An American Sketch
“The doors of An American Place are ever open to all...”
“The journey is part of the experience - an expression of the seriousness of one’s intent. One doesn’t take the A train to Mecca...” Anthony Bourdain 2002.
“On the empty page before you; You can fill in what you care; But try to make it new before you go” Neil Young, Stringman, 1993.
“The doors of An American Place are ever open to all...” “The journey is part of the experience - an expression of the seriousness of one’s intent. One doesn’t take the A train to Mecca...” Anthony Bourdain 2002. “On the empty page before you; You can fill in what you care; But try to make it new before you go” Neil Young, Stringman, 1993.
The softback edition is only available in the UK from my Shopify store. Personally, I think this is the best of the physical formats as it’s £39 compared to £79 for the hardback and the print quality of the images is excellent. It’s also available as an eBook on Apple Books. Just search for An American Sketch in the app.
‘An American Sketch’ is also available in hardback and Kindle at Amazon where it is also included the Kindle Unlimited program. You can also read the reviews here of which excerpts are below.
“***** Perfect coffee table book with engaging narrative and beautiful photographs.“ Amazon Review | 08 December 2025
“***** A truly special book, one you’ll return to again and again.” Amazon Review | 08 December 2025
“***** A captivating and beautifully written travelogue” Paul - Amazon | 12 December 2025
“***** Far from sketchy. Imagine Ewan Mcgregor and Charley Boorman taking a 16,000 mile road trip across the USA, accompanied every day by Anthony Bourdain and P.J. O’Rourke. Then picture the whole journey photographed by William Eggleston.” - Housemates - Amazon | 12 December 2025
“***** This book is a must-read for anyone curious about the open road, the soul of America, or simply looking for a captivating, visually rich journey of discovery.” A Woman’s Point of View - Amazon | 13 December 2025
“***** An American Triumph” Martin - Amazon | 26 December 2025
‘An American Sketch’ is a 76,000-word travelogue describing my four-month, 16,500-mile motorcycle tour around North America between March and June 2024. The work is divided into 60 chapters, first describing the inspiration and the planning, and then my route and destinations in broadly chronological order and featuring my photography.
It started life as a series of online posts written for people (mainly bikers, but not all…) who asked for regular updates and photographs. Consequently, some of the text reads like the daily journal that it was. Having written about many, more modest, tours I’ve done over the last fifteen years, writing acts - for me - like a lightning rod to a particular moment in time and didn’t want to lose what have become precious memories of something I’m unlikely to do again.