| Author Paterniti drives Dr Thomas Harvey across the U.S. from New Jersey to California by way of Kansas and many strange and special stops in-between. These two are ferrying Albert Einstein's dissected brain parts in Tupperware containers stuffed in a duffel bag in the trunk of a rented Buick Skylark to be reunited with the genius' granddaughter, Evelyn Einstein. Mr. Paterniti's fascination with the man who held onto Einstein's brain for decades after the death of the world famous physicist led him to track Harvey down, finding him down on his luck, and contemplating a trip to CA. The author volunteers to drive the elderly Dr Harvey and the journey gets under way.
They pay a visit to many of Harvey's familiar places including a not-to-be-missed social call on former neighbor, eighty-three-year-old author William S. Burroughs, the still irreverent, still pot smoking, methadone addicted, beat generation writer living in Lawrence, KS. Other highlights of the trip are visits to the Garden of Eden, a bizarre cement statuary park built by crazy-as-a-loon S.P. Dinsmoor in Lucas, KS; the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library in Independence, MO; dinner with Harvey's third wife, Raye; cocktails with his ex-roommate Archie, Archie's mother, grandmother, and Ukrainian fiancée; and Los Alamos. This is not your typical buddy/road trip novel; part cross-country trip by car narrative, part bio of the father of relativity, autobiography of the author, completely off-the-wall tale, and a true story. | ||
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Plot & Themes Period of greatest activity? - 1950+ Road trip Yes Subject of Biography Gender - Male Profession/status: Ethnicity - White Nationality - American Setting How much descriptions of surroundings? - 9 () United States Yes The US: - West - Midwest - California Small town? Yes Small town people: - nice, like Andy/Opie/Aunt Bee Misc setting - resort/hotel - fort/military installation - scientific labs Century: - 1980's-Present Writing Style Book makes you feel? - very happy - like laughing If this is a kid's book: - Age 16-Adult How much dialogue in bio? - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog |
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