Status
Available
Call number
Collection
Publication
Back Bay Books (2009), Edition: Reprint, Paperback, 608 pages
Description
Heat-Moon writes travel books like no one else. Quirky, discursive, endlessly curious, he embarks on American journeys off the beaten path. Sticking to the small places via the small roads, he uncovers a nation deep in character, story, and charm. "Quoz" refers to anything strange, incongruous, or peculiar. Quoz can be history and heredity; stories, retold or invented; strange characters with poignant dreams. It's places with names like Sublimity City, Kentucky, and Dull Center, Wyoming; unresolved crimes, violent and rippling; schemers and inventors and those missing a tooth or two; and the mysterious Quapaw Ghost Light of Oklahoma. For the first time since his 1982 Blue Highways, Heat-Moon is back on the backroads with a lyrical, funny, and magisterially told chronicle of American passage, of maps of the heart and mind.--From publisher description.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member YogiABB
Roads to Quoz" is William Least Heat-Moon's latest book. It based on travels that he and his wife took to various parts of the United States. Quoz refers to the odd and remarkable but unexpected that one finds on the road while traveling. This book is not so much a travel book but a book of stories
Is this a good read? Sure. Just be ready to jump ahead because he bogs down every now and then. There is an excellent 250 page book in this 535 page book. I rate this 3 stars out of 4.
"Blue Highways","PraireyErth", and "River-Horse" are other books that he wrote that I read. They are all travel books except that PraireyErth was confined to a township in central Kansas. Blue Highways was his first book. He had just got fired and divorced. The writing was to the point. Hey, he needed the money. Its the only book besides Tom Sawyer that I've read three times.
Show More
that he picked up while traveling. Darned good stories also about forgotten expeditions, drug running, real estate speculation, childhood escapades. Story after story. Is this a good read? Sure. Just be ready to jump ahead because he bogs down every now and then. There is an excellent 250 page book in this 535 page book. I rate this 3 stars out of 4.
"Blue Highways","PraireyErth", and "River-Horse" are other books that he wrote that I read. They are all travel books except that PraireyErth was confined to a township in central Kansas. Blue Highways was his first book. He had just got fired and divorced. The writing was to the point. Hey, he needed the money. Its the only book besides Tom Sawyer that I've read three times.
Show Less
LibraryThing member nemoman
This book is a bit of a return to form by Moon, by which I refer to his earlier book [Blue Highways]. Here, Moon once again travels through America's backwaters in search of local color, be it peculiar characters, strange structures, phenomena, or landscapes, and oddments of forgotten minor
Show More
American history. The book is loosely organized by geographic region. It is at its best when the travels are most structured. For example, Moon travels from the headwaters of the Ouachita River in Arkansas to where it meets the Mississippi. In so doing he roughly traces the route of the precursor to the Lewis and Clark expedition. Sometimes his writing reminds me of John McPhee, for example when he hooks up with a disciple of railcycles. The book only flags in one spot where he decides to drive into Maine's Allagash Wilderness. The boredom of this book section no doubt reflects his own boredom with miles of second growth forest, punctuated only by an occasional lumber truck. His wife accompanies him and adds an additional enjoyable voice to Moon's commentary. Show Less
LibraryThing member frisbeesage
Roads to Quoz is the story of William Least Heat-Moon and his wife Q's travels around America. Quoz are the quirky, peculiar, little oddities that you can stumble across when your heart and mind are open. You must travel at the pace of a mosey, something Least Heat-Moon has perfected and a
I enjoyed this lengthy, leisurely, mosey across America. As he goes the author meanders off into whatever subject catches his interest, so you will hear about Quapaw Ghost Light of Oklahoma, getting lost in the Maine woods, a man with unconventional ways of raising money to start a school, and so many other fascinating stories it is impossible to relate them all here. Best of all you will come to know Q and admire the way she keeps Least Heat-Moon firmly and hilariously in his place!
I listened to this book on audio and Sherman Howard does a great job of setting the relaxed gently inquisitive tone. His voice matches Least Heat-Moon's personality so well that for awhile I thought the author was reading the book himself!
Show More
companion the likes of Q, wise and witty, is also helpful.I enjoyed this lengthy, leisurely, mosey across America. As he goes the author meanders off into whatever subject catches his interest, so you will hear about Quapaw Ghost Light of Oklahoma, getting lost in the Maine woods, a man with unconventional ways of raising money to start a school, and so many other fascinating stories it is impossible to relate them all here. Best of all you will come to know Q and admire the way she keeps Least Heat-Moon firmly and hilariously in his place!
