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TURN LEFT AT THE TROJAN HORSE REVIEWS |
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TURN LEFT AT THE TROJAN
HORSE PHOTOS |
Bill Bryson meets
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, an intimate, epic,
and offbeat journey in search of the heroic ideal…
With his next college reunion approaching and middle age bearing
down, Brad Herzog decides it's time to take stock: how has he
measured up to his own youthful aspirations? What is a life well
lived? And these days, what is a heroic life? To find the
answers to these classic questions, he hits the road, wending
his way toward Ithaca (New York) like a modern-day Odysseus in
Kerouac clothing, stopping only in classically-named towns.
Musing on what Homer's and the Greek myths have to say about
life, he finds the inspiring, stirring, and sometimes wry
stories of ordinary Americans living exemplary or unusual
lives—such as a teacher in a one-room schoolhouse in Troy
(Oregon); a soldier and father in Sparta (Wisconsin); an
energetic preacher in Apollo (Pennsylvania); and a lifelong hobo
in Iliad (Montana). From them he gleans timely and timeless
lessons about leadership, legacy, sacrifice, and resilience.
Herzog is the author of acclaimed travel memoirs States of Mind
and Small World, but in TURN LEFT AT THE TROJAN HORSE he tramps an even more
personal journey. Heeding both Socrates (“The unexamined life is
not worth living.”) and Kerouac (“The road is life.”), he hits
the road in an attempt to reconcile his achievements with his
own expectations and those of society – both presently and (in
the form of ancient myths) down through the ages. “We were not
made in the image of gods,” Herzog writes. “Gods were made in
our image – our fears, our foibles, our fantasies. So in my
journey, I am not aspiring to the deeds of ancient heroes;
rather those ancient heroes are aspiring to the symbolic
expression of my psyche… I am not Odysseus; he is me.”
TURN LEFT AT THE TROJAN HORSE: A Would-be Hero’s American Odyssey is a historical,
philosophical and conversational trek across America and through
the universal truths of mythography. However, in the end it is
simply the story of one man trying to find his way.
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“Brad Herzog is a wonderful writer. He
reaches beyond the obvious and always finds great meaning and insight
in the spectacles of everyday life, and wraps it up in language both
poetic and unpretentious.” – Orlando Sentinel
“A terrifically capable writer, styled
with a dash of Paul Theroux and a dollop of Tom Wolfe… Herzog’s prose
is facile and satisfying, often times stunning.” – Ithaca Times
“Following loosely in the footsteps of John Steinbeck… he’s an
insightful observer, with a mature voice and compelling take on the
soul of the country today.” – Asbury Park Press
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