American Journeys, Don Watson, The Paperback Bookshop, Melbourne, Australia

Only in America - the most powerful democracy on earth, home to the best and worst of everything - are the most extreme contradictions possible. In a series of journeys acclaimed author Don Watson set out to explore the nation that has influenced him more than any other. Travelling by rail gave Watson a unique and seductive means of peering into the United States, into American history and the American landscape and towns. Yet it is through the people he meets that Watson discovers the optimism, sophistication and riches of America - and also its darker side, its disavowal of failure and uncertainty. Beautifully written, with gentle power and sly humour, Watson explores the meaning of the United States: its confidence, its religion, its heroes, its violence, and its material obsessions. Only in America - the most powerful democracy on earth, home to the best and worst of everything - are the most extreme contradictions possible. In a series of journeys acclaimed author Don Watson set out to explore the nation that has influenced him more than any other. Travelling by rail gave Watson a unique and seductive means of peering into the United States, into American history and the American landscape and towns. Yet it is through the people he meets that Watson discovers the optimism, sophistication and riches of America - and also its darker side, its disavowal of failure and uncertainty. Beautifully written, with gentle power and sly humour, Watson explores the meaning of the United States: its confidence, its religion, its heroes, its violence, and its material obsessions.