Out West; American Journey Along the Lewis and Clark Trail

New York: Penguin Books, 1987. Second Printing [stated]. Trade paperback. Good/No DJ issued. Paul Pugliese (maps), Dianne Kearns (cover photogr. Format is approximately 5 inches by 7.75 inches. xiv, 434 pages, Decorative cover. Maps. Illustrations. Index. Inscribed on the fep by the author. Inscription reads: For Molly--with great memories of the While Cliffs, a future national park! Dayton. Dayton Duncan (born September 3, 1949) is an American screenwriter, producer and former political aide. He is best known for his collaborations with documentary maker Ken Burns. Duncan served as Chief of Staff to New Hampshire governor Hugh Gallen until the latter's death in 1982. In 1984, he served as deputy national press secretary for Walter Mondale's presidential campaign, and in 1988, as national press secretary for Michael Dukakis's presidential campaign. In 1998, President Clinton appointed him chair of the American Heritage Rivers Advisory Committee and Secretary of Interior Bruce Babbitt appointed him as a director of the National Park Foundation. Dayton wrote and co-produced the Ken Burns-directed documentaries Lewis & Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery, Mark Twain, Horatio's Drive: America's First Road Trip, Country Music and The National Parks: America's Best Idea. He was also involved in Burns' series The Civil War, Baseball and Jazz. Dayton co-wrote Stephen Ives's Erik Barnouw Award-winning documentary series The West. Describes the author's trip through the American West--retracing Lewis and Clark's historic trail--and his encounters with the people who have adopted the myths of the West. Derived by a Kirkus review: At times, it seems as if half the writers in America these days are careening down country roads in beat-up campers, pestering the locals with questions about buffalo wallows and banana-cream pie, while the remaining half, just returned home, are busily transcribing their ketcup-stained notes on Fractured Fang, Wyoming, etc. Now, Duncan has, happily, made a lively contribution as one of the more accomplished purveyors of rural picaresque. Duncan is especially adept at handling the dual time frame of his story, alternating the day-to-day events of the 19th-century expedition with that of his own. In a particularly affecting passage, he recounts the experiences of York, the one black member of the Lewis and Clark party. York, it seems, was a favorite with the Indian tribes the group encountered. "Yet," Duncan points out, "no statues are erected along the trail to him, as they are for Lewis, Clark, the Indian woman Sacagawea, even Lewis' Newfoundland dog. I will find no streets, bridges, filling stations, or high schools named for him. . .I get the suspicion that were York to reappear and travel with me, he might get a chillier reception from the natives along the route than he did as a slave 180 years ago." Duncan also offers some not-too-tongue-in-cheek suggestions to readers tempted to follow in his tire tracks. Avoid "small-town restaurants. . .I call the Ks, places that use a k in their name when they should use a c--Korner Kafe, the Koffee Kup, the Kozy Korner." He recommends instead those roadside establishments that boast "a list of pies available, written with chalk on a slate" and those with "the first dollar bill the cafe earned, in a frame on the wall behind the cash register." A smoothly written combination of history and humor, sociological insights and serendipitous pleasures.