Horatio's Drive Audiobook By Dayton Duncan, Ken Burns cover art

Horatio's Drive

America's First Road Trip

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Horatio's Drive

By: Dayton Duncan, Ken Burns
Narrated by: Dayton Duncan, Ken Burns, Tom Hanks
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The companion volume to the PBS documentary film about the first—and perhaps most astonishing—automobile trip across the United States.

In 1903 there were only 150 miles of paved roads in the entire nation and most people had never seen a “horseless buggy”—but that did not stop Horatio Nelson Jackson, a thirty-one-year-old Vermont doctor, who impulsively bet fifty dollars that he could drive his 20-horsepower automobile from San Francisco to New York City. Here—in Jackson’s own words and photographs—is a glorious account of that months-long, problem-beset, thrilling-to-the-rattled-bones trip with his mechanic, Sewall Crocker, and a bulldog named Bud. Jackson’s previously unpublished letters to his wife, brimming with optimism against all odds, describe in vivid detail every detour, every flat tire, every adventure good and bad. And his nearly one hundred photographs show a country still settled mainly in small towns, where life moved no faster than the horse-drawn carriage and where the arrival of Jackson’s open-air (roofless and windowless) Winton would cause delirious excitement.

Jackson was possessed of a deep thirst for adventure, and his remarkable story chronicles the very beginning of the restless road trips that soon became a way of life in America. Horatio’s Drive is the first chapter in our nation’s great romance with the road.

With 146 illustrations and 1 map©Dayton Duncan and Ken Burns; (P)2003 Random House, Inc. Random House Audio, a division of Randhom House Inc. Biographies & Memoirs Historical United States Adventure Automotive Americas Transportation North America Engineering

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Where does Horatio's Drive rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Top 15%

What other book might you compare Horatio's Drive to and why?

William, Alfred, and General Motors. Another historic snapshot of how the automobile changed America. The fortitude of Americans was keenly defined by everyday auto pioneers like the main character.

What does Dayton Duncan and Ken Burns bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Historical accuracy and sidebars that make it interesting. Did you know that the Smithsonian has this car on display at the Museum of American History on the mall? That should give relevance to the significance of this journey.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes

Any additional comments?

Literally changes in the storyline occur with every turn of the wheel. Something that was hard to do then and would go unoticed if done today. Read it for the sake of learning about the culture of those times and enjoy the sense of accomplishment made by the main character.

An American tale...

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Great writing and narration. America needs more pioneer spirit and determination like Horatio’s. What a positive, determined and optimistic person. Those traits can take one a long ways - like across a continent. Very enjoyable to listen to and learn from.

Love this pioneer spirit

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A must-listen if you like cars or road trips or just a good story from U.S. history.

A Must-listen

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This is my second time taking in the Dayton Duncan-Ken Burns audiobook about plucky doctor-turned-adventurer Horatio Jackson's historic first crossing of the U.S. continent by automobile. The challenges, the individual triumph, the unplanned three-way race make for a compelling, exciting American tale. Cameo narration by Tom Hanks and, at the NYC end, George Plimpton, and others make for a great, exciting, entertaining telling. However, Ken Burns' lengthy, self-indulgent introduction borders on narcissism and takes away from the initial energy, while Duncan's panoramic road trip paean and excessive Walt Whitman quotes take away from the already perfect conclusion: Horation finally making it home.

A good sandwich, but too much bread

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Who knew about the first cross-country road trip? I sure didn't until listening to this book. A cross-country road traveller myself (4 times in the car), I found the plight of Horatio interesting, funny and frustrating, and I was glad that my family's adventures were never as severe as poor Horatio. The book is a companion to a documentary, and it reads a bit like that. I imagine the print version might be better because it probably includes photos, diagrams and maps. I don't think the lack of those took away from the experience of listening to the book, but they probably would add to the reading of it.

Great story!

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