AtDTDA : 12

[Tore Rye Andersen]

Laura:

>Still mired in provincialism and protectionism, turn-of-the-century USA was
>little more than an exotic destination for sophisticated world travelers 
>and visitors
>from quite far away.

I own a copy of Baedeker's "The United States, With an Excursion Into 
Mexico" (1904) which I can highly recommend, both as background for AtD and 
as very enjoyable reading in itself. Lotsa beautiful maps, and lotsa period 
details which I'm sure Pynchon must have mined.
A little choice nugget (from a book filled with nuggets):

"The average Englishman will probably find the chief physical discomforts in 
the dirt of the city streets, the roughness of the country roads, the winter 
overheating of hotels and railway-cars (70-80 degrees Fahrenheit being by no 
means unusual), the dust, flies, and mosquitoes of summer, and (in many 
places) the habit of spitting on the floor; but the Americans themselves are 
now keenly alive to these weak points and are doing their best to remove 
them."

Anyway, a happy 4th of July to all of you from back here in Old Yurrup!

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