I listened to this book on audio and Sherman Howard does a great job of setting the relaxed gently inquisitive tone. His voice matches Least Heat-Moon's personality so well that for awhile I thought the author was reading the book himself!
Show Less
LibraryThing member NellieMc
Mostly enjoyable, esp. when the author forgets himself and tells about the places and people he meets -- then it's the best type of travel memoir -- idiosyncratic, insightful, illuminating, fun. But he is a little too much present and the book's a little forced. Too many "quozes" and invented
Show More
philosophy. Show Less
LibraryThing member Twink
Roads to where?
Quoz - n. - referring to anything strange, incongruous or peculiar, at it's heart is the unknown, the mysterious. Rhymes with Oz.
I've had this book for a little bit now, but it isn't one you want to race through at all. It's a fairly hefty book at 550 pages plus, but you need to stop
William Least Heat-Moon landed on the New York Times bestseller list in the early 80's with his first book Blue Highways. Heat-Moon had lost both his job and his wife and decided to travel the back roads of America to see who he would meet and what he would find.
Heat-Moon is discovering hidden gems again with his female companion, Q, in Roads to Quoz - An American Mosey from Hachette Books.
"If you leave a journey exactly who you were before you departed, the trip has been much wasted, even if it's just to the Quickee-Mart."
This journey begins in Arkansas following the path of the Ouachita River. Heat-Moon's inherent curiosity about anything and everything is infectious. What are the origins of such placenames as Smackover, Hog Jaw and Possum Grape? I drove through a small town I'd never been to before the other day and found myself wondering how it came to be named Harmony. That's the captivating thing about Roads to Quoz - once you read of Heat-Moon's travels and interactions you look at things just a little bit differently - and from my point of view, that's a good thing.
This book covers a series of trips taken to various states. The history of each town or place is discussed in fascinating detail. But it is the human stories that captured me the most. Meeting Jean Ingold, with whom he has corresponded by letter for many years. Jean lives in a home of 117 sq.ft. She supports herself minimally, restricting her carbon footprint as much as possible. Her philosophy of life is engrossing. Travelling to the town where his great grandfather was murdered. The Goat Woman of Smackover Creek, who lived for fifty years in 6x20 travelling medicine show truck. Meeting the caretaker of Jack Kerouac's original scroll manuscript of On The Road. The everyday people who stop in a diner and share part of their lives with him. There are numerous other stories, all equally compelling.
How does he find these tales? He opens himself to 'letting himself be found.' Heat-Moon's gift is his view of life and the ability to put to paper and share his curiousity.
I haven't read Blue Highways, but will be seeking it out after reading this book. And taking the lesser travelled road a little more....
Quoz - n. - referring to anything strange, incongruous or peculiar, at it's heart is the unknown, the mysterious. Rhymes with Oz.
I've had this book for a little bit now, but it isn't one you want to race through at all. It's a fairly hefty book at 550 pages plus, but you need to stop
Show More
and savour each and every tale.William Least Heat-Moon landed on the New York Times bestseller list in the early 80's with his first book Blue Highways. Heat-Moon had lost both his job and his wife and decided to travel the back roads of America to see who he would meet and what he would find.
Heat-Moon is discovering hidden gems again with his female companion, Q, in Roads to Quoz - An American Mosey from Hachette Books.
"If you leave a journey exactly who you were before you departed, the trip has been much wasted, even if it's just to the Quickee-Mart."
This journey begins in Arkansas following the path of the Ouachita River. Heat-Moon's inherent curiosity about anything and everything is infectious. What are the origins of such placenames as Smackover, Hog Jaw and Possum Grape? I drove through a small town I'd never been to before the other day and found myself wondering how it came to be named Harmony. That's the captivating thing about Roads to Quoz - once you read of Heat-Moon's travels and interactions you look at things just a little bit differently - and from my point of view, that's a good thing.
This book covers a series of trips taken to various states. The history of each town or place is discussed in fascinating detail. But it is the human stories that captured me the most. Meeting Jean Ingold, with whom he has corresponded by letter for many years. Jean lives in a home of 117 sq.ft. She supports herself minimally, restricting her carbon footprint as much as possible. Her philosophy of life is engrossing. Travelling to the town where his great grandfather was murdered. The Goat Woman of Smackover Creek, who lived for fifty years in 6x20 travelling medicine show truck. Meeting the caretaker of Jack Kerouac's original scroll manuscript of On The Road. The everyday people who stop in a diner and share part of their lives with him. There are numerous other stories, all equally compelling.
