A Trucker's Tales of Life on the Road - The Long Haul

Entertaining and insightful look into the world of long haul movers. Equally enjoyable was the author's discussion on CSPAN's Book TV. I have moved numerous times while living in California. I do all the packing as it is a special skill to get it right; then hire a mover for the actual haul. I cannot yet see how or when this manual labor will be supplanted by robots, at most only the haul itself. The ending was fitting for a Joyce or DeLillo, summed up in a mere two words.

Enjoyed reading his account of the life on the road. I was a salesman in the moving industry for 40 years and it was always the driver who gave the first and last impression to our clients. His stories of individual customers were well told.

This is good read for anyone interested in the life of a driver. Factual , concise and kept very real about life on the road. I was never a bedbugger, I was a suicide jockey but a driver is a drive! Thanks for a good read Finn!

This is an easy to read book about a lifestyle very few of us know. It is well written by, surprise, a college educated writer. He survives some highs and lows over a career that takes him all over the USA. It is a an adventure, a travel log, and an interesting story. Highly recommended for light summer reading.

Who knew how there is so much involved with trucking stuff from one part of the planet to another? Most of us share the road with huge trucks, but really know nothing about how artful and complicated their work is. Those truckers who are conscientious and knowledgeable about this profession are way cool!! Their work is hard. They make our lives better. Who, indeed, knew??

Hey Finn, I hope you are reading this because I want you to write another book! Great writing, didn't let me down for a minute! You must have lots of stories to tell, so let us read them! Thanks for a great book!

Great depiction of life on the road. Gives a good idea of what life is like for a moving company. Also shows some of the types of personalities these men and women must deal with and how they learn the best ways to handle them.

I LIKED THIS BOOK AS BASICALLY IT TOLD HOW TRUCKERS OPERATE. I HAD NO IDEA THERE ARE UPSCALE MOVERS FOR UPSCALE SHIPPERS AND THE JOB THAT THEY DO TO INSURE NO DAMAGE IS DONE. HOWEVER, I BELIEVE EVERYONE WHO PAYS A MOVING COMPANY DESERVES TO GET THE SAME CONCERN AND THOUGHTFULNESS.

I loved this book. I happened to pick it up at a bookstore and was immediately drawn into the memoir! Sharing the road with truck drivers will never be the same for me. Poignant, hilarious and lively!

There is always that one guy in the room who has to remind you repeatedly how smart and awesome he is. It seems the author is one of those people. If you are interested in life on the road as a trucker, you will be disappointed.

This is a fun book to read. Finn presents himself well. Most of the characters are reasonably well developed.

The item I missed most was a simple index so that I could find and review segments of the story. Also, a listing of the characters and their roles/titles would help.

The absence of the index lowered my rating by one star.

Well I wish this was better since it sure sounded like it would be, but sadly I was somewhat disappointed - the and author advertises 30 years off stories, you would expect there would be bunch of great ones - unfortunately, these are only very average stories - OK to read, but don't get your hopes up too high here....

As a former mover myself (long haul), I found it moderately interesting. The use of an inordinate amount of "big words" seemed more to impress the reader than inform the reader. In other words, more easily understandable vocabulary would have been appreciated. Loved the chapter on the military move to Michigan.

Long Trucking Haul, Short Haul as Author
In trying to bind the technical aspects of trucking with a series of events in his experiences with trucking Finn seems to wonder from place to place; not that the idea of his life on the road is not without merit. The meandering style of the book kills any momentum that he could have summoned if he were a better writer. The stories of his encounters with the lonely military wife and the Indians ceremony would have been better promoted if they were not so isolated. The previous part of the narrative contained little vignettes of his trucking buddies and helpers, not much meat on the bone. I cannot really give a positive review although there was nothing wrong about the book just not much right for $15.00 plus retail.

I was hoping this book covered all types of long haul trucking, but alas, it only covers moving vans. So if you are moving, you will find many useful suggestions and caveats as long as the copious number of F-bombs don't offend you.

In The Long Haul, Finn Murphy gives the reader a glimpse into the trucking life, which he did by grabbing my attention with the Introduction and keeping me engrossed until the final chapter. I don’t know when I have enjoyed reading a true story this much.

Because I have an affinity for truckers, meaning when I travel I respect them and look to them for help with traffic seeing how they can see the road and the like, I was delighted to read this book, and I wasn’t disappointed one bit. Finn is a
natural storyteller and he put me right there beside him as he traveled cross country, met with folks whose possessions he packed and moved and even reading about the interaction or not with other truckers was great. Who would think that some drivers would not care for drivers based on the load they carried? That was a wow moment for me.

I loved the stories he told about the different moves, and the last story in the book is worth the price of the book alone. He helps a widow move her things in a short time frame, and the end results of making that move that I didn’t see coming yet it had me teared up was magic.

As this is an advance reading copy, there were a few typos that should be corrected before release but they in no way took away from the story. I also would have liked that he call Indians, Native Americans but I still get it why people still use that term.

I recommend folks read this book even if you never thought about how truckers roll because Finn Murphy gives us a glimpse into that world with excellent stories that are well written, never boring and fun to read. I admit to already telling folks they need to read this.

Thanks, Finn Murphy for writing this wonderful book about the trucker life and I will be on the lookout for your next work! This is non-fiction at its best! Buy this book!

