Go West, Young Man: A Father and Son Rediscover America on the Oregon Trail
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- Create Date：2021-08-30 10:19:01
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：B J Hollars
- ISBN：1496225902
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Summary
At the sound of the bell on the last day of kindergarten， B。J。 Hollars and his six-year-old son， Henry， hop in the car to strike out on a 2，500-mile road trip retracing the Oregon Trail。 Their mission: to rediscover America， and Americans， along the way。 Throughout their two-week adventure， they endure the usual setbacks （car trouble， inclement weather， and father-son fatigue）， but their most compelling drama involves people， privilege， and their attempt to find common ground in an all-too-fractured country。
Writing in the footsteps of John Steinbeck’s Travels with Charley， Hollars picks up the trail with his son more than half a century later。 Together they sidle up to a stool at every truck stop， camp by every creek， and roam the West。 They encounter not only the beauty and heartbreak of America， but also the beauty and heartbreak of a father and son eager to make the most of their time together。 From Chimney Rock to Independence Rock to the rocky coast of Oregon， they learn and relearn the devastating truth of America’s exploitative past， as well as their role within it。
Go West， Young Man recounts the author’s effort to teach his son the difficult realities of our nation’s founding while also reaffirming his faith in America today。
Writing in the footsteps of John Steinbeck’s Travels with Charley， Hollars picks up the trail with his son more than half a century later。 Together they sidle up to a stool at every truck stop， camp by every creek， and roam the West。 They encounter not only the beauty and heartbreak of America， but also the beauty and heartbreak of a father and son eager to make the most of their time together。 From Chimney Rock to Independence Rock to the rocky coast of Oregon， they learn and relearn the devastating truth of America’s exploitative past， as well as their role within it。
Go West， Young Man recounts the author’s effort to teach his son the difficult realities of our nation’s founding while also reaffirming his faith in America today。
Reviews
Janilyn Kocher
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I had to request this book when I saw it was available and was pleased when I received an ARC。 I just finished it and it is a pleasurable read。 A father and son traverse the span of the Oregon trail， finding delights， adventure， and a sense of themselves along the way。 I enjoyed the snippets of historical detail Hollars included and the snapshots of people they encountered。 Henry did very well on the journey for just being 6 years old。 I have made that same trek myself and enjoyed revisiting the I had to request this book when I saw it was available and was pleased when I received an ARC。 I just finished it and it is a pleasurable read。 A father and son traverse the span of the Oregon trail， finding delights， adventure， and a sense of themselves along the way。 I enjoyed the snippets of historical detail Hollars included and the snapshots of people they encountered。 Henry did very well on the journey for just being 6 years old。 I have made that same trek myself and enjoyed revisiting the sites through reading。 My two favorites were the museums in Independence， MO and Baker City， OR。 The End of the Oregon Trail Museum was closed when I tried to visit it and I totally missed the Bear Valley site。 The author has a tendency to be a little preachy but it doesn’t detract from the writing。 Thanks to Bison Books and NetGalley for the advance copy。 。。。more
Niki
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Thank you Netgalley for the digital advanced readers copy of Go West， Young Man: A Father and Son Rediscover America on the Oregon Trail by B。 J。 Hollars in exchange for my honest review。 Go West， Young Man: A Father and Son Rediscover America on the Oregon Trail is B。J。 Hollars account of his cross-country road trip with his 6-year-old son， Henry。 They set off on a 2，500-mile journey along the Oregon Trail to "rediscover" America。 They both learn a lot on this journey - both on how the country Thank you Netgalley for the digital advanced readers copy of Go West， Young Man: A Father and Son Rediscover America on the Oregon Trail by B。 J。 Hollars in exchange for my honest review。 Go West， Young Man: A Father and Son Rediscover America on the Oregon Trail is B。J。 Hollars account of his cross-country road trip with his 6-year-old son， Henry。 They set off on a 2，500-mile journey along the Oregon Trail to "rediscover" America。 They both learn a lot on this journey - both on how the country once was and how it is now， as well as their own relationship。 As much as it is a story on their journey， it provides plenty of travel tips and ideas as well。 I don't feel as if I connected with the author as much as I thought I would， but this was a good book， sometimes a bit heavy and sad， but nonetheless， good reading。 Perfect for those cross-country road trips we all love。 。。。more
Carianne Carleo-Evangelist
