You don’t have to backpack through mountainous terrain, ride the rails, or travel by stagecoach to appreciate some of american literature’s most epic road trips in Los Angeles. Thanks to writer Richard Reitner, who painstakingly plotted the routes from a dozen books that feature cross-country travel, all you have to do is look at a map.
Featured on Atlas Obscura, the detailed map is the result of Reitner tracking down over 1,500 locations then enlisting graphic designer Steven Melendez to turn it into something beautiful and easy to digest, explains the site. After selecting a book title, users can “track an individual writer’s descriptions of the landscape as they traveled across it, or zoom in to see how different authors have written about the same place at different times.” It’s a way for readers and roadtrippers alike to appreciate the wonders of traveling in a whole new light.
After perusing the plights of authors like Jack Kerouac, Tom Wolfe and Sheryl Strayed, don’t be surprised if you feel the urge to hit the road yourself.
