As a reporter, the train is the best mode of transportation to start a conversation
The train may have become a popular mode of transportation in the United States, perhaps more so than anywhere else, but it’s an exciting and relaxing way to travel the country that’s recently been making a resurgence in popularity. Train is the best mode of transport to start a conversation with people. In the car where you’re in your bubble, the maximum is ‘Hi’ on the plane. If that wasn’t too bad: ‘What are you studying there?’
Countless books have been written about that epic cross-country car trip with Kerouac On the road Definitely an inspiring highlight. But reporter Emily Kosen (Elsevier, The Telegraph) has chosen a different approach. He toured America by train, from the East Coast to the West Coast, from Brunswick, Maine, California to Emeryville, interestingly, not in a straight line as possible, from Chicago to Las Vegas, and the Deep South. Twin Cities to Oregon and Los Angeles.
The American Dream
He alternates descriptions of the journey with conversations with fellow travelers and passers-by, and these are often the book’s tastiest parts. There are other places in New Mexico that have rarely been described as Las Vegas, which is “one of the wildest places ever in the Wild West.” Kossen is a good listener and intuitive in surprising encounters such as Ferguson, a suburb of St. Louis, where he converses with black policewoman Shanette Hall; In 2014, a black man was shot and killed by a white police officer in Ferguson. In conversations with fellow passengers, presence or absence The American Dream His description of the past and particularly his stay with the Amish community in Ohio is informative and passionately written.
It’s a pleasant book, especially thanks to Kosen’s loose writing style, a bit ironic here and there. Although he does not bring up many new facts, the historical passages are informative, but one would not expect that in a travelogue. Considering the Great Migration, the great move north in the middle of the last century, he may be more concerned with the importance of the failed cotton yield. and the rise of mechanical harvesting.
He did a quick check on the history of American rail transportation and downplayed the car lobby’s role in the decline. and Mississippi statistically a Overpass State Americans usually use that term for the landmass you have to cross if you want to go from the West Coast to the East Coast or vice versa. But it is nitpicking About a book that sparks interest for a similar train journey.
A version of this article appeared in the newspaper on 8 July 2022
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