How does he find these tales? He opens himself to 'letting himself be found.' Heat-Moon's gift is his view of life and the ability to put to paper and share his curiousity.
I haven't read Blue Highways, but will be seeking it out after reading this book. And taking the lesser travelled road a little more....
Show Less
LibraryThing member Polaris-
Excellent. Classic Heat Moon quoziness exploring the corners of the US that few others ever bother to report from. Few, if any, write with such a glint in their eye as he does. Each chapter is a new delight of oddity - full of colour, sounds, and smells. Most of the smells are great...
WLHM has a
WLHM has a
Show More
knack of writing about places in a way that makes me want to visit if not the exact same destinations, then at least an opolis in the right direction..just over there.. Great stuff. I don't know how long until his next book will be published but I hope it's not too long a wait. Show Less
LibraryThing member JBreedlove
AN excellent if overwritten book. LHM tried and succeeded in using a number of words I had never read before. Still a readable and interesting book uncovering new and interesting aspects of America. I really enjoyed the last section on the ICW.
LibraryThing member cbjorke
William Least Heat Moon is best known for his travel journals Blue Highways and River Horse. This newest book, which came out in 2008, is sewn together from his notes from years of visits to various places in the United States. It lacks the coherence of the others, because it is not the narrative
Quoz is a made-up word which Heat Moon defines as: Anything, anywhere. living or otherwise, connecting a human to existence and bringing an individual into the cosmos and integrating one with the immemorial, thereby making each life belong to creation, and so preventing the divorce of one from the all which brought it into being.
Heat Moon is blowing smoke up out collective skirts with this fancy definition of his fancy word. Suffice it to say that he likes odd and interesting stuff, especially if it's old. He is able to tease a story out of each discovery.
If I have any criticism of Roads to Quoz beyond it's scattershot nature it would be Heat Moon's attempt to make much out of the letter Q. His wife is known in the book as Q, rather than her name, and he makes up more than a few words which start with that letter and showers the reader with them and other Q words more grounded in the English language. By the end of chapter one this rhetorical flurry settles down to a drizzle however and it didn't kill my enjoyment of the book.
Heat Moon and Q meet many interesting people in Arkansas, Northern Louisiana, Northeast Pennsylvania, the Florida Panhandle, New Hampshire and I've probably left out a few more places. oh yes, the intercoastal waterway starting in Baltimore and going all the way down to Florida. I think that the intercoastal could have made a book by itself if he had done it in River Horse and not as a passenger on a commercial vessel. Next time, maybe.
I'll Never Forget The Day I Read A Book!
Show More
of a single purposeful, or even purposeless journey. Nevertheless it is an enjoyable read from the millennial era's answer to Charles Kuralt. It is perfect for inducing Spring fever.Quoz is a made-up word which Heat Moon defines as: Anything, anywhere. living or otherwise, connecting a human to existence and bringing an individual into the cosmos and integrating one with the immemorial, thereby making each life belong to creation, and so preventing the divorce of one from the all which brought it into being.
Heat Moon is blowing smoke up out collective skirts with this fancy definition of his fancy word. Suffice it to say that he likes odd and interesting stuff, especially if it's old. He is able to tease a story out of each discovery.
If I have any criticism of Roads to Quoz beyond it's scattershot nature it would be Heat Moon's attempt to make much out of the letter Q. His wife is known in the book as Q, rather than her name, and he makes up more than a few words which start with that letter and showers the reader with them and other Q words more grounded in the English language. By the end of chapter one this rhetorical flurry settles down to a drizzle however and it didn't kill my enjoyment of the book.
Heat Moon and Q meet many interesting people in Arkansas, Northern Louisiana, Northeast Pennsylvania, the Florida Panhandle, New Hampshire and I've probably left out a few more places. oh yes, the intercoastal waterway starting in Baltimore and going all the way down to Florida. I think that the intercoastal could have made a book by itself if he had done it in River Horse and not as a passenger on a commercial vessel. Next time, maybe.
I'll Never Forget The Day I Read A Book!
Show Less
Awards
Booklist Editor's Choice: Adult Books (Travel — 2008)
Original publication date
2008
Physical description
608 p.; 5.5 inches
ISBN
0316067512 / 9780316067515