I had thought this book would be as enjoyable as A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail, with both authors challenging themselves to complete two very different historical trails along with their similarly crazy and risk-taking cohorts. I am a walker, so I could somewhat empathize with Bill Bryson, and he's at least entertaining. But... When I strike the open plains, something happens. I’m home. I breathe differently. That love of great spaces, of rolling open country like the sea, it’s the grand passion of my life.” – Willa Cather, (epigraph to The Oregon Trail: A New American Journey) And then it gets kind of good! Their lives, including the mules and the dog, are in danger more than once and a genuine camaraderie is formed. This is why I hate to not finish books; sometimes the best is yet to come.

This book starts out slow. Not too slow - it's the build-up process of the Oregon Trail. I usually don't like all this build up stuff. I wanted to get into the meat of the 1840s and 1850s trek to Oregon by covered wagon. But as I read the story all this build up made sense. The author's youthfulness helps to assure the inevitable comparison with the Anne Frank diary although over and above the sphere of suffering shared, and in this case extended to the death march itself, there is no spiritual or emotional legacy here to offset any reader reluctance. Also interesting content on his family history and the personal dynamics of his relationship with his brother.

Table of Contents

No offense, but, MY GOD, I wanted this book to end. And it just wouldn't. It went on and on and on and on. I listened to it on Audible and the reader was just fine. Initially I really liked the book. As minutes turned to hours and hours turned to days, though, I just really started to dislike (intensely) the author. There were also some emotional sections of the book as Rinker reflected on his complicated relationship with his father, and memories of a similarly rustic trip his family took when he was a boy. I’m not sure what is the most remarkable part of this wonderful memoir: the novel aspect of the covered wagon trip during the 21st century, or Rinker’s voice, which switches seamlessly from that of historian, to that of family member with family issues, to that of the humorist who can appreciate life’s ironies even in adverse circumstances. All I know is that you don’t want to miss out on this one. What a terrific story!

Fascinating details about the logistics and mechanics of the undertaking and some interesting folks who assisted along the way made this an interesting read. Seeing America slowly was, in a way, like eating slow food-I wasn't covering much ground in a single day, but I was digesting a lot more.” I mostly enjoyed the author's account of his journey along the trail, especially the parts about the mules and dog, but the multitude of tangents varied greatly with how interesting they were (or were not). Also could have done without the author's numerous political and societal opinions, which make you question his ability to intelligently research and assimilate other material used for the book. Favorite Quote: The contradiction of being able to see the modern world more clearly from the vantage of a nineteenth-century wagon appealed to me. Seeing America slowly was, in a way, like eating slow food - I wasn't covering much ground in a single day, but I was digesting a lot more.By turns frankly hilarious, historically elucidating, emotionally touching, and deeply informative. Rinker blends the fascinating if fraught history of the mass migration westward into the story of his own journey. Pioneer journals were his guides, and the sections devoted to their lively accounts of trail travel were some of my favorite parts of the book. Rinker also writes movingly about his father, an adventurous, family-centered man who inspired his trip. I found the chapter about the surprising (to me) importance role of mules in 18th and 19th century America--starting with George Washington as a savvy land speculating donkey importer and mule broker--utterly captivating, and it’s a good example of the atypical historical perspectives and insights that make this book so riveting. I would highly recommend this book if you have any interest at all (or don't) about the OREGON TRAIL. AND you know how siblings can be at times when you are together too long. Over 4,000 settlers tried this trail and today only 2 did it much the same way. If read as a light-hearted memoir instead of a factual nonfiction book, it's not bad. While the brother will be off-putting to some due to his colorful vocabulary, I found his interjections of humor refreshing in what otherwise could be dull at times. His solution was an energizer resorted to by many – a road trip -- but not your normal road trip. He decided to retrace the Oregon Trail – but not in a normal way. He decided to make the journey the way the pioneers did, in a covered wagon pulled by a team of mules.