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In this frank and witty memoir, Ken Ilgunas lays bare the
existential terror of graduating from the University of Buffalo
with $32,000 of student debt. Ilgunas set himself an ambitious
mission: get out of debt as quickly as possible. Inspired by the
frugality and philosophy of Henry David Thoreau, Ilgunas undertook
a 3-year transcontinental jour ney, working in Alaska as a tour
guide, garbage picker, and night cook to pay off his student loans
before hitchhiking home to New York.
Debt-free, Ilgunas then enrolled in a master's program at Duke
University, determined not to borrow against his future again. He
used the last of his savings to buy himself a used Econoline van
and outfitted it as his new dorm. The van, stationed in a campus
parking lot, would be more than an adventure--it would be his very
own "Walden on Wheels."
Freezing winters, near-discovery by campus police, and the constant
challenge of living in a confined space would test Ilgunas's limits
and resolve in the two years that fol lowed. What had begun as a
simple mission would become an enlightening and life-changing
social experiment. "Walden on Wheels "offers a spirited and pointed
perspective on the dilemma faced by those who seek an education but
who also want to, as Thoreau wrote, "live deep and suck out all the
marrow of life."
In this frank and witty memoir, Ken Ilgunas lays bare the
existential terror of graduating from the University of Buffalo
with $32,000 of student debt. Ilgunas set himself an ambitious
mission: get out of debt as quickly as possible. Inspired by the
frugality and philosophy of Henry David Thoreau, Ilgunas undertook
a three-year transcontinental journey, working in Alaska as a tour
guide, garbage picker, and night cook to pay off his student loans
before hitchhiking home to New York. Debt-free, Ilgunas then
enrolled in a master's program at Duke University, determined not
to borrow against his future again. He used the last of his savings
to buy himself a used Econoline van and outfitted it as his new
dorm. The van, stationed in a campus parking lot, would be more
than an adventure-it would be his very own "Walden on Wheels."
Freezing winters, near-discovery by campus police, and the constant
challenge of living in a confined space would test Ilgunas's limits
and resolve in the two years that followed. What had begun as a
simple mission would become an enlightening and life-changing
social experiment. Walden on Wheels offers a spirited and pointed
perspective on the dilemma faced by those who seek an education but
who also want to, as Thoreau wrote, "live deep and suck out all the
marrow of life."
Private property is everywhere. Almost anywhere you walk in the
United States, you will spot "No Trespassing" and "Private
Property" signs on trees and fence posts. In America, there are
more than a billion acres of grassland pasture, cropland, and
forest, and miles and miles of coastlines that are mostly closed
off to the public. Meanwhile, America's public lands are threatened
by extremist groups and right-wing think tanks who call for our
public lands to be sold to the highest bidder and closed off to
everyone else. If these groups get their way, public property may
become private, precious green spaces may be developed, and the
common good may be sacrificed for the benefit of the wealthy few.
Ken Ilgunas, lifelong traveler, hitchhiker, and roamer, takes
readers back to the nineteenth century, when Americans were allowed
to journey undisturbed across the country. Today, though, America
finds itself as an outlier in the Western world as a number of
European countries have created sophisticated legal systems that
protect landowners and give citizens generous roaming rights to
their countries' green spaces. Inspired by the United States'
history of roaming, and taking guidance from present-day Europe,
Ilgunas calls into question our entrenched understanding of private
property and provocatively proposes something unheard of: opening
up American private property for public recreation. He imagines a
future in which folks everywhere will have the right to walk
safely, explore freely, and roam boldly-from California to the New
York island, from the Redwood Forest to the Gulf Stream waters.
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