The not-so-hidden message in 'The Long Haul' is that not all truck drivers fit the stereo type - obese, cigarette-smoking, and not too bright. Actually, there are a lot of truck drivers and truck owners that don't fit the stereotype. Finn Murphy is reliable, erudite, and an insightful observer of the people he works with and moves, and an America that has been hollowed out in many areas by offshoring jobs.

An interesting and important aside - Finn is known as 'The Great White Mover.' Native Americans think it has some sort of Indian significance. Not true - it's a reference to the fact that heavy work (that definitely includes loading and unloading furniture into and out of trucks) has now almost been taken over by Mexican-Americans. He admits they're generally more reliable and harder workers than whites.

The author opens with an account of his going up to Loveland Pass (about 12,000 feet) in Colorado, then faced with the more daunting task of going down the other side. Signs about a runaway truck ramp in 1.5 miles, then a 35 mph speed limit for heavy trucks. (Often that causes more trouble than it's worth - overheating brakes.) He's right though - going down a long downgrade is not fun. Then a summary of obnoxious C.B. comments from other truckers wanting to go faster. (I never turn the C.B. on - rarely useful because I rarely speed.) As for his claiming $250,000 per year income - that's less fuel, truck payments/depreciation, repairs, tires, insurance, load/unload crew pay (each takes about a day), etc., netting far less than he infers. (It's still more than most earn). But he's totally correct about the job requiring 100% attention, all day long. Backing up a semi- into tight spaces is quite demanding, and properly loading household goods is even more so.

After a short-version of how he got into truck-driving, it's off to Vermont - from Florida. The first leg - 1,095 miles in a little over 22 hours. That's a big 'NO NO!' Far too many hours without stopping to sleep - per regulations and common sense. Later it's 7 pickups - a royal pain in any case (every stop is dead time - paperwork, waiting for loaders, looking for the location, possibly waiting for someone to unlock the site, and hoping the packing had already been done), in this instance especially so because some of the loads became mixed together.

Eventually he gives up driving - no explanation of why, what he did in the interim, or why he returned to that career. He almost has to start again at the bottom - taking a 'refresher' course on truck driving, then working as assistant to currently established drivers. Finn quickly earns his spurs again, and is back to work as a mover. And happy doing it.

Finally, one topic isn't covered at all - the personal toll of being out on the road when one has a family. Not an issue for Murphy - he doesn't have a family. He does point out, however, that taking the long-term view, it's all pointless - everything eventually ends up in a garage sale or the dump.

Finn Murphy's parents were not to pleased when he dropped out of college and became a truck driver. Thirty years later he is still packing, loading, and moving other people's prized possessions all over the country and he wouldn't have it any other way. In this memoir, he shares stories about the people who trust him to move their stuff in one piece, his fellow movers, and the truck drivers he has met along the way.

I honestly had low expectations for this book because trucking is not something I know a lot about or am usually interested in, but The Long Haul really turned out to be an enjoyable read. I was fascinated with his stories about how moves are executed from the mover's perspective because my husband and I have to move every few years due to his job. (It's comforting to know I am very easygoing with the movers compared to many people.) I thought it was interesting that movers are looked down on in the trucking world and I liked Finn's attitude about not caring what others think because he is making a ton of money. It is obvious that his attitude and hard work have contributed to his success in the industry.

My only minor criticism of the book is I would have liked for the author to talk a bit more about his relationships. It seemed weird to never discuss dating, being involved in a long-term relationship, or his thoughts on having a family. I also would have liked a little more detail about what he did during his time spent away from trucking.

Overall, this was a fun read and I felt like I learned a lot about the trucking industry.

I received a free copy of this book but was under no obligation to post a review. All views expressed are my honest opinions.

This book is a brief (fewer than 200 pages) memoir of the author’s life as the driver of a moving van. Written by Finn Murphy, and published by W. W. Norton and Company in 2017, the book is largely anecdotal, covering two periods of the author’s life. The first period was the time when Murphy first became associated with the moving industry and began driving a truck. This was when he was living in Connecticut. He eventually melted down and stopped driving for a number of years, before beginning again at the age of 51 when he was living in Colorado.

All in all, the book is an entertaining read. Plus, a reader can learn a lot about the moving industry and the way it really works. Who knew, for example, how much money van line drivers could make in a year? Who knew how dangerous he job could be? Who knew how hard these men must work, and for how many hours each week?

The book is an easy read, and I enjoyed it very much. If you are at all interested in the life of a long-haul moving van driver (also known to other truckers as a “bedbugger’), then read this short, but entertaining, work. You might also learn the meaning of the terms: “skate boarder,” “chicken choker,” “reefer,” “suicide jockey,” and others. You might learn why moving van drivers are looked down upon and shunned by other long haul truck drivers, and how they are treated differently, even at truck stops. I think you’ll like this very well-written, but too short, work of non-fiction.

The Long Haul will put you inside the rig, Jake brakes and all. You will get a taste of what it’s like to drive and maneuver one of these beasts. You will get a hint of what it’s like to navigate tight spaces, stare down miles of highway, or creep down a slushy-icy mountain pass.

