession of the embalmed body of Jesus Christ. Also check out the classic story of the hitchhiking small-town girl in Even Cowgirls Get the Blues.
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (1974) by Robert Pirsig. A cross-country roadtrip both physical and philosophical.
Blue Highways: A Journey into America (1983) by William Least Heat-Moon. A trip through the backroads of small-town America.
Christine (1983) by Stephen King. Christine is a red and white 1958 Plymouth Fury with a thirst for blood.
Road Fever (1991) by Tim Cahill. The documentation of an attempt to travel from Tierra del Fuego to the tip of Alaska in 25½ days.
Interstate (1995) by Steven Dixon. The telling and retelling of a father’s search for the perpetrators of a seemingly random act of road violence.
Amnesia Moon (1995) by Jonathan Lethem. The post-apocalyptic journey of a boy named Chaos.
A Hoosier Holiday (1916) by Theodore Dreiser. A precursor to the “road novel,” this work documents a roadtrip Dreiser took with fellow artist Franklin Booth.
The Air-Conditioned Nightmare (1945) by Henry Miller. An account of Henry Miller’s 1940-1941 journey through America and his criticism of American culture.
The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test (1968) by Tom Wolfe. Documents Ken Kesey and the band of Merry Pranksters’ drug-fueled journey through America.
Out West (1987) by Dayton Duncan. The narrative of a man and his Volkswagon trip westward, following the trail of Lewis and Clark.
The Lost Continent: Travels in Small Town America (1990) by Bill Bryson. A search across 38 states for the essence of small-town life.
American Nomad (1997) by Steve Erickson. The non-fiction account of Erickson’s road journey after covering the 1996 presidential election for Rolling Stone.
Songs for the Open Road: Poems of Travel and Adventure (1999) by The American Poetry & Literacy Project. Collection of 80 poems by 50 British and American poets, about travel and journeys.
Driving Visions (2002) by David Laderman. Discusses the cultural roots of the Road Movie and analyzes its role in literary tradition.
Ridge Route: The Road That United California (2002) by Harrison Irving Scott. An in-depth look at highway construction over the grapevine.
RV Traveling Tales: Women's Journeys on the Open Road (2003) edited by Jaimie Hall & Alice Zyetz. An anthology of women writers and their experiences living on the road.