Mister John hasn't had a home street or mailing address for over half his life. He's never made a mortgage or car payment, nor has he rented an apartment or house. He's never had children or a cup of coffee, so he doesn't know about those things either. Yet, he once held valid driver's licenses from three countries on three continents.Does this small-town boy from humble beginnings live in another reality? Yes, after realizing at an early age that if he lived a life like most every...

"You're crazy!"A number of family and friendsWhy crazy? Could be he moved to the Middle East after the Gulf War and stayed for eight years. Could be he moved there a second time, staying for nearly seven more. Could be he retired at 44, agreeing to buy his retirement home, in South America, on his first day there without seeing the nearest town in the daytime... for starters.Does this small-town boy from humble beginnings live in another reality? Yes, after realizin...

"We need more like John telling us it's OK to be who we are rather than focusing on who we are not."Sandra Mahr, ordinary average citizenWho is he? After ten years piloting a sternwheel paddleboat to pay for his higher education, then moving to the United Arab Emirates after the Gulf War, then teaching local women computers and math for 14-odd years, then retiring at 44 with his Canuck girlfriend to a mountain in Ecuador, John's a guy with even more stories than he had befo...

"I knew your life was going to be different... not this different."Brenda Wanty Campbell, President & CEO of SecureFuturesHow different? John hasn't had a home street or mailing address for over half his life. He's never made a mortgage or car payment or rented an apartment or house. He's never had children or a cup of coffee, so he doesn't know about those things either. Yet, he once held valid driver's licenses from three countries on three continents.Does this sm...

Mister John hasn't had a home street or mailing address for over half his life. He's never made a mortgage or car payment, nor has he rented an apartment or house. He's never had children or a cup of coffee, so he doesn't know about those things either. Yet, he once held valid driver's licenses from three countries on three continents.Does this small-town boy from humble beginnings live in another reality? Yes, after realizing at an early age that if he lived a life like most every...

**A New York Times Bestseller"Funny, subversive, and able to excavate such brutally honest sentences that you find yourself nodding your head in wonder and recognition."—Lin-Manuel Miranda, composer and lyricist of In the Heights and Hamilton: An American Musical**Are you a sensible, universally competent individual? Are you tired of the crushing monotony of leaping gracefully from one lily pad of success to the next? Are you sick of doing ...

Roaming the country by bus and train, on a budget and without any institutional support, Linh Dinh set out to document, in words and pictures, what life is like for people. From Los Angeles, Cheyenne, Portland, and New Orleans, to Jackson and Wolf Point--Linh walked miles and miles through unfamiliar neighborhoods, talking to whoever would talk to him: the homeless living in tent cities, the peddlers, the protestors, the public preachers, the prostitutes. With the uncompromising eye of a W...

A rollicking collection of uproariously funny, improbably true stories by a man who believes living life to the fullest makes life unbelievably fun.Dan Beckmann appears to be an average guy living an average life—until you get him talking. In this extraordinary collection of remarkable tales, you'll see that Dan finds adventure the way he finds friends—everywhere he goes, and under some of the most unexpected circumstances.Through his witty, lighthearted, an...

A memoir of a cross-country road trip, the tourist experience, and the cultural touchstones that bring Americans together: "A great story" ( Publishers Weekly).As a boy in Ohio, Mark Winegardner spent the formative summers of his wonder years touring the States with his family in a succession of recreational vehicles. Much later, only months before his wedding, he undertakes another transcontinental odyssey—this time without benefit of license-plate games ...

**The inspiration for Chloé Zhao's celebrated film starring Frances McDormand, winner of the Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best ActressA Selection of the PBS Newshour-New York Times "Now Read This" Book ClubNew York Times bestseller"People who thought the 2008 financial collapse was over a long time ago need to meet the people Jessica Bruder got to know in this scorching, beautifully written, vivid, disturbing (and occasionally ...

NEW YORK TIMESBESTSELLER • Finalist for the PEN/USA Award in Creative Nonfiction, the Thurber Prize for American Humor, and the Audie Award in Biography/MemoirThis Random House Reader’s Circle edition includes a reading group guide and a conversation between Firoozeh Dumas and Khaled Hosseini, author of The Kite Runner!“Remarkable . . . told with wry humor shorn of sentimentality . . . In the end, what sticks with ...

Motorcycle Messengers is a collection of travel stories from some of the leading writers in the genre ... plus a few people you've never heard of. Consider it a sample pack of authors. Read a story by the fire and discover your new favourite motorcycle travel writer.Lois Pryce exploits her dead grandmother and an imaginary husband to access the Congo.Neil Peart finds his rhythm through the curves of North Carolina.Paddy Tyson numbs his fear of crocodiles with a few ...