Is this a safe place to admit that I’ve already picked which book I want to be my #260, but it’s a super-long audiobook that I’m trying to find the free time to listen to, and as a result I have 3 mostly but not completely finished sub-par books sitting on my nightstand right now…?
I did finish Road Fever, and it was not sub-par, although it did drag in a few places (it’s hard to make filling out paperwork and raising funding seem glamorous). Overall, though, the great writing and the camaraderie between the two drivers created a really fun read.
In 1990, Tim Cahill (a journalist) joined his professional adventure/driver friend Garry Sowerby to set a new world record: Tierra del Fuego to Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, in twenty three and a half days. Along the way, they encountered car trouble (although I found it very funny that they always spun it to not be the fault of the actual truck, since the drive was sponsored by GMC. Instead it was after-market parts, or the road conditions, or whatever), insane boarder guards (who they bribed with milkshakes. So many milkshakes in this book), and various acts of terrorism. It’s all a good reminder that driving across South America in 1990 — or now — is probably not a great idea. But Tim and Garry made it fun, and made it work. My eyes glazed a bit during the descriptions of bureaucratic red tape, but other scenes involving some rather insane driving had me hooked!
Your brother in law doesn’t speak highly of South American travel either