Maps to Anywhere

by Bernard Cooper

Book Overview

The essays in Maps to Anywhere plot terrain that is at once familiar yet subtly strange. Writing on subjects ranging from his family to the origin of the barbershop pole, Bernard Cooper digs into the glimmering surface of the southern California landscape, observing the collision of the American Dream with the realities of everyday life. From the fragments, he discovers landmarks by which he attempts to make sense of contemporary America.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0140158456
• ISBN13: 9780140158458
• Release Date: February 1992
• Publisher: Penguin Group
• Length: 160 Pages
• Weight: 0.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.0" x 7.7"

Customer Reviews

A cluster of texts

This book contains many essays. Some are one to two page long observations, others are more personal. The more personal ones are the heart of this book. The essays about his relationship with his father are very good. The longest entry is entitled "The House of the Future". It is roughly thirty pages long and it is beautiful. It is worth buying this book just to read this one essay, which is about the death of his older brother. I could not put the book down during this essay. The language and images are extremely vivid, and the story is enveloping. I didn't really care for some of the shorter pieces, but "The House of the Future" is one of the best pieces I have read in a long time.

a truly excellent debut!

I read this book so long ago but just had to be the first to post a review...This is what essays are all about. It's a fun, informative, and smartly written jaunt through a culture and individual life.Wonderful!