Riding the Rails by Michael Mathers is a photo essay of riding freight trains in the ’60s-’70s. The pictures are incredible, the stories and interviews intruiging. A recommended read for those interested in hoboing.

Danien Leen’s The Freighthopper’s Manual For North America is a short, concise guide for the would-be hobo. Originally printed in the ’70s, this edition was “updated” in 1992 – meaning he added a couple useful appendices. The main part of the book, though, still feels out of date, mentioning reefers and cabooses. The whole book is only about 100 pages, about a third of that pictures. It’s a nice little manual to blow through in an hour or so, but by no means a replacement for Littlejohn’s Hopping Freight Trains in America (which I’m quickly discovering is the modern bible on the subject).

The book is a little hard to come by. I didn’t have much trouble finding a used copy online, but there’s also a stamp in the back of the book that reads:

ADDITIONAL COPIES OF THIS UNIQUE BOOK ARE AVAILABLE FOR $8.95 (U.S.) POSTPAID FROM: DANIEL LEEN BOX 191 SEATTLE, WA 98111 U.S.A.

I don’t know if that box is still valid, but it may be worth a shot.

Hitchhiking, to me, has always seemed a rather spontaneous act. Not something that required much technique – find a spot and stick you thumb out. So I was intrigued when I first heard of James MacLaren’s The Hitchhiker’s Handbook. How could someone write a book on such a simple subject? When I learned it was published by the now defunct Loompanics, I had to buy it.

The book turned out to be full of nothing but common sense – I’m still not sure how he stretched it out to 145 pages. On top of that, the author comes off as being a homophobe with not but a 6th grade writing education and a broken caps-lock. One’s time would be much better spent browsing the information found on Digihitch.

Talk is that camp site fees are being increased. They charge too much already. I prefer finding a nice, secluded spot in a National Forest, but that isn’t always available. And it can be nice to have a bathroom.

In Village Books last week, I happened upon Ray’s Guides: Free Campgrounds in Washington State. The book is a no-nonsense list of free camp sites in the state. I’ve yet to have a chance to check out any of the listed sites, but hope to soon. Ray also has guides for Oregon and Idaho.

Hopping Freight Trains in America by Duffy Littlejohn is a howto manual for riding trains – a hobo training manual. It’s an enlightening look into trains and hobo culture. At times, the author can delve too deeply into railroad history for my tastes, or become so technical I feel like I’m reading an operation manual for the railroad, but the amount of useful (and generally unknown) information contained in these pages is immense. I highly recommend it to anyone with the slightest interest in trains, hobos, or alternative transportation.

With things going the way they are, hopping trains may soon become a much more viable option for long distance travel. Here’s your introduction.

Today I finished reading Boston T. Party’s Bulletproof Privacy. The book attempts to teach one how to live off the radar, but within Civilization. It covers topics such as building identities, anonymous addresses, bugging out, and the like. Published in 1997, much of the information is dated (I skipped the part on airplane travel). Other parts are common sense, but the book does provide a few gems of information. I’d recommend giving it a skim if you’re considering becoming invisible (or would just like the ability to do so).

Gone to Croatan: Origins of North American Dropout Culture is an alternative American history. It is a collection of essays, poems, and art, documenting America’s lost drop-outs, rebels, and other undesirables. The majority deal with the revolutionary period.

The book has its ups and downs. Some pieces are crafted in such a way that I only skimmed through them, others enthralled me. I recommend it for fans of Hakim Bey.