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生活休闲:《失落的大陆:一脚踏进小美国》The Lost Continent: Travels in Small Town America
失落的大陆:一脚踏进小美国(The Lost Continent: Travels in Small Town America)简介:
The Lost Continent: Travels in Small-Town America is a book by travel writer Bill Bryson, chronicling his 13,978 mile trip around the United States in the autumn of 1987 and spring 1988. This is the first of Bryson's travel books.
He begins his journey, made almost entirely by car, in his childhood hometown of Des Moines, Iowa, heading from there towards the Mississippi River, often reminiscing about his childhood in Iowa. The journey was made after his father's death, and so is in part a collection of memories of his father in Des Moines while he was growing up.
The book is split into two sections: 'East' and 'West', the former part being considerably longer than the latter. These sections correspond to two separate journeys made in the autumn of 1987 and spring of 1988. The first section covers the Midwest, the Deep South, the East Coast and New England, before returning to Des Moines. The second section focuses on the Great Plains, the South West, California and the Rocky Mountains.
Bryson's goal in this trip was generally to avoid tourist destinations, instead choosing to experience the real every-day America, stopping at small towns and forgotten points of interest. This book is an overview of the United States from Bryson's point of view. There is less focus on factual insight into the history, geography and culture of the destinations in this book than is found in some of Bryson's later books, but it is still widely regarded as being an exceptionally funny book, and has achieved much critical acclaim. 本书描述是布莱森在英国生活了将近二十年后,一种奇怪的冲动突然牢牢地攥住了他,他决定回到那块青春时的土地,重新认识他的祖国——美国。布莱森画出一条绝妙的环形路线,足以带他走遍这块奇异而又广大的半是异乡的土地。四十八个州中,除了十个南边的州,布莱森游览了其余的三十八个州,驱车一万三千九百七十八英里。其中,他看到了许多想看的,也看到了许多不想看的:长得看不到尽头的州际公路,令人蠢蠢欲动的大城市,被地图遗忘的破落小镇;各种稀奇古怪的博物馆,塞满旅行车的国家公园,让人瞠目结舌的大峡谷,一条可穿越树的路,还有诸多被商业化了的名人故居……
在夹杂着陌生、矛盾、无聊和惊喜的过程中,他找到了原以为早已失落的大陆,也在打开心门之后看到了最真实的美国。