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Thank you， NetGalley， for the opportunity to read this book。 I really enjoyed Hollars' account of his journey from Eau Claire to Oregon's Williamette Valley via Independence， Missouri and the famous Oregon trail with his six year old son。 Hollars packed a lot into his two-week journey， and into this relatively short book。 I loved how he included his interviews with rangers， museum directors and other experts， as well as "regular" people like Liz who came to his reading。 Even with a journey as we Thank you， NetGalley， for the opportunity to read this book。 I really enjoyed Hollars' account of his journey from Eau Claire to Oregon's Williamette Valley via Independence， Missouri and the famous Oregon trail with his six year old son。 Hollars packed a lot into his two-week journey， and into this relatively short book。 I loved how he included his interviews with rangers， museum directors and other experts， as well as "regular" people like Liz who came to his reading。 Even with a journey as well mapped and scripted as the Oregon Trail， it's so often the unplanned elements that are the most memorable。 Appreciated his attempt to look at the Trail and its stories through a DEI lens and his exploration of the Native people's stories， which could be another book in itself。 A solid read。 。。。more
Henk-Jan van der Klis
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The Oregon Trail was a 2，170-mile （3，490 km） east-west， large-wheeled wagon route and emigrant trail in the United States that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon。 The eastern part of the Oregon Trail spanned part of what is now the state of Kansas and nearly all of what are now the states of Nebraska and Wyoming。 The western half of the trail spanned most of the current states of Idaho and Oregon。 Instead of a cart or covered wagon， author B。J。 Hollars （1984） and his six-year-old The Oregon Trail was a 2，170-mile （3，490 km） east-west， large-wheeled wagon route and emigrant trail in the United States that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon。 The eastern part of the Oregon Trail spanned part of what is now the state of Kansas and nearly all of what are now the states of Nebraska and Wyoming。 The western half of the trail spanned most of the current states of Idaho and Oregon。 Instead of a cart or covered wagon， author B。J。 Hollars （1984） and his six-year-old son， Henry， used a rental car （"Bullseye"） to retrace the trail in a two-week adventure。Go West， Young Man: A Father and Son Rediscover America on the Oregon Trail is a travelogue packed with background information and conversations with knowledgeable locals that Hollars arranged to interview upfront and the serendipitous encounters along the way。 Like every trail， there are setbacks as well， such as discussions about the music to play or the restaurant to eat in， stormy weather。 Compared to emigrants that traveled for months， two weeks is just a vacation， hopping from one motel to camping， gas station， and sightseeing en route。 A single-track journey by a father and son isn't a rediscovery of America。 。。。more
Sam Sattler
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Go West， Young Man， B。J。 Hollars’s account of the Oregon Trail road trip he shared with his six-year-old son， Henry， will be a fun read for anyone who enjoys similar road trips of their own。 Smartly， Hollars spends a substantial amount of time in this travel memoir exploring his evolving relationship with Henry （who， if he is even half as precocious as his dad portrays him to be here， is quite the character） as the long hours in the car began to wear a bit on both of them。 It didn’t hurt， too， t Go West， Young Man， B。J。 Hollars’s account of the Oregon Trail road trip he shared with his six-year-old son， Henry， will be a fun read for anyone who enjoys similar road trips of their own。 Smartly， Hollars spends a substantial amount of time in this travel memoir exploring his evolving relationship with Henry （who， if he is even half as precocious as his dad portrays him to be here， is quite the character） as the long hours in the car began to wear a bit on both of them。 It didn’t hurt， too， that I read Go West， Young Man during my own 5，000 mile road trip with my nineteen-year-old grandson。 As we came upon some of the landmarks highlighted in the Hollars book， I knew what to expect， which landmarks to explore more deeply， and was happier and happier that my grandson was enjoying the trip — and （supposedly） my company — as much as I had hoped he would。B。J。 and Henry were on a mission to rediscover America， both as the country was in the past and the way it is today。 And they did it the hard way。 They usually camped out along the way， very rarely breaking up the camping routine by a hotel stay or a night spent in the home of friends。 And I suspect that the occasional thunderstorm or heavy winds they endured and conquered will likely turn out to be some of their strongest memories of the entire trip。 Father and son met their goals: they completed the Oregon Trail together and they met enough people along the way， including cross country truck drivers， to get a good feel about both the things that still bind Americans together and the things， mostly political， that so destructively divide those same Americans today。 Mr。 Hollars used the trip as a means of educating his young son to the realities of the exploitive nature of America’s move west， and what he has to say on the subject is a disturbing reminder of how destructive the westward migration of settlers was to the native peoples already there。 Bottom Line: Go West， Young Man is fun。 I think it’s a little heavy-handed at times on the guilt trip associated with the author’s reaction to how terribly our native peoples were treated by white settlers of the day， but there are plenty of reasons — and takeaways — to read this fun travel memoir。 I have to admit that I particularly enjoyed reading about the author’s interface with Henry during such an extended road and camping trip， but I also learned much about the key spots along the Oregon Trail and how important it was to this country’s westward expansion。 I recommend this one to all the road-trippers out there。 You’ll enjoy it。 。。。more
Lacey
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