Poe Ballantine has travelled America for over thirty years, working odd jobs and dead-end shifts, drinking a lot of beer, meeting a lot of oddballs, sleeping in a lot of motel rooms, looking for love, life, stories and the small-town American dream. Things I Like About America, his collection of personal narratives from the bottom rung of American life, ranges from the sublime to the ridiculous.

As well as writing with captivating humour Ballantine also writes about people who are weak and poor; those who die alone; those who repeatedly fall of the rails. And he confronts his own demons along the way. All this is done with such sincerity and eloquence it takes your breath away, while Ballantine's irresistible sense of humour ambushes you on every page. These are dispatches from the road that will have you laughing, hurting and wondering alongside the author.

It's an extraordinary journey: a portrayal of an America - and of a man - you will never forget.