Presents a vivid picture of America at the dawn of the automobile age ... Mr. Moskowitz’s rendering has the feel of a travelogue tracking Lewis and Clark, updated for the machine age. He brims with local lore.
The Hardest, Longest Race elicited, in this reader at least, a wistfulness for a young nation that radiates optimism and joy ... Moskowitz is an indefatigable researcher. Perhaps too much so, if that’s possible. There are episodes in the book during which the accumulation of details rather overwhelmed me (and I was taking notes). But there are good reasons for readers to persevere ... Exciting and moving.
Almost cinematic in style, Eric Moskowitz’s marvelous chronicle of a time and singular event echoes literary and filmic period pieces ... He revs up anticipation from the starting gun, recreating the edge-of-your-seat excitement of one of the most grueling races imaginable ... Engrossing ... Moskowitz proves himself an able literary archaeologist, drawing on firsthand accounts from nearly 200 local newspapers along the route, in addition to a wealth of other, varied sources. He breathes life into a gallery of characters who, in another author’s telling, might have been mere 'peripheral' figures providing splashes of local color ... All presented in a nimble, energetic style.
Moskowitz, a former Boston Globe reporter, revs up expectation and excitement from the starting gun, his account set against a backdrop America’s new love affair with the car and a never-before-attempted dash across a largely untamed continent ... Sweeping, suspenseful ... An inflection point for the automobile and a nation is vividly realized.