“Fondle the brake, watch the mirrors, feel the machine, check the tach, listen to the Jake, and watch the air pressure. The air gauge read 120 psi at the summit; now reads 80,” writes Finn Murphy about coming down Colorado’s Loveland pass in winter. He’s driving too slow for other truckers on the road and he’s getting harassed over the CB.  “I’ll see them all later, when they’ll be completely blind to the irony that we’re all here at the same time drinking the same coffee. Somehow, I’ve cost them time and money going down the hill. It’s a macho thing. Drive the hills as fast as you can and be damn sure to humiliate any sonofatich who’s got brains enough to respect the mountains."

That’s a sample of the truck-level specifics and the odd fraternity out there on the road. But this book is not about any old truck driver. Finn Murphy is a Colby College dropout.  He’s a reader and a thinker. (How many truck drivers out there, do you think, grab an audio book of Doris Kearns Goodwin’s Team of Rivals to pass the miles?) And he’s a helluva storyteller.

Most importantly, and what separates him from any ordinary trucker, is that Finn Murphy is a mover. Or, in truck driver lingo, a “bed-bugger.” He’s the lowest of the low among the truck-driving castes, where freight haulers, for some strange reason, reign supreme.

Having read The Long Haul, it seems to me that movers should be at the top of the heap. They handle your stuff. They don’t only drive; they pack. For Finn Murphy, who works for a boutique van line and gets hired for high-end executive moves, the job entails packing every carton. Complete, full service moving may involve washing the breakfast dishes, packing them up, and making the beds upon arrival. Yes, on the level that Murphy works he doesn’t just pile the boxes in the living room. If needed, he unpacks everything too—right down to all the silverware organized and ready to use in the new kitchen drawers.

The Long Haul: A Trucker’s Tales of Life on the Road is, in fact, poorly titled. The title suggests something generic when the book, in fact, is quite specifically about movers. It’s about this specific corner of the truck-driving business and all that goes with it—managing customers, dealing with damage claims, and the whole science and art of packing.

In fact, what gives The Long Haul its narrative fuel, are the people—Murphy’s customers and the others he encounters on the road. From years and years of driving, Murphy has plucked a few stunning stories as centerpieces for this memoir—a woman who really doesn’t know what possessions she wants to bring with her, a man who berates Murphy for his truck-driving skills for failing to navigate a tight, steep and curvy driveway that leads to his house, and an obese woman and her peculiar cross-country trek with special cargo, among others.

Murphy takes charge. He suffers no fools. He’s a hard worker who seems to ride a high from physical labor. He tells shippers how things are going to run. He explains in detail how to move a piano. He tells his dispatcher off when he needs to. He cleans trucks the way they need to be cleaned. He knows how to calculate profits before the first box has been packed. He knows “lumpers” (temporary help that load and unload) in cities across the country. He frequently observes how he is being or overlooked or belittled and he is not afraid to call out those who take him for granted, often in spiteful or snarky fashion. But he sees his customers—and the occasional fellow traveler—as real people and that gives The Long Haul plenty of heart. If your work requires any level of human interaction, I dare say you will pick up a customer service tip or two from Finn Murphy.

The only thing Murphy doesn’t explain is a long gap in his truck-driving career; at one point he quits and we get no explanation for what he does in the intervening years. (I don’t think a few paragraphs there would have hurt.)

Murphy is also an observer of the American economic landscape—and sees the devastation to small-town American thanks to cheap imported goods and construction of big-box stores that sell them. “Now we’ve got an unlimited supply of cheap commodities and unhealthy food and crumbling downtowns, no sense of place, and a permanent underclass. Yay. Take US 50 west from Kansas City to Sacramento or US 6 from Chicago to California and you’ll see a couple thousand miles of corn, soybeans, and terminally ill small towns. It looks like an episode from The Walking Dead.”

You’ll learn a lot about what it’s like to be a truck driver in The Long Haul. But like many good slice-of-life memoirs, it’s about so much more.

Finn Murphy is a bedbugger, a moving van driver, and if you think that defines him, or anybody else out on the road hauling whatever you need, you’re a candidate for his book. Murphy’s a full-time contract driver, a man who moves lives from one part of the country to the other, and a part-time philosopher, an observer of the peripatetic American. He attended college, a very fine one, too, Colby (ranked up there with some of the best liberal arts schools in America), but decided life on the road held more appeal, not to mention more earning potential.

The Long Haul: A Trucker's Tales of Life on the Road is a mash up of memoir, trucking tutorial, and opinion piece. Murphy paces the thing well, gliding from memories to stories of customers and drivers (some funny, others heart touching, a few infuriating, one, well, mythical) to descriptions of places (among them truck stops and highways) to observations about American attitudes toward working people, those providing services to them and to whom they entrust their most precious possessions. On this last score, some are nice respectful folks who regard drivers as fellow human beings deserving of respect and dignity, while many aren’t. Being in the latter group, as Murphy illustrates, can have consequences (though nothing very dire).

So, what can you expect when you open Murphy’s book? Here’s a sample on the state of America from the driver’s seat.

On the bucolic American town: “As far as I can figure, the only places left in America that can boast of vibrant downtowns are college towns and high-end tourist towns. In the rest of the country the downtowns were hollowed out when nobody was looking. You might think it’s only your town that’s been ruined by sprawl, but it’s happened everywhere.”

