One More Train to Ride: The Underground World of Modern American Hoboes

By Cliff Williams

Book Overview

Drawn from intimate interviews with 14 modern-day "steel rail nomads," One More Train to Ride provides a revealing picture of today's American hobo. Interspersed with their stories are original poems and songs echoing the ancient lyricism and loneliness of life on the road. Their connections with the past make the experiences of these hoboes even more striking, as they ride freight trains and jungle up in hobo camps, light years away from the 21st-century cyberworld--yet touching the very core of American freedom and individualism.

Cliff Williams skillfully elicits details of family background, motives, and clear insights into the daily life and philosophy of the modern hobo. With its evocative link to the past, One More Train to Ride continues a long tradition of books on hobo oral history, including Nels Anderson's The Hobo (1923) and Thomas Minehan's Boy and Girl Tramps of America (1934).

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0253216524
• ISBN13: 9780253216526
• Release Date: September 2009
• Publisher: Indiana University Press (Ips)
• Length: 161 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 6.1" x 9.1"
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher