Blue Bug, Red Road

“This wonderful narrative by a retired history professor takes us back through the time and space of his ancestors and his own youth. Weaving between present and past, it offers a unique blend of nostalgia and incisive commentary about the imprint of Americans on the land and on each other. Gaines Post Jr. shares with us an odyssey that is at once personal and universal.”-James McPherson, Emeritus Professor of History, Princeton University, and author of Battle Cry of Freedom

On a solo trip in 2002, Gaines Post Jr. drives his 1966 Volkswagen Bug from California to Wisconsin and back, traveling so slowly that the land and its history seep into his bones. Crossing old trails kindles his imagination of the westward expansion that attracted his ancestors and shaped America’s national character. In South Dakota, he visits Red Cloud’s grave and hears the great Lakota leader whisper that Post is not at the end of his path. While working cattle on a Wyoming ranch, Post recalls his grandfather, born during Red Cloud’s War. Part travelogue, part memoir, and overflowing with history’s natural wonder, Blue Bug, Red Road speaks to those with a wandering spirit searching for quiet layers of time and memory within the American landscape.