Product Description

The plan was simple. Go to America. Buy a second-hand car. Drive coast-to-coast without giving any money to The Man. What could possibly go wrong? Dismayed by the relentless onslaught of faceless American chains muscling in where local businesses had once thrived, Dave Gorman set off on the ultimate American road trip - in search of the true, independent heart of the US of A. He would eat cherry pie from local diners, re-fuel at dusty gas stations on remote highways and stock up on supplies from Mom and Pop's grocery store. At least that was the idea.But in a world of 30,000 McDonalds, 13,000 Starbucks, and 4,200 Best Westerns, could it really be done? When did you last see an independent gas station? Gamely, Dave beds down in a Colorado trailer park, sleeps in an Oregon forest treehouse, and even spends Thanksgiving with a Mexican family in Kansas. But when his classic coast-to-coast trip mutates into an odyssey of near-epic proportions and he finds himself being threatened at gun point in Mississippi, Dave starts to worry about what's going to break down next. The car...or him?

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1934 in Books
• Published on: 2008-04-03
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 384 pages

Synopsis
The plan was simple. Go to America. Buy a second-hand car. Drive coast-to-coast without giving any money to The Man. What could possibly go wrong? Dismayed by the relentless onslaught of faceless American chains muscling in where local businesses had once thrived, Dave Gorman set off on the ultimate American road trip - in search of the true, independent heart of the US of A. He would eat cherry pie from local diners, re-fuel at dusty gas stations on remote highways and stock up on supplies from Mom and Pop's grocery store. At least that was the idea.But in a world of 30,000 McDonalds, 13,000 Starbucks, and 4,200 Best Westerns, could it really be done? When did you last see an independent gas station? Gamely, Dave beds down in a Colorado trailer park, sleeps in an Oregon forest treehouse, and even spends Thanksgiving with a Mexican family in Kansas. But when his classic coast-to-coast trip mutates into an odyssey of near-epic proportions and he finds himself being threatened at gun point in Mississippi, Dave starts to worry about what's going to break down next. The car...or him?

About the Author
Dave Gorman is a Perrier Award-nominated comedian and writer. His TV work has earned him two BAFTAs for The Mrs Merton Show.

Customer Reviews

Someone Unchain Dave - Let His Writing Flow!
Dave Gorman for me is one of the founding fathers of the recent quest comedy novels that have filled my non-fiction shelves. With his `Are you Dave Gorman' and his `Googlewack Adventure' I was entertained and educated. `Unchained America' follows a similar path to these two earlier books, but with some major differences. Gorman has made TV shows out of all of his books, but whilst previously he adapted them using the photos and short films he made himself, this time he goes out to make a documentary. Unfortunately, this means that the book suffers.

I have not seen the TV show, but having read the book it seems like it was a difficult undertaking. Dave set out across America to go from the East coast to the West with only using unchained stores, gas suppliers and motels. What should have been a fun adventure meeting quirky characters is repeatedly broken up by the importance of filming things. A lot of momentum is lost in the book because they have to stop and start all the time to change film or help the camera woman. For me this book lacked some of the joy that made the others so good. In the second half the narrative does flow better and some of the usual Gorman wit comes to the fore. It is a shame that this wit is few and far between.

More normal but no less hilarious
Having been a fan of Gorman's since the explosion of the 'Are You Dave Gorman?' project my one fear about his work since is where could he go from there? How many amazing accidents and coincidences can happen to one man?
Thats where this project comes in. No drunken bets, no amazingly serendipitus events - just a man wanting to see another side of life and documenting where that desire takes him.
And it takes him on an incredible journey - by turns hilarious, moving, scary, joyess - but above all human.
Highly recommended as both a travel book and a personal memoir of exploration.

A Book Of Two Halves
A good idea for a book and it very nearly comes off as a good read.

When Stef is cameraperson there is much more feeling to the book. The detours to visit places make excellent reading. Unfortunately after she has to quit through injury the sparkle goes out of the book.

Enter Andy and it all goes downhill. It becomes apparent that the idea is to get to the finish line as quickly as possible with no thought to what places may actually be missed by this style of travel. They could just as well have flown instead of driving for the last part of the book for the interest shown. If Andy was so desperate to see his daughter why volunteer for the assignment in the first place? DVD sales of the book is all that comes to mind to me. In this case the last part of the book is a let down. All the stars are for the part with Stef in it.