On bootstrapping to success in America: “They say anybody can grow up and be president of the United States, and Lyndon Johnson, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama are bootstrapping examples that poor folks are supposed to emulate….Those guys are monumental exceptions used to bolster the myth that anybody can be a success. For every one of them, there are tens of millions of Americans who can see no way out of the pattern [of poverty]. This cuts across race, and it cuts across class. The myth of the trucker as a latter-day cowboy is the same narrative that the urban rapper or the southern rebel adopts to accept his place at the bottom of the American Dream.”

Oh, and if you wonder why moving costs as much as it does, and why you always seem to get hit with surprise charges at delivery, Murphy devotes considerable illuminative attention to the economics of moving. If you’re planning a move, you might just want to add his book to your search for a mover.

All in all, a well done education for those who have ever wondered when seeing a big rig while driving the Interstate, what’s it like?

This book is written by a profession mover who also drives the items being moved in a tractor trailer. Murphy recounts some stories of this time on the job. About the lingo, how the job works, the interesting people he has met only because of his job.
Murphy walks us through how he even got starting in the moving industry, his parents reaction when he decided to drop out of college to pursue his career.
Murphy recounts a widow he was helping rush across the country in just a few days. Her son is driving her. The widow dies on the way, but her son talks Murphy into attending the funeral of his dad as a warrior with a Native American tribe. The family wasn't Native American, the dad was a professor who lived and worked with this tribe.
Murphy shares about the pack and load job where he packs up a military family at Offutt, drives to the new place only to learn that the guy sent his wife and son and had no intention of joining. The wife threw a fit, slept with Murphy, and got her and her son back to Omaha.
This book is rather funny and very well told. Overall, this book is a highly entertaining read!

Long Haul driving the highways and Byways of America.
Finn Murphy’s Long Haul is a fun informative read of America’s long haul trucking industry. Finn is very personable and obviously loves to tell stories of his driving career. Fascinating is the word that comes to mind while reading Mr. Murphy’s long haul exploits. AS a 30+ year international airline Captain, I felt a strong camaraderie with Finn as I read of his driving adventures. All jobs, even those that seem romantic and exciting, eventually become rather hum-drum and can lull one into complacency. That’s when Murphy (pun intended) strikes with vengeance. I learned a lot from reading Long Haul and have a new appreciation for “BedBuggers”!
All in all a great tale and I hope Mr. Murphy writes more books on his long haul adventures

The heroic blue-collar worker is a staple of the oldest American myths: the cowboys, the miners, the lumberjacks, the railroad workers. John Henry and Casey Jones inspire songs (the more so, perhaps, for their tragic endings). Pecos Bill and Paul Bunyan are legends. Even coal miners are extolled by their daughters. What’s been missing from the myths is the voice of the blue-collar workers themselves. Now truck driver turned author Finn Murphy (www.finnmurphy.net) steps into this vacuum, telling the inside story of a modern breed of blue-collar folk hero in The Long Haul: A Trucker’s Tales of Life on the Road.

It’s a story as sweaty and irreverent, as joyous and tragic, as the best of myths. But unlike most mythic heroes, truckers are also modern. Although Murphy traces the roots of long-haul trucking at least as far back as pioneer wagon trains, truckers only became a major occupation (currently employing nearly 7 percent of all U.S. workers) with the institution of the interstate highway system.

Murphy’s specialty – the movers of household goods known to truckers as bedbuggers – also benefited from the increasingly mobile nature of America as a whole. Whether chasing a new aeronautical engineering job or simply a new dream, we love to move. Almost as much as we hate the people who help us make those moves.

“To the casual observer all trucks probably look similar, and I suppose people figure all truckers do pretty much the same job. Neither is true. There’s a strict hierarchy of drivers, depending on what they haul and how they’re paid.”

And although most of the trucking brotherhood shun “bedbuggers,” and Murphy insists he doesn’t buy “the trucker myth” of boots, cowboy hats and big belt buckles, he admits to pride in his driving skills, a sense of real freedom, and “the certain knowledge that I make more money in a month than many of the (freight haulers) make in a month.”

His introduction to trucking started in high school, when he began working part-time for a local short-haul moving company. In college, finding himself “flat broke,” he spent a winter break working a long-haul move.

“I returned to (college) in mid-February 1980 with $1,500 in my pocket and the conviction that…I liked meeting and getting to know the people we moved and I like the physical labor. Driving a lot of miles wasn’t so great, nor was truckstop living, but the rewards of the work, and the money, made up for a lot.”

His parents were less enthusiastic about his plan to drop out of college and become a truck driver. They didn’t speak to each other again for years.

Murphy candidly admits that the strains of the work, including the disdain and demands of his clients, drove him to quite truck driving in midstream. He eventually returned, older and less prone to anger, to regale readers with adventures such as how to take a loaded truck over an icy Rocky Mountain pass, the case of an ill-fated piano left out in the rain (and a description of how to move a grand piano that may dissuade anyone else from ever trying), and a Native American burial ceremony that involved 15 cartons of artifacts.

Along the way, as he sips his standard “Dr Cola” energy drink (half Dr Pepper, half Coca-Cola), he expounds on roots of urban sprawl, the devolving nature of native-born white laborers, why most of his clients would be better off selling their possessions instead of trying to move them, and the love-hate relationship between people, their things, and the workers they pay to move them.

