Life on the Road

Enjoyed listening to A LIFE ON THE ROAD, written and read by Charles Kuralt . . . for those not familiar with the name, he hosted CBS News' SUNDAY MORNING show for more than 30 years. His "On the Road" segments were the best part . . . he would tell stories of ordinary Americans that he had met while touring the country in a recreational vehicle . . . you felt that you got to really know the folks he was profiling--and you appreciated them, too. Certain tales had me smiling, such as his visit to the world's largest ball of string . . . as he wrote, "the problem with making it is that you're always worried that somebody out there is making a bigger one." Yet there were other visits that moved me, including his description of a family awaiting a soldier's return from Vietnam. A LIFE ON THE ROAD is somewhat autobiographical, in that you learn about Kuralt's varied career that took him around the world . . . however, what made it even more interesting was that the author shared many of the insights he gained from what many others might consider just the simple things in life.

I once heard Dan Rather on TV talking about his late friend Charles. He admired his uncanny ability to describe everyday experiences of common Americans and make them stand out in a positive way. Rather talked about how Charles went against the grain of network television, when networks were consciously "dumbing down," Charles was trying to appeal to Americans who had read at least one book per month. He had faith in the intellectual capacity of citizens and their ability to help democracy. This book contains wonderful stories, crafted only in a way Charles could. He saw the everyday heroes in the USA, the heroes who didn't make the headlines, but who mattered a lot in the hearts and minds of many. Charles was trying to be a bright light in a sometimes dark world, and he succeeded. Give this book as a Christmas present to any friend who truly cares about his country and who is tired of the partisanship that is tearing the nation apart. To call the stories in this book "refreshing" is an extreme understatement. Jeffrey McAndrew author of "Our Brown-Eyed Boy

This 316 pages of America isn't the America of the media or of Hollywood or of the headlines of shootings and money-grubbing, cheating and robbing, but of the REAL America. Of honest people and real places, of pride and honor and values that really count.Here you'll meet the men who built the Golden Gate Bridge and a doctor who charges whatever his patients can afford. You'll learn about a woman who spends every day of her life cooking and feeding her neighbors because she wants to be a friend to man. These are the true nobility of our country, the real success stories of lives worthy of note and respect. In comparison to these, Bill Gates, Lee Iacocca, Ted Turner pale in significance.These are lives fully lived, the promise of the individuals completely realized. They are the human evidence of what happens when a person does unto others as they would have others do unto themselves.Sunnye Tiedemann (aka Ruth F. Tiedemann)

Kuralt has a wonderful sense of humor. His wit shines through in every page of this book as he tells stories of Americana and his experiences while covering the news in Cuba, South America, Russia... His simple and descriptive style of writing flows by fast and I could vividly imagine his experiences. What were these experiences? Pick up the book. Suffice to say it spans from the story of a simple brick layer he met in rural america to a proud, grumpy soviet ex-pow who had been waiting 40 years to send a message to an old friend in America. I put this book down with a great faith in humanity and a deep admiration for Charles Kuralt. He leaves you feeling that this world is filled with thousands and thousands of remarkable stories that are waiting to be discovered and that life is full of opportunities around every corner.

The genius of Charles Kuralt--and what makes this book great--is his ability to find insights from the smallest of things, which the rest of us would pass over on the way to more "important" matters. In some ways his life was extraordinary. But in other ways he led a rather conventional life, going from one greased pig competition to the next hoe-down on his rickety bus. He never walked on the moon, or cured a disease, or broke a batting record, or played at Carnegie Hall. But his insights into the simple experiences in life, from a field of wildflowers to the beauty of an autumn day, make A Life On The Road a book to cherish, and return to again and again. I can't recommend this book enough. America lost a true artist when Mr. Kuralt died. He probably never would have been so presumptuous to claim the title for himself, but that's what he was.