HOME IS EVERYWHERE

A debut memoir traces a man’s many
moves across the United States while working on government land surveys.  

Born in 1929, the same year that 7UP
was invented and Babe Ruth hit 500 career home runs, Novak grew up in a small Midwestern
town caught up in the Depression, Prohibition, and World War II. After holding various
odd jobs in Haddam, Kansas, on farms and creameries, the author realized that
he did not want to become a farmer. As a result, he jumped at the opportunity
to leave town to join the Coast and Geodetic Survey—the oldest scientific
bureau in the nation, responsible for charting America. From there, Novak spent
his nights triangulating positions across the U.S., laying the groundwork for
topographic maps and eventually satellites and GPS systems. While crossing the
country, he met a young woman named Jean in a dance hall in Chillicothe,
Missouri. After turning him down once, Jean finally agreed to go to lunch. Not
long after, the two were married and she started traveling with him. Just as
their first son, David, was born, Novak was shipped off to Alaska for the first
of three difficult stints surveying islands and treacherous territory in the
wild landscape. After his return, the family kept growing, with two more
children. They made their way from town to town, eventually settling for a
while in Kansas City, Missouri. The author begins every chapter with a specific
place, labeling its exact coordinates and giving a little bit of history both
general and personal: “Besides being the birthplace of my wife…Meadville” in Missouri
“is home to the historic Locust Creek Covered Bridge,” he writes. Novak’s
stories are short and to the point. Overall, his memoir offers little that is
truly exciting or surprising. But history and geography buffs should adore his
unique view of America in the mid-20th century and his folksy anecdotes—like his
tales of the cigarette-smoking Eskimo children he met in Alaska and the
numerous small towns he saw explode from simple main streets into modern
suburbs.  

A concise account of a tumultuous
American journey that offers some intriguing insights for history lovers.