Join us for a special afternoon event with Professor Emeritus Lyell Henry, who will talk about his new book, Trekking across America: An Up-Close Look at a Once-Popular Pastime, published by University of Iowa Press. “Trekking across America vividly recalls a bygone era when people would cross the continent on foot, hoping the publicity would lead to fame and riches . . . or at least a better life. The incredible stories that Lyell Henry has collected are by turns hilarious and haunting. The cast is as colorful as America itself: the trekkers are Black and white, rich and poor, men, women, and children. It’s a resoundingly American story of dreamers, seekers, and scoundrels, hitting the road in search of that mythical pot of gold at the end of the rainbow: the American Dream.” —Matthew Algeo

Lyell D. Henry Jr. is professor emeritus of political science at Mount Mercy University. He is author of The Jefferson Highway: Blazing the Way from Winnipeg to New Orleans, Was This Heaven? A Self-Portrait of Iowa on Early Postcards, and Zig-Zag-and-Swirl: Alfred W. Lawson's Quest for Greatness. He lives in Iowa City, Iowa.