Error loading page.
Try refreshing the page. If that doesn't work, there may be a network issue, and you can use our self test page to see what's preventing the page from loading.
Learn more about possible network issues or contact support for more help.

Turn Left At The Trojan Horse

A Would-Be Hero's American Odyssey

ebook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available

"Turn Left at the Trojan Horse had me howling with laughter and nodding at the razor-sharp observation." Tahir Shah, author of The Caliph's House.

"Go away. Figure it out," she was saying. "Don't come back until you do." She looked at the calendar. "You have thirty-one days."

With these words, like Helen of Troy launching a thousand ships across the Aegean, Brad Herzog's wife launched a Winnebago Aspect onto the open road.

A modern day Odysseus in Kerouac clothing, Brad Herzog plunges into a solo cross-country search for insight. With middle age bearing down on him, he takes stock: How has he measured up to his own youthful aspirations? In contemporary America, what is a life well lived? What is a heroic life?

From the foothills of Washington's Mount Olympus, through the forgotten corners of America, and finally to his college reunion in Ithaca, New York, Brad shares his personal odyssey. Stopping in classically named towns, he meets every day heroes, including a teacher in a one-room schoolhouse in Troy, Oregon; a modern day hobo in Iliad, Montana; and a bomb squad soldier in Sparta, Wisconsin. These encounters and Brad's effortlessly infused musings make for an exciting, one-of-a-kind ride.

"A truly epic journey."A.J. Jacobs, author of The Year of Living Biblically

"As we sit in Herzog's passenger seat, we cannot help but stare out the window and even see our own reflection in the glass."Liz Robbins, author of A Race Like No Other

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

  • Formats

  • Languages

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      August 2, 2010
      The author takes a circuitous route east from California by driving an RV across Oregon, Washington, Montana, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and other points between and beyond. Inspired by Odysseus and a cast of supporting gods and goddesses, vignettes illuminate some form of heroic action, with Herzog discovering attributes of bravery and endurance in a variety of everyday characters. The author asks “What is a hero?” and finds answers in sources such as the 1997 North Dakota flood, and Sparta, Wisconsin, home to Fort McCoy, where he ponders military life, drawing parallels with Odysseus and his wife Penelope, “a de facto single mother, her husband essentially missing in action until she hears from him next.” Points of interest that inspire Herzog include the Mount Olympus Water and Theme Park at the Wisconsin Dells and an Ohio eatery called Pandora’s Lunch Box, which allows him to tell the entertaining tale of the original Pandora. And after meandering around Pennsylvania’s eternally burning mine fire in Centralia, he takes on labyrinthine history with an Appalachian labyrinth owner who claims to possess multiple personalities, just another character on another pit stop along an intriguing excursion.

Formats

  • Kindle Book
  • OverDrive Read
  • EPUB ebook

Languages

  • English

Loading