Travels with Charley in Search of America

At the age of fifty-eight, John Steinbeck took to the road with his French poodle Charley to see again the country that had been his subject as a writer for many years. He wanted to hear the speech of ordinary Americans, smell the grass and trees, and see the colors and light of the land. Driving interstates as well as country roads, he shares meals with truckers, runs into bears at Yellowstone and visits old friends in San Francisco. His reflections cover what Americans are like, racial hostility, the unexpected kindness of strangers and a distinctly American loneliness he meets nearly everywhere he goes.

Richard Branson chose it for his Read to Lead list as a less obvious pick that has sat on his shelves for decades, saying it draws attention to life's small pleasures and the great wonders of humanity. Tim Ferriss called it hilarious and one of his favorite reads of recent years.