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About this book

What if the journey that changes how you see your country begins without crossing an ocean?

In Abroad at Home, Julian Street turns a travel writer’s eye on the United States. The New York journalist takes to the road by motor car with artist Wallace Morgan. Big cities, small towns and the land between become an invitation to look at familiar places like a stranger.

This is America in the early motoring age, when uneven roads and long distances make a cross-country journey uncertain. Street approaches Chicago, New Orleans and other cities as personalities, each with its own pride, habits and blind spots. His curiosity and wry humor keep the journey open to surprise.

What you’ll discover

  • Fresh eyes on home Follow Street’s invitation to seek the interest nearby rather than assume adventure lies overseas.
  • The uncertain open road Discover a country where travel by motor car takes planning over long distances and uneven roads.
  • Cities with distinct personalities Explore Chicago and New Orleans through their local pride, habits and revealing blind spots.
  • A light, wry companion Enjoy a journalist’s quick humor and willingness to be surprised by his own neighbors.
  • Then beside now Consider early twentieth-century America through one Northeastern writer’s eyes, with room for your own comparisons.

Who will love it

For readers who love travel writing, early twentieth century America, and a light, wry voice. It also suits anyone who enjoys comparing then and now, exploring cities and small towns, and seeing home through a stranger's eyes.

What’s inside

The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary

  1. Look at your own country like a stranger
  2. The motor car opens the country
  3. Every city has its own character
  4. A snapshot that still teaches today

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Large print hardcover
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Adventure

Abroad at Home

by Julian Street · 1914

Julian Street crosses America by motor car to discover what his neighbors are really like.

Medium level10–20 hours to read25 languages

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In short

Abroad at Home is a travel book about the United States, written by Julian Street and published in 1914. Street was a New York journalist who had written about Europe.

Abroad at Home by Julian Street, the cover

From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1

Look at your own country like a stranger

The starting point of the book is simple. Street had written about the sights of Europe, and many Americans of his time assumed that real travel meant crossing the ocean. He asks whether they had looked hard enough at what lay at home. His answer is to go and see it, as a visitor would, with open eyes and a notebook.

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What is Abroad at Home about?

It is a travel book in which Julian Street journeys across the United States by car, describing cities, regions and people with humor. Wallace Morgan's drawings accompany the text, and together they give a picture of America in 1914.

When was Abroad at Home written?

It was published in 1914, in the early years of American automobile travel. It is a true account of a real trip, written in a light, journalistic style rather than as a scholarly survey.

Who is Julian Street?

Julian Street was an American journalist and writer, born in the nineteenth century, who died in 1947. He wrote travel books about France, Japan and the United States, and he was known for his wit.

The author

Julian Street

1879–1947 · American writer

Julian Street was an American writer, born in Chicago in 1879. He wrote travel books, short stories, and plays. His travel book Abroad at Home appeared in 1914, and Mysterious Japan in 1921. He died in Lakeville, Connecticut, in 1947.

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