Twitchell, James B., 1943- author.

Winnebago nation : the RV in American culture / James B. Twitchell.

New York : Columbia University Press, [2014]
©2014

179 pages : illustrations (some color) ; 22 cm

In Winnebago Nation, popular critic James B. Twitchell takes a light-hearted look at the culture and industry behind the yearning to spend the night in one's car. For the young the road trip is a coming-of-age ceremony; for those later in life it is the realization of a lifelong desire to be spontaneous, nomadic, and free. Informed by his own experiences on the road, Twitchell recounts the RV's origins and evolution over the twentieth century; its rise, fall, and rebirth as a cultural icon; its growing mechanical complexity as it evolved from an estate wagon to a converted bus to a mobile home; and its role in bolstering and challenging conceptions of American identity. Mechanical yet dreamy, independent yet needful, solitary yet clubby, adventurous yet homebound, life in a mobile home is a distillation of the American character and an important embodiment of American exceptionalism, (Richie Rich and Hobo Hank spend time in essentially the same rig at the same campground, albeit for different reasons and in different levels of comfort.) The frontier may be tapped out but we still yearn for the exploratory life. Twitchell concludes with his thoughts on the future of RV communities and the possibility of mobile cities becoming a real part of the American landscape.

9780231167789 (cloth ; alk. paper)
0231167784 (cloth ; alk. paper)

Recreational vehicles United States History.
Mobile homes United States History.
Véhicules de loisir États-Unis Histoire.
Maisons mobiles États-Unis Histoire.
Manners and customs
Mobile homes
Recreational vehicles
Wohnmobil
Gesellschaft
United States Social life and customs.
États-Unis Mœurs et coutumes.
United States
USA

History

Location: Library main 318190
Call No.: 318190
Status: Available