Horatio's Drive: America's First Road Trip

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Though it’s not as well known as his epic docs about wars, sports, and music, Ken Burns’ delightful chronicle of the first successful cross-country road trip ranks among the director's best work. About 100 years before the documentary was made, an ordinary man named Horatio Nelson set off on a dangerous ride across the continent through areas that lacked paved roads, gas stations, and auto mechanics. Burns relies on the voices of famous folks like Tom Hanks, George Plimpton, and Eli Wallach to bring the wild journey to life and make a poignant statement about how Nelson’s achievement represented a turning point for the nation. Fans of “This American Life” and history podcasts like “The Memory Palace” shouldn’t miss this.

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Release Date:	Oct 6, 2003
Running Time:	106 minutes
Country:	United States
Language:	English

synopsis

Get set for an adventure that marked a new era in America! Film-maker Ken Burns presents the hilarious 1903 saga of the first transcontinental automobile trip. On a visionary whim and a $50 bet, Dr. Horatio Nelson Jackson became the first person to drive an automobile across the continent. His arrival in New York City, after every imaginable breakdown and delay, proved that the "horseless carriage" really did have a future.