In an Ashlands, OR bookstore I heard someone talking about trucking. Upstairs a crowd was listening to Finn Murphy talk about this book and more - respect for logging truck drivers, how Oregonians don't like to get fumier trucks than Californians and reversing a truck in a tricky place. I couldn't stay for the question time of the talk, but I went back to the store the next day and bought the last copy they had.

I've hitch-hiked with truck drivers in America and Europe, and I used to drive long distances with a CB radio. Finn is a high-end mover - I was moved by one of these trucks, car in truck, from NJ to CA many years ago and remember going to the North American Van Lines agent to retrieve my car - but unable to get my other belongings as my condo wasn't quite built. So Finn's description of agent's yards and truck stops builds great pictures that bring back memories.

His characters who want their stuff moved, provide lessons for those moving house. I didn't realize the driver was actually in charge of packing until I read this book - I wasn't even in the state when my house was packed. He provides graphic descriptions of how some people watch the mover (they rarely call the mover by name he notes) and others get out of the way. He constantly reports how careful he is with customers (called shippers) belongings.

I like the terminology for different types of trucks and the props needed by movers. There are also insights into different parts of the country, but why he finds California to lack charm, I'm not quite sure - maybe he's mainly been to LA and not the more scenic parts of the state.

This is an excellent first novel. I'm glad it is getting notice from professional reviewers. I had quite a few patients who were long-haul truckers and ran moving companies, so the actual content wasn't too surprising to me; I fished with some of these folks, so there were always stories. What I found most interesting was his thought on America after rejoining the trucking community after a long hiatus. Basically, America left, with manufacturing centers moving off shore and hollowed-out downtowns.. Poignant story of "white union workers" making pool tables like "dead men walking", knowing that their jobs could soon be off-shored as well. And, as ever, the enemy is us demanding and I paraphrase, "$8 dollar sneakers and tube socks for $0.49, when we could be buying $20 sneakers from our neighbor who owns a shoe store and sells socks made in Maine". This is exactly why those of us who are more fortunate have difficulty understanding the popularity of Donald Trump, and if you have been anywhere near one of his rallies, many common folks adore him. It is our career politicians and corporate heads who have structured the tax laws and regulations to drive business off shore where regulations are nil and profits high.

Finn Murphy began working as a long-haul mover in 1980 when he realized he could make as much money out on the road as he could in an office. Walking away from his last year of college, Murphy retained his love of books, but chose the open road. In The Long Haul, Murphy details some of the day-to-day rigors and perils of long-haul moving while recounting stories of some of his most memorable trips and clients.

While many movers doubtlessly have hilarious stories of their trade, Murphy possesses an uncanny knack for crafting a unique blend of bizarre and heartwarming stories into addicting chapter format. He takes the reader from one end of the U.S. to the other, noting how areas are different, and also increasingly the same. Throughout, Murphy’s voice serves as a calm and ever-present companion as the cities slip steadily by. From laugh-out-loud stories of rookie mistakes to deeper moments of growth and maturity, Finn balances his narrative well and leaves the reader wanting more. I personally hope this is the start of a long career in travel writing for Murphy, as he adds an enjoyably distinct new voice to the field.

Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

270 reviews! Wow. This is one popular book. I can see why. I loved it. Well written. Great sense of humor. Very observant of American culture and the state, pretty sad, of our wonderful nation today. I now spend more time driving as my part time job as a retiree. I have been off the interstates and away from the strip mall outlying exurbs on occasion, and have seen many of the run down, down and out places he tells of on his trips. Downright sad and very alarming. The people he meets, too. I am also a keen observer of people and have to concur with his estimation of the average outlook/worldview of many Americans today. Pretty vacuous and shallow. Also so terribly sad. He demystifies the trucker mystique. I was fortunate to have a career that I mostly loved. Unlike most, it seems today in America. Very well read. Almost wished it was longer.

Murphy is a storyteller and has gathered entertaining and illuminating tales from a lengthy career as a truck driver (and packer/loader/everything else) in the moving industry. Some "names, locales and identifying details" have been altered so that various individuals described herein do not sue the author and/or come after him waving a gun. Murphy also has some caustic commentary on American sociological and economic trends. Just here and there he verges into nearly-too-much technical detail -- a page and a half on how to disassemble a baby grand piano for moving? -- but overall it's a very interesting depiction of a profession that's essentially a lifestyle as well.

First of all, when I searched for this book on the store all that came up was the pre-order for the paperback edition that doesn't come out for months. I had to really search around for this one, which you can buy now . . . this should be fixed ASAP.

Second, why this is marketed as a trucker or transportation book I don't know. It may be that in some respects, but it is largely a very good memoir that anyone can enjoy whether they have an interest in trucking/transportation or not. I got this book after hearing Finn Murphy's interview on Fresh Air and I really was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. The writing style is smart and funny and he has great stories. He also gives us a great perspective on changes in America vis a vis jobs, middle America versus coastal America, and the way we view our stuff. I loved the story about the piano and the bereaved wife the most. Finn, you may have walked out on your liberal arts education, but it has served you well even without graduating. You made this novel-loving English major have a whole new level of respect for the moving profession, and I learned a lot and was entertained. I really liked your book and hope you will write more.

