Paul Stutzman was still on his first big adventure when he decided on his second one.
It was July 4, 2008, and Stutzman was in Dalton, Mass., about three-quarters of the way through his hike of the Appalachian Trail. That journey, which he chronicled in Hiking Through: Finding Peace and Freedom on the Appalachian Trail, followed the 2006 death of his wife, Mary, and fulfilled a longtime goal.
That day in Massachusetts, Stutzman finally made up his mind about an idea he’d had while hiking: He’d ride his bicycle across America, hoping to find friendly people and front porches. In his second book, Biking Through, he tells about his 5,000-mile, 69-day trip from Neah Bay, Wash., to Key West, Fla., having found not only friendly people but crushing loneliness and danger.
At the beginning of his journey, Stutzman lands in the tourist trap of Forks, Wash., where the Twilight books are set and where every hotel room price has correspondingly doubled; later, he crashes a wine tasting with then-California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, and meets a homeless man under a bridge.
Having pledged to be open to anyone God chose to put in his path, Stutzman speaks to all he encounters. While Hiking Through combined spiritual musings with great descriptions of scenery like the Smoky Mountains, Biking Through has a much stronger evangelical focus, as Stutzman talks to people who share his Christian faith, and urges the reader to join them.
Baker Publishing, a major Christian house in Michigan, will re- release Hiking Through in paperback in March; Biking Through (228 pages, hardcover) costs $23.95 from online retailers or through Stutzman’s website, http://www.bikingthrough.com, which also contains a map of his trip and a link to his blog. Paul Stutzman, who lives in Berlin, Ohio, retired as the manager of the Dutch Valley Restaurant in Sugarcreek.
Bunny Berigan biography
Trumpeter Bunny Berigan was one of the greatest jazz artists of the swing era, but his name isn’t too well known today except among aficionados. A main reason is his short life; he died in 1942, while the big-band era was still going strong. He was 33 years old. Mr. Trumpet: The Trials, Tribulations, and Triumph of Bunny Berigan, by Canton attorney Michael P. Zirpolo, tells of Berigan’s life and art.
As expected, the biography includes the Wisconsin-born Berigan’s early days as a prodigy, and his virtuoso 1937 recording of I Can’t Get Started, which became his de facto theme song. It tells of the alcoholism and overwork that led to his death.
But this huge book also covers the explosive jazz scene of the 1930s; Berigan played on Glenn Miller’s first studio session; with Benny Goodman and Tommy Dorsey, and with an endless array of other greats.
There are 53 previous books in the “Studies in Jazz” series, but Mr. Trumpet has enough solid background for anyone who wants to know more about the heyday of swing.
Mr. Trumpet (550 pages, hardcover) is from Scarecrow Press in collaboration with Rutgers University’s prestigious Institute of Jazz Studies. It costs $95 from http://bunnyberiganmrtrumpet.com.
Events
Akron-Summit County Public Library (60 S. High St., Akron) — Actor Darrin Henson (Soul Food) presents “Today’s Movement,” the 2012 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Lecture, and signs his book Intimate Thoughts, 2 p.m. today.
Barnes & Noble Booksellers (4015 Medina Road, Bath Township) — Former Beacon Journal writer Regina Brett signs Be the Miracle: 50 Lessons for Making the Impossible Possible, 7 p.m. Friday.
Learned Owl Book Shop (204 N. Main St., Hudson) — Hudson author Mae Pelster talks about her book Abolitionists, Copperheads and Colonizers in Hudson & the Western Reserve, 1 p.m. Saturday.
Cuyahoga County Public Library (Strongsville branch, 18700 Westwood Drive) — Regina Brett signs Be the Miracle, 7 p.m. Tuesday; Tricia Springstubb talks about her delightful children’s book What Happened on Fox Street and its sequel Mo Wren, Lost and Found, 2 to 3 p.m. Saturday. Registration required; call 440-238-5530.
Visible Voice Books (1023 Kenilworth Ave., Cleveland) — Grant Bailie reads from and signs his story collection TomorrowLand, 7 to 8 p.m. Saturday.
— Barbara McIntyre
Special to the Beacon Journal
Send information about books of local interest to Lynne Sherwin, Features Department, Akron Beacon Journal, P.O. Box 640, Akron, OH 44309 or lsherwin@thebeaconjournal.com. Event notices should be sent at least two weeks in advance.
