Join us on a literary world trip!
Add this book to bookshelf
Grey
Write a new comment Default profile 50px
Grey
Subscribe to read the full book or read the first pages for free!
All characters reduced
Across America by Motor-Cycle - Fully Annotated Centennial Edition - cover

Across America by Motor-Cycle - Fully Annotated Centennial Edition

Mark L. Hunnibell, C.K. Shepherd

Publisher: AABMC Publications LLC

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

Summary

In 1919, Charles Kenilworth (“C.K.”) Shepherd—a veteran of World War I and former British Royal Air Force Captain—took some “time off” after his service. He traveled to the United States to “trot ’round America” on a brand new, top-of-the-line Henderson 4-cylinder motorcycle he dubbed “Lizzie.” Just eleven days after arriving in the States, Shepherd and Lizzie headed west on a pioneer adventure. He journeyed to California on America’s “highways,” which he soon realized consisted of dirt roads—several of which were impassable. After arriving in San Francisco two months later, he sold his motorcycle on the street. In 1922, he memorialized this journey for eternity in his book Across America by Motor-Cycle.
 
Shepherd’s tale is an informative and engaging reflection of the trials and tribulations of an Englishman’s solo adventure across the United States when there were no such things as interstate highways or even good street maps. His honest observations about America’s roads, history, and culture—through the lens of a British “observer”—are revealing and often humorous. One hundred years later, Shepherd’s book remains a classic.
 
Mark Hunnibell—a former United States Air Force Captain—discovered Shepherd’s book while beginning to restore his own “basket case” 1919 Henderson motorcycle that his father had given him decades earlier. Realizing it was the same make, model, and year owned by Shepherd, Hunnibell imagined retracing Shepherd’s journey. But Hunnibell realized such a major feat would go well beyond mechanical restoration. He had to get the old Henderson functioning like new to contemplate such an arduous expedition, but he also had to deduce Shepherd’s path when the British adventurer had not included a map or specific itinerary. Hunnibell set about analyzing the book word-by-word in a bold attempt to discover, document, and reverse-engineer the smallest details of Shepherd’s ride.
 
As the research progressed, revelations of Shepherd’s route and other amazing details emerged while Hunnibell also became fascinated by C.K.’s cultural reflections. Hunnibell also realized that the British explorer had an occasional tendency to embellish, apparently hoping it would make his book even more appealing.
 
It occurred to Hunnibell that readers of C.K.’s 1922 book—and even new ones—would be even more inspired and entertained by the journey if they had the benefit of a complete and accurate explanation of as many details as possible. He sought to answer fundamental questions such as: Who was “C.K. Shepherd” and what was his background? Why did he embark on this trip? Whatever happened to him?
 
This Fully Annotated Centennial Edition contains nearly 1,000 exhaustively researched notes, original photographs (many previously unpublished that had been taken by Shepherd himself), illustrations, and rich period details and explanations. It also contains a foreword by C.K.’s son, Dr. Charles Drury Shaw, who has graciously supported this celebration.
 
Although some details of Shepherd’s journey will forever remain a mystery, this Fully Annotated Centennial Edition—which includes the complete text of the original book—stands as the definitive work on the subject.
Available since: 06/19/2019.

Other books that might interest you

  • Laurel & Hardy - Lucky Ducky Buckeroos - cover

    Laurel & Hardy - Lucky Ducky...

    Larry Harmon

    • 0
    • 0
    • 0
    Laurel and Hardy were a British-American comedy duo act during the early era of American cinema, consisting of Englishman Stan Laurel (1890–1965) and American Oliver Hardy (1892–1957). Starting their career as a duo in the silent film era, they later successfully transitioned to "talkies.” From the late 1920s to the mid-1950s, they were internationally famous for their slapstick comedy, with Laurel playing the clumsy, childlike friend to Hardy's pompous bully.
    Show book
  • MOOD - Interiors & Inspiration - cover

    MOOD - Interiors & Inspiration

    Anne Hepfer

    • 0
    • 0
    • 0
    In Anne Hepfer’s first book, the acclaimed designer explores the power of a stylish and soul-nourishing refuge of one’s own. Drawing inspiration from influences such as travel, music, food and drink, fashion, and nature, Hepfer shares her process and opens the doors to the masterful spaces she has crafted for both clients and her own family.
    Show book
  • Upcycling Furniture & Home Decor For Dummies - cover

    Upcycling Furniture & Home Decor...

