Overview
Join author Brad Herzog as he marvels at a castle in Versailles,
visits a guru in Calcutta, discovers a descendant of King David in Jerusalem, and more — all without leaving the United States.
Small World is acclaimed travel writer Brad Herzog's unique tribute to the Land of the Free, featuring a world of stories culled along America's highways and byways. From Rome (Oregon) to Athens (New York), from Moscow (Maine) to Mecca (California), Herzog embarks on a fascinating journey into the nooks and crannies of the nation — tiny towns struggling to live up to their grandiose names. Shattering the notion that distance alone translates to wonder, this perpetual traveler probes everything from the dark history of Congo (Ohio) to the residue of slavery along the great river in Cairo (Illinois). He encounters a cast of characters as varied as the landscape — devout ranchers and devoted nudists, miners and migrants, artists and activists, hillbillies, hippies, hermits, and Hare Krishnas.
Herzog brings to bear the same sense of humor and acute observations that made States of Mind a hit, and discovers that there is, indeed, a fascinating world right in our own backyard. The hamlets in Herzog's Small World are full of cultural curiosities, historical wonders, and exotic folks — and you don't even need a passport to get there.
Synopsis
Join author Brad Herzog as he marvels at a castle in Versailles, visits a guru in Calcutta, discovers a descendant of King David in Jerusalem, and more -- all without leaving the United States.
Small World is acclaimed travel writer Brad Herzog's unique tribute to the Land of the Free, featuring a world of stories culled along America's highways and byways. From Rome (Oregon) to Athens (New York), from Moscow (Maine) to Mecca (California), Herzog embarks on a fascinating journey into the nooks and crannies of the nation -- tiny towns struggling to live up to their grandiose names. Shattering the notion that distance alone translates to wonder, this perpetual traveler probes everything from the dark history of Congo (Ohio) to the residue of slavery along the great river in Cairo (Illinois). He encounters a cast of characters as varied as the landscape -- devout ranchers and devoted nudists, miners and migrants, artists and activists, hillbillies, hippies, hermits, and Hare Krishnas.
Herzog brings to bear the same sense of humor and acute observations that made States of Mind a hit, and discovers that there is, indeed, a fascinating world right in our own backyard. The hamlets in Herzog's Small World are full of cultural curiosities, historical wonders, and exotic folks -- and you don't even need a passport to get there.
Library Journal
In his continued search to find America, Herzog has written what could be considered a sequel to States of Mind, in which he recounts his travels to U.S. towns whose names are also virtues, among them Pride, AL, Unity, NH, and Justice, WV. In this second travelog, Herzog visits 14 small towns named after famous foreign cities (but not necessarily pronounced the same), including Cairo, IL, Versailles, KY, and Moscow, ME. For each town, he provides a brief history, followed by an encounter with one or more of the often eccentric people in the community, such as the immigrant Czech population in Prague, NE, the nudists in Athens, NY, the Hare Krishnas in Calcutta, WV, and the relatives of an MIA in Bagdad, AZ. For the most part, the reader's interest is held, but occassionally Herzog stays too long with one character when the reader is itching to move to the next; the intermittent black-and-white photos, moreover, do not add to the text. Recommended for libraries where Herzog's first book was popular and an optional purchase for all others.-John McCormick, New Hampshire State Lib., Concord Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.