The Road to Somewhere - Hardcover

James Dodson

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 043401205X ISBN 13: 9780434012053

Publisher: William Heinemann Ltd

Synopsis

Celebrating the wonder, comedy and adventure to be found in the most unlikely places, best-selling author James Dodson takes his young son Jack on a once-in-lifetime trip through the great cities and eccentric byways of Europe. There are two kinds of travel, someone once said: first class and with children. During the summer of 2001, Jim Dodson discovers that travelling with a kid can almost make a grown man feel - and behave - like a child again. Two battered bags and an old baseball glove in hand, father and son set out to circle the globe and spy the wonders of the world. But the best-laid plans usually tend to go awry and Jim and Jack encounter a myriad of unforeseen obstacles during their journey - some hilarious and others heartbreaking. What they discover, on the busy marketplaces and sightseeing hot spots, the country inns and dusty back roads of Western Europe, are not the knights and dragons young Jack had once dreamed of, but something far more valuable: each other's company and a world where, at the end of the day, unexpected laughter and pain can make us all friendly small-town neighbours. With humour, warmth and wisdom, James Dodson explores the meaning of father-son relationships and the importance of finding and savouring friendship, beauty and wonder - especially when you least expect them.

About this title

About the Author

James Dodson is the author of Final Rounds , the 1996 bestseller that was named the 'Golf Book of the Year' by the International Network of Golf. He is also the author of Faithful Travelllers and A Golfer's Life, a collaboration with Arnold Palmer that was a New York Times bestseller; a four-time winner of the prestigious Golf Writers of America Award for his column in Golf Magazine; and the recent recipient of the 1998 'Golf Reporter of the Year' awarded by the International network of Golf. He lives on the coast of Maine with his wife and their children.

From Publishers Weekly

Dodson (Final Rounds; A Golfer's Life) recounts an ambitious journey through England, Holland, Belgium, France, Italy and Greece. But it's his companion on the road, not the elaborate itinerary, that makes his book remarkable. Just days after his second wedding in 2001, Dodson, a former Departures magazine editor, left small-town Maine to explore the world with his 10-year-old son, Jack. Their goal was to "wander like a pair of Mark Twain's proverbial innocents abroad to see what we could see for the two months of summer freedom allotted to us before Jack (a big fan of mythology, a good student of history) moved on to the mysteries of Mount Ararat Middle School." The two are accompanied at separate points by Dodson's new bride and, interestingly, his ex-mother-in-law, but their dynamic father-son duo provides the real backbone for this touching story. When logistical details about the trip occasionally become tedious (do readers really need to hear about where they changed money?), Dodson's frank discussions of traveling with a kid save the day. For instance, jaded voyagers who might skim through the section about exploring Paris on foot will be distracted by an interlude where Jack acquires a pair of comfortable sandals just in the nick of time. Such simple reminders that Dodson is accompanied by a real kid whose feet hurt make this not just a travelogue, but a memoir of a father's cherished time with his son.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: William Heinemann Ltd
• ISBN 10: 043401205X
• ISBN 13: 9780434012053
• Binding: Hardcover