3 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
Have you ever felt connected with the world or with Mother Nature? Perhaps, you experienced inner peace while you were navigating the beauty of our Mother Nature. If not, this non-fiction book is for you. The Alternate Compass by Steve A. Anderson is an informative book about traveling, troubleshooting a motorcycle, meeting beautiful people from all walks of life, and experiencing the soothing effect of drinking craft beer after a long journey. The author has written technical publications while working in the large transport aviation industry which later on, inspired him to write this book with the motivation of his loving wife.
I consider the author as a natural cartographer, photographer, and a storyteller. The maps, photos, and detailed narrations are the pieces of evidence to these talents. The author used simple maps that any one of us can understand. The book gives the feeling that while you are reading it as if you are in front of a close friend over a mug of craft beer listening to his story about his motorcycle adventures. His book creates a light atmosphere because his writing style does not give any strong emotion.
I am not a motorcycle rider because I do not know how to drive one but I promise that the book is interesting. It is not only helpful in understanding the basic principles of riding a motorcycle but also, in understanding other people’s culture. The magical experience of driving a motorcycle to experience the beauty of nature is apparent in the narration, but the author warned his readers that riding a motorcycle is not for everyone, and not everyone should ride a motorcycle. I consider this frustrating because I chose this book with the thought that one of these days I will drive my own motorcycle and I can use this book as my guide and inspiration. While flipping the pages, I started to ask myself, what if I am one of those who should not ride a motorcycle? This remains a question until I will try.
What I like most about this book is its theme of meeting new good people from different cultures. My problems with this book are grammatical and typographical errors like the use of “their” instead of “there”, the repeated phrase “as well as”, and some missing articles. There were times when I got bored with the detailed narration. There are parts where I can anticipate the succeeding phrases and sentences because some of the 21 cycles in the journey are almost the same.
I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars because of the grammatical errors and typos which are disturbing at times. This book is perfect for those who love to travel. This is also a perfect gift for family members, friends, and acquaintances that are planning to explore the beauty of America.
******
The Alternate Compass
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on Smashwords
Like Donnavila Marie01's review? Post a comment saying so!