    Judy Rom

    • 0
    • 0
    • 0
    Breathe new life into old furniture and thrift store findsUpcycling Furniture For Dummies shows you how to revitalize old furniture, with just a little effort and imagination, and maybe a few coats of fresh paint. Upcycling furniture is affordable, good for the environment, and a whole lot of fun! This easy, step-by-step guide shows you how to get creative and put your own unique flair on your designs. You'll gain the knowledge and confidence you need to select items that are worth transforming or restoring and learn specific techniques to give old pieces a new lease on life.● Learn the process of upcycling dressers, tables, chairs, and other furniture● Enjoy the fun of sourcing items and increasing their value with your creativity!● Update your décor with gorgeous, upcycled furniture● Express yourself and find out how to flip your creations for a profit!This Dummies reference is great for anyone with an interest in turning trash into treasure.
    Show book
  • In the Garden - Essays on nature and growing - cover

    In the Garden - Essays on nature...

    Various Various

    • 0
    • 0
    • 0
    'Gardening, then, is a practice of sustained noticing . . .'
    Outdoor space is something everyone should have access to. But you don't need a garden to become a gardener.
    Growing plants and vegetables forces us to pause, pay attention and look more closely. From the vantage point of even the smallest windowsill garden we can observe the passing of time through the shifting of the seasons, as well as the environmental changes the planet is undergoing.
    In this collection of essays, fourteen writers go beyond simply considering a plot of soil to explore how gardening is a shared language, an opportunity for connection, something that is always evolving. Penelope Lively trains her gardening eye on her gardens past and present; Paul Mendez reflects on the image of the paradisal garden; Jon Day asks whether an urban community garden can be a radical place; and Victoria Adukwei Bulley considers the power of herbs and why there is no such thing as a weed.
    A collection about gardening unlike any other, In the Garden brings together fourteen brilliant writers to interrogate what is most important and pressing about growing today.
    Show book
  • The Dead Ladies Project - Exiles Ex-pats and Ex-countries - cover

    The Dead Ladies Project - Exiles...

    Jessa Crispin

    • 0
    • 0
    • 0
    When Jessa Crispin was thirty, she burned her settled Chicago life to the ground and took off for Berlin with a pair of suitcases and no plan beyond leaving. Half a decade later, she's still on the road, in search not so much of a home as of understanding, a way of being in the world that demands neither constant struggle nor complete surrender.          The Dead Ladies Project is an account of that journey-but it's also much, much more. Fascinated by exile, Crispin travels an itinerary of key locations in its literary map, of places that have drawn writers who needed to break free from their origins and start afresh. As she reflects on William James struggling through despair in Berlin, Nora Barnacle dependent on and dependable for James Joyce in Trieste, Maud Gonne fomenting revolution and fostering myth in Dublin, or Igor Stravinsky starting over from nothing in Switzerland, Crispin interweaves biography, incisive literary analysis, and personal experience into a rich meditation on the complicated interactions of place, personality, and society that can make escape and reinvention such an attractive, even intoxicating proposition.
    Show book
  • Forget Having Kids I'm Having Fun - 1000 Random Reasons I Chose To Be #Childfree - cover

    Forget Having Kids I'm Having...

    Dane Reid

    • 0
    • 0
    • 0
    "Are you tired of being asked when you're going to start a family? Are you tired of feeling guilty for not wanting kids? Well, put those feelings aside and say hello to the ultimate guide to embracing the childfree lifestyle - 'Forget Having Kids. I'm Having Fun'. 
    This hilarious and relatable book is here to show you that being childfree is not only acceptable, it's something to be celebrated! With anecdotes and stories from real people who have chosen to not have kids, this book will have you laughing and nodding along. 
    From the joys of spending your hard-earned money on yourself to the freedom of being able to travel the world without worrying about finding a babysitter, this book covers it all. It's the perfect read for anyone looking to break free from society's pressure to procreate and discover the many benefits of a childfree life. 
    So if you're ready to put down that baby carrier, grab a glass of wine, and dive into the world of not-parenting, 'Forget Having Kids. I'm Having Fun' is the book for you. It's time to embrace the childfree lifestyle and have some real fun."
    Show book