AMERICAN RAMBLE

A journalist recounts his walking journey through the “original heartland” of America.

After enduring both the pandemic and a frightening cancer diagnosis, King Jr., a longtime reporter for the Wall Street Journal, felt the urge to set out on a 330-mile walk from Washington, D.C., to New York City to get a better feel for the character of his nation. Though he notes that there is nothing heroic or newsworthy about the walk, the author’s storytelling skills transform a seemingly insignificant trip into something revelatory. In just under a month, King trekked down back roads, across farmlands, and along riverbanks, meeting individuals from various walks of life. Alongside details about the adventure, he reflects on the history of this region of the U.S., sharing numerous keen insights and observations. At the beginning, King strolls past the Capitol, and he reflects on the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection, an event still very fresh in the minds of many Americans. Crossing the Mason-Dixon Line, King ponders what enslaved people heading north along the same path may have thought about the country that treated them reprehensibly. While in Amish and Mennonite farm country, he receives a lesson in the renewal of the mind, pondering the values of nonconformity. Writing about Valley Forge, he considers the concept of perseverance, and later, he makes his own personal crossing of the Delaware River. Climbing a landfill in New Jersey, he mourns the excessive consumerism of American society. But the author is largely optimistic. “As I went, day after day, opening myself to the people and places I encountered,” he writes, “I became in turn more open to those people and places….Absent the otherworld distractions buried in our phones or laptops, I could feel my capacity for awe and wonder grow exponentially with the days.” Readers who enjoyed Rinker Buck’s Life on the Mississippi should try this one next. Hamilton’s drawings complement King’s text.

An enlightening book with lessons for us all.