The Routes of Man: How Roads Are Changing the World and the Way We Live Today

Having read a positive review in The Economists usually excellent book section, I was disappointed by The Routes of Man. Mr. Conover is no doubt a writer of great culture and a hardy traveler. It takes such a person to seek out the meaning of roads in the inhospitable mahogany forests of Peru or the urban hell of Lagos, Nigeria. Unfortunately, two flaws prove to be this books undoing: style and politics. The book is detail-oriented to the point of losing the forest for the trees in all chapters. A skilled editor could have removed maybe one-third of the text without losing any of the narrative and leaving enough detail to convey a strong sense of place and time to the reader. Also, Mr. Conovers Western sensitivity and eco-friendliness are omnipresent and leave at times the stereotypical impression of the do-good, environmentally conscious American foisting his values on others without the necessary perspective or sense of consequences. Are we truly to believe that it is better to leave the inhabitants of a remote city in Peru rot in their misery than build the road that would give them a chance to prosper, even if a few acres of rain forest have to give way in the process? Is it really appropriate to peremptorily recommend to a Nigerian driver to not give a bribe to a local cop when the driver will have to live with the consequences long after Mr. Conover has jetted back stateside? Overall, and in spite of many insightful observations, this book is only worth recommending to readers with the right politics and the patience to weed out the detail.

I skimmed through it. There was not much that caught my interest. I did learn more than I needed to know about mahogany wood.

I am passing this along for your listening pleasure: [..] She is generally positive and does mention specifically the male dominated nature of transportation. She reviews the variety of international aspects of human mobility which the author discusses at length.

Very interesting read by one of my favorite authors. If youre an armchair traveler or road trip enthusiast, its worth checking out this book.

Fascinating way of looking at the world. A unique way into cultures. Well written and not like any other book I can think of.

There is no cover page or table of contents in the kindle version (there are both of these in the hard copy) so I cant easily move back to the notes or bibliography while Im reading. The maps are nearly illegible except when I get out a magnifying glass. this book needs to be read in hard copy.

Ted Conover is the ideal travel companion. He seems equally comfortable standing in a swanky apartment in the Upper East Side, and tramping through the rain forest of Peru. In this book he takes us to places wed otherwise never see: One day were riding a mahogany raft down the Mother of God River in Peru, another day were being herded through a dusty check-point in Ramallah. We get to know people wed never otherwise meet: an African truck driver, teenagers from a remote Himalayan village, and an ambulance crew in Lagos, Nigeria. Roads connect these people. So does Conovers unerring eye for detail, and his pitch-perfect ear for language. This book is more than just an adventure: its an invitation to understand each other and to know the world in which we live.

My praise to Ted for his clear sentences and yet descriptive writing that gives one a feeling and vision of the journey. I like his writing enough that I will seek his other books. My son is a biologist, my science minor in preparation of my teaching degree and my age (72) give me some background to what is being said throughtout the book. I am not yet finished and I am recommending the book to my friends. the findings and the Title have the main theme of these routes of our world. The research and actual adventures make for the perfect view of the particular route being described. The stories are like short stories gathered in one book so this is a good read for me. My husband has had Parkinsons for 18 years and I do not find time to read as I used to. I am his caregiver --we try to do things together most of the time. Whatever your age or life --I feel this book is a MUST READ!

As a highway engineer, specializing in traffic operations, my incentive for reading this book was to see roads from a different perspective. I picked the book up at a public signing by the author and had the chance to hear him speak about his experiences. I find it interesting to read about cultures that are decades behind the states when it comes to sprawl and mobility; that are envious of the glorified benefits of the mobility that we have enjoyed for decades, while ignoring the socio-economic consequences. You want to travel with Mr. Conover and look his companions in the eye and ask if they really know what they are getting themselves into. Overall, a good read.

When I started reading The Routes of Man I thought it was going to be about famous roads in civilization. I was mostly wrong. It’s actually a very engrossing modern day worldwide road trip. Conover is an interesting guy and in The Routes of Man he takes the reader to many of the most desolate, dangerous and delightful places on Earth and introduces us to some of the individuals who live there. He travels the most remote roads and rivers of Peru to explore the illegal mahogany harvesting occurring there. From Tibetan ice river treks to the new “self-driving clubs” enabling wealthy Chinese to drive the brand new roadways to the hellhole called Lagos Nigeria, Conover strives to provide the character of the people and places and when possible the beauty. A common theme for each venue is how the changes in roads will impact the citizens of the area and that the changes appear to be inevitable. For some the story may be a little bit dry, but I liked it and give The Routes of Man a good read.