"The Majic Bus has such vitality, force, and power that it left me breathless, wishing I could be a student again, a member of Doug Brinkley’s class, a party to this incredible journey into America’s past"
– Doris Kearns Goodwin

"The Majic Bus rediscovers our America – and the end of all our ‘On the Roads’ is to recognize ourselves for the first time." – Lawrence Ferlinghetti

"This joyous adventure in the rediscovery of America not only makes a wonderfully readable book, it also shows our schools our schools and colleges exciting new ways of teaching our children about their country and its history." – Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.

"Doug Brinkley knows more about American popular culture, how teachers ought to relate to students, the great American novels, the diplomatic history of the Cold War, what are the important historical sites, and why every American should visit them, than anyone else I know. This is a marvelous book, a veritable love song to America." – Stephen Ambrose

"As the heritage of America’s Beat Generation Road appreciates in human understanding, this Majic Bus tour exemplifies many joys of Kerouac’s legacy – the old openhearted enthusiastic non-chauvinist American sprit of compassion to Person, Earth and Heaven expands toward this millenium’s end."– Allen Ginsberg

"Douglas Brinkley, the indefatigabley eager guide for this Magical History Tour; rediscovers the American past in the American landscape. Along the way, Thomas Jefferson and Elvis Presley, Malcolm X and Mark Twain, Robert Johnson and Dr. King, and a hundred others come alive again for a new generation, linked to the places they lived, the country they changed." – Geoffrey C. Ward

REVIEW: Touring America in the Impossible-to-Cut College Class
The Associated Press | May 14, 1993 | By Joy Stilley

If you can't tour the United States yourself, the next best thing is to go along with Douglas Brinkley aboard "The Majic Bus."

A history professor at Hofstra University on Long Island, near New York City, Brinkley took 17 undergraduates thousands of miles across the country in a traveling classroom. In the six-week course called "An American Odyssey: Art and Culture Across America," the group visited 30 states and 10 national parks in the spring of 1992.

Frank Perugi, the philosopher-driver who became an integral part of the story, bought a beat-up New York City Transit vehicle. He outfitted it with bathroom, shower and sleeping arrangements and named it "The Majic Bus," altering by one letter the Who's song, "The Magic Bus." Sleeping mostly in the bus, but sometimes outdoors or occasionally in motels, the students became a close-knit group.

Brinkley's account of the excursion is much more than a travel book. As he did to the members of the tour, Brinkley elaborates to the reader on the various places visited, discussing American history, geology, literature, architecture, art and social concerns:

In Mississippi, he points out that the University of Mississippi, opened in 1848, was for whites only until James Meredith's integration breakthrough in 1962. In New Orleans, he tells how its famed pralines came to be. In Missouri, at the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, he talks about Western expansion. At the Grand Canyon, he tells of John Wesley Powell's daring expedition down the Colorado River. At Thomas Jefferson's home, Monticello, he lectures on the president's multifaceted career.

The students, who were assigned to read a dozen American literature classics, visited the homes of a number of authors, including John Steinbeck, Jack London and William Faulkner.

Readers may not receive the six college credits that the participants did, but they certainly will get an education from their own ride on "The Majic Bus."

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction
1. There is No Truth But in Transit: The Making of "An American Odyssey
2. Frank Perugi and His "Majic Bus
3. Virginia Is for Lovers of Thomas Jefferson and Sam Shepard
4. In Thomas Wolfe Country with Georgia on Our Minds
5. Back from the Wind: Atlanta and New Orleans
6. Into the Mississippi Delta
7. Chicago: Our Kind of Town
8. From Lincoln's Springfield to Truman's Independence
9. William S. Burroughs and the Sunflower Stat
10. The New Age, Buddhism, and Boulder
11. The Rocky Mountains and Mesa Verde National Park
12. Billy the Kid, D. H. Lawrence, and the Land of Enchantment
13. Fifteen Minutes of Fame, Route 66, and the Grand Canyon
14. Slot Machines and Neon Lights in the Mojave Desert
15. Santa Barbara and Carmel (Or, Looking for Clint Eastwood in Steinbeck Country)
16. San Francisco: The Gold and White Acropolis
17. Redwood Battles, Bigfoot, Paul Bunyan, and Earthquakes
18. Further with Ken Kesey and Bob Dylan in the Grunge Belt
19. The Badlands, Black Hills, and Cattle Branding
Afterword
Acknowledgments
Selected Bibliography