Imagine……a friendship between Henry Ford, John Burroughs, and Thomas Edison. Perhaps, three unlikely characters as these meeting, each one with occupations as different from one another as species of birds, was a bit of destiny. Speaking of birds, did you know that Ford was an avid birder?

Ford and Burroughs---more than 25 years in age separated the two men---one lived in the Catskills, the other in the center of America’s growing industry. Burroughs, nature writer and expert on birds, was 81 when he took a camping trip by car with Thomas Edison, Henry Ford and Harvey Firestone in 1918.

Despite Ford’s social foibles, as well as those of each member of the traveling party, which is commented on disagreeably by Burroughs, they remained open to each other and friends still. The influence each one had on the other cannot be denied. This is a wonderfully written book, providing us with an early 20th century sense of history into the lives of several well-known people and their little-known, personal lives and relationships. A fascinating account of an “American Journey.”

I thought the premise for this book was more interesting than its execution. The information about Burroughs, Ford, and Edison during the early 1900s was good, and there were even some things I hadn't heard before. The problem was the roadtrip parts of the narrative themselves. They grew tedious and boring with explanation of how the caravans drove 3 miles down this road, then turned left and went two miles, only to follow the river for 5 miles, etc. It wasn't well broken up by the extensive details on how they set up their tents and campsites. Maybe it would have been easier to slog through if the ebook had been a little better formatted, but there were weird cuts in the middle of sentences and words. I really wanted to like this, but I think it was just a little too narrow in its focus.

A fascinating look at road travel in the early 20th century, and some of the famous pioneers of the auto industry. Part promotional, part guidebook, part tale of adventure, this book is worth a read for those wanting a look at the development of America.