"The least known great writer in America."Esquire

Out of the American neon desert of roller domes, chili parlors, The Grand Ole Opry, and girls who want
"to live in a trailer and play records all night," comes an ex-marine and troubadour Norwood Pratt. Sent
on a mission to New York by Grady Fring, the Kredit King, Norwood has visions of "speeding across
the country in a late model car, seeing all the sights." Instead, he gets involved in a wild journey that
takes him in and out of stolen cars, freight trains, and buses.

By the time he returns home to Ralph, Texas, Norwood has met his true love, Rita Lee, on a Trialways bus;
befriended Edmund B. Ratner, the second shortest midget in show business and "the world's smallest perfect
fat man;" and helped Joann, "the chicken with a college education," to realize her true potential in life.
As with all of Portis's fiction, the tone is cool, sympathetic, funny, and undeniably American.

Barrett Whitener has recorded audiobooks since 1992. His recordings have won several awards, including the Audio Publishers Association's Audie and four Earphones Awards. AudioFile cited him as among "the best voices of the century." He lives in Washington, D.C.