Finn Murphy is a college drop out and an over the road trucker. If you are an English snob, as am I (or at least used to be in my grad school days), this makes him and his writing somewhat suspect. When I add that in the pages of this book he details how to pack a trailer (as in tractor trailer) for a full house move, how to clean the trailer, and how to hitch the tractor to the trailer (doing so incorrectly can be a disaster to the trucker and fatal to anyone on the road at the time the trailer detaches), you might wonder why anyone in their right mind NOT wanting to be a part of this profession would read this book. Read the book. You won't wonder any more. First of all, he uses big words -- you know, polysyllabic ones -- correctly. A lot of them, a lot of the time. And his stories, from how he got into trucking to how he morphed into a long haul high end house mover, are fascinating, sometimes laugh out loud funny, sometimes painfully sad. This is his first book, and I hope it's not his last. His is a voice from which I want to hear much more.

I recommend this book whole-heartedly. I was in the moving business for 35 years, and in an elite specialization but not in household goods moving, and in fact I was surprised to even know of the existence of such a thing in household. I've been out of the moving business due to disability which forced me to close my company (a sales and service representative company almost always affiliated with United Van Lines Agents) after 20 years, ten years ago.

My area of specialization was trade shows, especially, some electronics, and I did haul household goods on my two trucks in the off-season. I also had a mid-life crisis which caused me to lose my mind and drive one of my trucks for almost two years, doing household goods mostly in the two summers, but primarily trade shows. I tried to do the crazy stuff I'd gotten drivers to do in the past in our elite group, worked about 90 hours a week when on a trip, and finally decided that it was time to hire a driver for it after I lost my brakes coming out of the mountains on my way home - empty, by the way, coming down out of the Black Mountains (I think that's correct) heading for Raleigh NC.

I am now a poet and wanted to read Finn's book for ideas about what to write about in some of my memoir-like poems. I haven't written many of those yet - I keep thinking I'm not ready. I'm 67 now.

I learned a lot from Finn, and remembered a lot, and I was impressed with his literary style. Finn was never in management and from that I think comes the one criticism I had of the book, which is that his perspective as a driver only was sometimes wrong, and a bit ludicrous at times when he seems to take wild guesses at management perspectives and actions and states his feelings about them as fact. I read the book a few months ago and can't remember specific instances now. Having been a driver myself and always hung out with drivers a lot in marshaling yards at shows in places like the Jacob Javits Convention Center (which I think I remember him mentioning), so I know the kinds of thoughts that arise from many hours of contemplation going down the road. I just have to mention this.

Some of Finn's opinions are based on limited information and, as would be expected, he doesn't qualify some of his guesswork. Just remember, dear reader, that fact. But let me say that I DO share his ideas about the unfairness to the working people in this country, which is getting worse and worse, and was caused in the trucking business by deregulation. A lot of drivers cleared $150,000 and more (in my elite segment) back in the '70s and early '80s and that probably was not quite right, although they were the most unbelievably competent of any people I've known in just about anything, and intelligent (even some who had very limited education), but somehow it wasn't quite right for us to earn so much back then (even with those 90 hour weeks) and we knew a decline in income was coming - I ended up working twice as hard for half the money. It created a disaster for a lot of good people and it seems like it has led to major Agents taking over a lot of the industry and that was part of the unfair consolidation of wealth in a few hands.

SO - READ THIS BOOK! Nice job, Finn. I recommend it to anyone who's been in the trucking industry and anyone who wants to get a feeling for what it's like to be in charge of one of those big, fancy moving trucks you see on the highway.

Who hasn't passed, or been passed by, truckers on the road and wondered what their life was like or dreamed about the kind of freedom you think trucker's enjoy? Of course, reality is quite different as first time author Murphy tells in his book. Who knew movers were considered the untouchables among their world? Or that fuel fill-ups can cost $1000 at one go? None of the stories in the book were edge-of-the-seat but, overall, they were interesting and unique. A good read from a new writer. I do wonder, though, how the same topic would have been covered by an outsiders like John McPhee or Charles Kuralt.

Wow. Just wow. It's been a while since I've read a nonfiction that was such a really good read. It moves fast like the best fiction, has lots of surprises and interesting stuff, real people doing real work. Thanks to Finn for sharing his life story and tales of the road. You'll never look at a long distance moving truck the same way again after this book! Also, you'll be sure to give them plenty of room on the road - because you never know when they might need it. I think I read it in all of two days and wish there was more.

Nothing special. I thought it would be about life on the road, but it's really about packing moving trucks and dealing with customers (shippers).

I thought it was preachy at times and the author went out of his way to present himself as the "blue collar intellectual". I've met many intellectual blue collar workers and I knew it without them going out of their way to tell me.

A "normal person memoir" and an interesting view into the trucking world. I thoroughly enjoyed the visit in Finn's life and learned a lot about about movers and their daily life. He is an amazing story teller and not once did I find myself bored or overwhelmed with technical information but I did learn a lot and realized that my idea of trucking and reality are not exactly the same (of course).
A collection of some of his adventures on the road and the people he moved.

Finn Murphy is a bedbugger, a moving van driver, and if you think that defines him, or anybody else out on the road hauling whatever you need, you’re a candidate for his book. Murphy’s a full-time contract driver, a man who moves lives from one part of the country to the other, and a part-time philosopher, an observer of the peripatetic American. He attended college, a very fine one, too, Colby (ranked up there with some of the best liberal arts schools in America), but decided life on the road held more appeal, not to mention more earning potential.

