American journey On the road with Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, and John Burroughs

In this rambling history, journalist Davis (The Ariadne Objective) views the push-pull between America's "modern bustle" and "dream of agrarian stability" through the unique lens of a series of road trips undertaken in the early 20th century. The centerpiece of the narrative is a 1918 automobile expedition through southern Appalachia led by car manufacturer Henry Ford, naturalist John Burroughs, and inventor Thomas Edison, but Davis also recounts separate excursions made by these friends and others to visit Ralph Waldo Emerson's home in Massachusetts, the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco, and the Green Mountains of Vermont. The unlikely friendship between Burroughs and Ford developed after the former wrote an article complaining that the automobile "could only have a negative impact on the natural world and America's appreciation of its riches and wonders." He became a quick convert to the new technology, however, after receiving a Model T as a gift from Ford and realizing that cars had the potential "to make more of the natural world accessible to more people." Davis conveys the excitement and danger of early automobile travel and crafts memorable set pieces, including a rain-soaked camping adventure reminiscent of a Buster Keaton comedy, but his digressions sometimes stall the narrative's forward momentum. Still, this historical road trip is well worth taking. Photos. (June)

The story of an epic road trip of several American giants in August 1918. In this somewhat nostalgic portrait of a lost rural America, Davis, author of The Ariadne Objective, portrays the touching friendships that sprang up among automobile tycoon Henry Ford, naturalist John Burroughs, inventor Thomas Edison, and tire industrialist Harvey Firestone as they took road trips together in Ford's miraculous vehicle, exploring parts of rural America that had been largely inaccessible. The galvanizing relationship began in 1913 between Burroughs, then 75, and Ford, nearly 50 and enjoying a banner year for the Model T. Both men, notes the author, were deeply influenced by the writing of Emerson, but they disagreed about the role of the automobile in American life. To Ford's chagrin, Burroughs wrote in an article in Atlantic Monthly that the automobile "was going to kill the appreciation of nature"; Ford believed it would open up facets of America that most people could not access. In response, Ford sent Burroughs a new Model T, which indeed changed the old naturalist's life by prompting him to set out on wide-ranging road trips beyond his Hudson River homestead. Meanwhile, Ford and Edison, who had both "imbibed" the rural values of the Midwest, and Firestone, "the head of the largest tire manufacturing concern in the country," were long-standing friends, busy plotting numerous new business ventures. After a long lead-up that contains a few too many unnecessary details, Davis chronicles the memorable road trip of summer 1918, when the fast friends--who held wildly different views about the impending war--drove from the Allegheny range through West Virginia and into the "rustic magic of the Great Smoky Mountains," all in the spirit of curiosity and exploration. A rare account of brilliant minds as they set off in search of America. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.