The Electronic Nomad: Traveling the Country in a Converted Camper Van, Or, Living the Hippie Life in a Shopping Center Parking Lot

A neat little travel book. Covers some famous places (the Alamo, Cape Kennedy) and some places that probably only get rarely visited (the Washita Battlefield, the Titan Missile Silo). My favorite part was the author's quest to see the flying saucers in Hangar 18. The writer has a casual and conversational style that I like, but if you're not careful, you may even find yourself learning some history and science from these travel stories. It's not a technical manual about van-living, so if you are looking to learn how to rig up a solar panel or how to install insulation on your van walls, you won't find it here, But there is enough information about the equipment to illustrate how one goes about living in a van--enough maybe to make you decide to try it yourself.

So I liked this quirky book. "Every place has its story...", says the author; and he shares a few of those stories with us. The author's modus operandi is to park his van at a Walmart parking lot and explore his city or locale by way of public transportation. He digs into a place for a week or two, and literally goes to town. How many of us have been on a too short vacation where we wished we had more time and money to really see the sights and eat the foods? Well, the author makes good on that kind of wish. I had to get used to the idea that the author was not going to talk in much detail about solar installation or mold resistant insulation materials (thank goodness!). Interspersed throughout the book the author shares just enough of his van life to satisfy we spectators; but mostly, the book is a neat little travelouge.

Or rather, a writer who happens to live in a van. His narrative alternates between van dwelling practicalities and celebratory essays of history, geography, and people he has met. For Mr Flank, van life is not romanticized in itself. He reviews it as a practical means to educate oneself in the classroom of the world. He reminds that the joys of camping are even better with a rolling step tent, and his infectious stories encourage us to start our own life roadtrip.

I very much enjoyed this book and especially liked how the authored weaved how-to's in between his traveling experiences. There are some good tips in the book, but this shouldn't be your only book on mobile living/traveling. I think the how-to's could have been beefed up and more pics related to how-to's as well.

Highly enjoyable for a couple reasons: not only does the author explain in detail the practical aspects of nomad-on-the-cheap (so you can either seriously ponder trying it yourself, or live it vicariously if you can't quite work up the nerve to hit the road yet), but many of the places he visits, photographs, and writes about are the sort that particularly interest me. A history buff, zoo fan, and self-described "museum rat", Flank's interests include aviation (lots of photos of historic aircraft), paleontology (plenty of natural history museums and exhibits are covered, from the well-known to the lesser-), and herpetology (his visits to zoos and nature preserves often give special attention to reptiles and amphibians, having published books on that subject as well).He also takes time to converse with folks he meets -- bus drivers, museum docents, zookeepers, living-history reenactors -- who lend insight to each locale.Whatever transport and lodging you might ultimately choose for seeing the country, "The Electronic Nomad" is well worth reading.

The best book I've read in years - if this doesn't make you want to hit the road in a campervan nothing will.

It's an ok book. Some good stuff and nice stories