The Long Haul: A Trucker's Tales of Life on the Road is a mash up of memoir, trucking tutorial, and opinion piece. Murphy paces the thing well, gliding from memories to stories of customers and drivers (some funny, others heart touching, a few infuriating, one, well, mythical) to descriptions of places (among them truck stops and highways) to observations about American attitudes toward working people, those providing services to them and to whom they entrust their most precious possessions. On this last score, some are nice respectful folks who regard drivers as fellow human beings deserving of respect and dignity, while many aren’t. Being in the latter group, as Murphy illustrates, can have consequences (though nothing very dire).

So, what can you expect when you open Murphy’s book? Here’s a sample on the state of America from the driver’s seat.

On the bucolic American town: “As far as I can figure, the only places left in America that can boast of vibrant downtowns are college towns and high-end tourist towns. In the rest of the country the downtowns were hollowed out when nobody was looking. You might think it’s only your town that’s been ruined by sprawl, but it’s happened everywhere.”

On bootstrapping to success in America: “They say anybody can grow up and be president of the United States, and Lyndon Johnson, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama are bootstrapping examples that poor folks are supposed to emulate….Those guys are monumental exceptions used to bolster the myth that anybody can be a success. For every one of them, there are tens of millions of Americans who can see no way out of the pattern [of poverty]. This cuts across race, and it cuts across class. The myth of the trucker as a latter-day cowboy is the same narrative that the urban rapper or the southern rebel adopts to accept his place at the bottom of the American Dream.”

Oh, and if you wonder why moving costs as much as it does, and why you always seem to get hit with surprise charges at delivery, Murphy devotes considerable illuminative attention to the economics of moving. If you’re planning a move, you might just want to add his book to your search for a mover.

All in all, a well done education for those who have ever wondered when seeing a big rig while driving the Interstate, what’s it like?

This book is written by a profession mover who also drives the items being moved in a tractor trailer. Murphy recounts some stories of this time on the job. About the lingo, how the job works, the interesting people he has met only because of his job.
Murphy walks us through how he even got starting in the moving industry, his parents reaction when he decided to drop out of college to pursue his career.
Murphy recounts a widow he was helping rush across the country in just a few days. Her son is driving her. The widow dies on the way, but her son talks Murphy into attending the funeral of his dad as a warrior with a Native American tribe. The family wasn't Native American, the dad was a professor who lived and worked with this tribe.
Murphy shares about the pack and load job where he packs up a military family at Offutt, drives to the new place only to learn that the guy sent his wife and son and had no intention of joining. The wife threw a fit, slept with Murphy, and got her and her son back to Omaha.
This book is rather funny and very well told. Overall, this book is a highly entertaining read!

Long Haul driving the highways and Byways of America.
Finn Murphy’s Long Haul is a fun informative read of America’s long haul trucking industry. Finn is very personable and obviously loves to tell stories of his driving career. Fascinating is the word that comes to mind while reading Mr. Murphy’s long haul exploits. AS a 30+ year international airline Captain, I felt a strong camaraderie with Finn as I read of his driving adventures. All jobs, even those that seem romantic and exciting, eventually become rather hum-drum and can lull one into complacency. That’s when Murphy (pun intended) strikes with vengeance. I learned a lot from reading Long Haul and have a new appreciation for “BedBuggers”!
All in all a great tale and I hope Mr. Murphy writes more books on his long haul adventures

The heroic blue-collar worker is a staple of the oldest American myths: the cowboys, the miners, the lumberjacks, the railroad workers. John Henry and Casey Jones inspire songs (the more so, perhaps, for their tragic endings). Pecos Bill and Paul Bunyan are legends. Even coal miners are extolled by their daughters. What’s been missing from the myths is the voice of the blue-collar workers themselves. Now truck driver turned author Finn Murphy (www.finnmurphy.net) steps into this vacuum, telling the inside story of a modern breed of blue-collar folk hero in The Long Haul: A Trucker’s Tales of Life on the Road.

It’s a story as sweaty and irreverent, as joyous and tragic, as the best of myths. But unlike most mythic heroes, truckers are also modern. Although Murphy traces the roots of long-haul trucking at least as far back as pioneer wagon trains, truckers only became a major occupation (currently employing nearly 7 percent of all U.S. workers) with the institution of the interstate highway system.

Murphy’s specialty – the movers of household goods known to truckers as bedbuggers – also benefited from the increasingly mobile nature of America as a whole. Whether chasing a new aeronautical engineering job or simply a new dream, we love to move. Almost as much as we hate the people who help us make those moves.

“To the casual observer all trucks probably look similar, and I suppose people figure all truckers do pretty much the same job. Neither is true. There’s a strict hierarchy of drivers, depending on what they haul and how they’re paid.”

And although most of the trucking brotherhood shun “bedbuggers,” and Murphy insists he doesn’t buy “the trucker myth” of boots, cowboy hats and big belt buckles, he admits to pride in his driving skills, a sense of real freedom, and “the certain knowledge that I make more money in a month than many of the (freight haulers) make in a month.”

