Is this a safe place to admit that I’ve already picked which book I want to be my #260, but it’s a super-long audiobook that I’m trying to find the free time to listen to, and as a result I have 3 mostly but not completely finished sub-par books sitting on my nightstand right now…?
I did finish Road Fever, and it was not sub-par, although it did drag in a few places (it’s hard to make filling out paperwork and raising funding seem glamorous). Overall, though, the great writing and the camaraderie between the two drivers created a really fun read.
In 1990, Tim Cahill (a journalist) joined his professional adventure/driver friend Garry Sowerby to set a new world record: Tierra del Fuego to Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, in twenty three and a half days. Along the way, they encountered car trouble (although I found it very funny that they always spun it to not be the fault of the actual truck, since the drive was sponsored by GMC. Instead it was after-market parts, or the road conditions, or whatever), insane boarder guards (who they bribed with milkshakes. So many milkshakes in this book), and various acts of terrorism. It’s all a good reminder that driving across South America in 1990 — or now — is probably not a great idea. But Tim and Garry made it fun, and made it work. My eyes glazed a bit during the descriptions of bureaucratic red tape, but other scenes involving some rather insane driving had me hooked!