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The first book by the award-winning author of NEWJACK (wherein Conover takes a job as
a prison guard at Sing Sing), ROLLING NOWHERE is about a young man's odyssey as a hobo on
the western railroads. Originally written in 1980, when Conover was an anthropology
student at Amherst College, the book describes the people and places he encounters while
absorbing the subculture of a vanishing breed, the American railroad hobo. Early on in his
journey, Conover is compelled by the "romance of the rails," but he soon learns
that hobo life is more than unbridled freedom and romantic rebellion.
Conover's first hobo mentor is Lonny, a black Vietnam veteran he meets in Missouri. From
Lonny, he learns some of the hobo vernacular: a "bull" is a railroad cop, a
"Sally" is the Salvation Army, where a hobo can get food and shelter, and an
"empty" is a railroad car that's ripe for boarding. Conover learns how to jump
trains and how to stay one step ahead of the hated "bulls." Soon, he becomes
comfortable as a hobo, hanging out with them in the "jungles" of railroad yards
and learning to raid dumpsters for discarded food. He also loses his
"conventional" attitudes about begging and asking for government aid.
The hobo life isn't all careless fun. In Denver, he gets arrested for loitering on a
bridge and spends an unpleasant night in jail. In Spokane, Washington, he nearly comes to
blows with another hobo over a suspected theft. In one small town, an old man asks him to
perform oral sex for money, and he refuses. In California, he works as a farm laborer
alongside illegal Mexican immigrants. He learns how the Mexicans are systematically
exploited and devalued. He also learns about the "devil's bargain" of charity:
you'll only be given something for free if you sit through a boring sermon or otherwise
debase yourself. He learns that Janis Joplin was right: sometimes, "freedom's just
another word for nothing left to lose."
Conover describes the unique form of camaraderie among hoboes. Like hardened soldiers
(which many of them were), hoboes never get too close to one another. The life is too
transitory for real friendship to blossom. "Don't trust anybody" one hobo tells
Conover. He travels through a variety of western towns: Fargo, North Dakota, Elko, Nevada,
Bakersfield, California, and many more, meeting a variety of hoboes. He listens to many
hard luck stories from his fellow hoboes, although a lot of these stories are pure
fiction. A hobo named Monty tells Conover about his experiences as a member of the 101st
Airborne fighting in the Korean War. Conover later learns that the 101st Airborne were
never in the Korean War.
Throughout, Conover writes about his experiences with an insightful curiosity. He paints
memorable portraits of the hoboes with whom he travels. ROLLING NOWHERE is, at times, a
consciously literary work. Conover quotes freely from the "tramp" tradition of
Jack London, George Orwell, and Jack Kerouac. Those with wanderlust in their heart and a
love of strong writing are sure to enjoy Conover's fast-paced odyssey. Something Conover
says in the final pages will surely ring true after you've finished the book:
"there's a little hobo in all of us." ROLLING NOWHERE is sure to satisfy your
inner hobo.
--- Reviewed by Chuck Leddy
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