This first book follows the first leg of that journey. He decided to give the country one more chance,and learn about it by walking across the US.

He told this to a friend, and was advised to know more about the US before he made such a decision. Jenkins was disappointed in his country and wanted to leave, to live anywhere else but here. During his walk, Richard Nixon announced that “I am not a crook” in response to concerns about Watergate Gerald Ford was appointed Vice President after Spiro Agnew resigned amid charges of income tax evasion the Endangered Species Act was passed Patricia Hearst, granddaughter of William Randoph Hearst, was kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army Hank Aaron broke Babe Ruth’s home run record Alberta Williams King, mother of Martin Luther King, Jr, was shot and killed while playing the church organ the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee adopted articles of impeachment Philippe Petit walks across a high wire slung between the World Trade Center’s twin towers in New York City Nixon resigns and Gerald Ford accedes to the Presidency and then pardons Nixon for any crimes he may have committed Evil Knievel attempts to rocket across the Snake River Canyon (unsuccessfully.) The author is two years younger than I am, so I remember the turbulent times of the early 1970’s. This is another of the books mentioned in the Atlas Obscura article by Richard Kreitner and Steven Melendez: “The Obsessively Detailed Map of American Literature’s Most Epic Road Trips.”

The article led to A Walk Across America, published in 1979. In exchange he would write an article for them. Jenkins appealed to National Geographic for a good camera. He walked away from a failed marriage and walked toward another one, which sadly ended in failure as well. He began his walk on Octoin New York and ended it about one year later in New Orleans. Peter Jenkins set out on a journey to discover America.

The walk west by peter jenkins