His introduction to trucking started in high school, when he began working part-time for a local short-haul moving company. In college, finding himself “flat broke,” he spent a winter break working a long-haul move.

“I returned to (college) in mid-February 1980 with $1,500 in my pocket and the conviction that…I liked meeting and getting to know the people we moved and I like the physical labor. Driving a lot of miles wasn’t so great, nor was truckstop living, but the rewards of the work, and the money, made up for a lot.”

His parents were less enthusiastic about his plan to drop out of college and become a truck driver. They didn’t speak to each other again for years.

Murphy candidly admits that the strains of the work, including the disdain and demands of his clients, drove him to quite truck driving in midstream. He eventually returned, older and less prone to anger, to regale readers with adventures such as how to take a loaded truck over an icy Rocky Mountain pass, the case of an ill-fated piano left out in the rain (and a description of how to move a grand piano that may dissuade anyone else from ever trying), and a Native American burial ceremony that involved 15 cartons of artifacts.

Along the way, as he sips his standard “Dr Cola” energy drink (half Dr Pepper, half Coca-Cola), he expounds on roots of urban sprawl, the devolving nature of native-born white laborers, why most of his clients would be better off selling their possessions instead of trying to move them, and the love-hate relationship between people, their things, and the workers they pay to move them.

In an Ashlands, OR bookstore I heard someone talking about trucking. Upstairs a crowd was listening to Finn Murphy talk about this book and more - respect for logging truck drivers, how Oregonians don't like to get fumier trucks than Californians and reversing a truck in a tricky place. I couldn't stay for the question time of the talk, but I went back to the store the next day and bought the last copy they had.

I've hitch-hiked with truck drivers in America and Europe, and I used to drive long distances with a CB radio. Finn is a high-end mover - I was moved by one of these trucks, car in truck, from NJ to CA many years ago and remember going to the North American Van Lines agent to retrieve my car - but unable to get my other belongings as my condo wasn't quite built. So Finn's description of agent's yards and truck stops builds great pictures that bring back memories.

His characters who want their stuff moved, provide lessons for those moving house. I didn't realize the driver was actually in charge of packing until I read this book - I wasn't even in the state when my house was packed. He provides graphic descriptions of how some people watch the mover (they rarely call the mover by name he notes) and others get out of the way. He constantly reports how careful he is with customers (called shippers) belongings.

I like the terminology for different types of trucks and the props needed by movers. There are also insights into different parts of the country, but why he finds California to lack charm, I'm not quite sure - maybe he's mainly been to LA and not the more scenic parts of the state.

This is an excellent first novel. I'm glad it is getting notice from professional reviewers. I had quite a few patients who were long-haul truckers and ran moving companies, so the actual content wasn't too surprising to me; I fished with some of these folks, so there were always stories. What I found most interesting was his thought on America after rejoining the trucking community after a long hiatus. Basically, America left, with manufacturing centers moving off shore and hollowed-out downtowns.. Poignant story of "white union workers" making pool tables like "dead men walking", knowing that their jobs could soon be off-shored as well. And, as ever, the enemy is us demanding and I paraphrase, "$8 dollar sneakers and tube socks for $0.49, when we could be buying $20 sneakers from our neighbor who owns a shoe store and sells socks made in Maine". This is exactly why those of us who are more fortunate have difficulty understanding the popularity of Donald Trump, and if you have been anywhere near one of his rallies, many common folks adore him. It is our career politicians and corporate heads who have structured the tax laws and regulations to drive business off shore where regulations are nil and profits high.

Finn Murphy began working as a long-haul mover in 1980 when he realized he could make as much money out on the road as he could in an office. Walking away from his last year of college, Murphy retained his love of books, but chose the open road. In The Long Haul, Murphy details some of the day-to-day rigors and perils of long-haul moving while recounting stories of some of his most memorable trips and clients.

While many movers doubtlessly have hilarious stories of their trade, Murphy possesses an uncanny knack for crafting a unique blend of bizarre and heartwarming stories into addicting chapter format. He takes the reader from one end of the U.S. to the other, noting how areas are different, and also increasingly the same. Throughout, Murphy’s voice serves as a calm and ever-present companion as the cities slip steadily by. From laugh-out-loud stories of rookie mistakes to deeper moments of growth and maturity, Finn balances his narrative well and leaves the reader wanting more. I personally hope this is the start of a long career in travel writing for Murphy, as he adds an enjoyably distinct new voice to the field.

Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

270 reviews! Wow. This is one popular book. I can see why. I loved it. Well written. Great sense of humor. Very observant of American culture and the state, pretty sad, of our wonderful nation today. I now spend more time driving as my part time job as a retiree. I have been off the interstates and away from the strip mall outlying exurbs on occasion, and have seen many of the run down, down and out places he tells of on his trips. Downright sad and very alarming. The people he meets, too. I am also a keen observer of people and have to concur with his estimation of the average outlook/worldview of many Americans today. Pretty vacuous and shallow. Also so terribly sad. He demystifies the trucker mystique. I was fortunate to have a career that I mostly loved. Unlike most, it seems today in America. Very well read. Almost wished it was longer.

Murphy is a storyteller and has gathered entertaining and illuminating tales from a lengthy career as a truck driver (and packer/loader/everything else) in the moving industry. Some "names, locales and identifying details" have been altered so that various individuals described herein do not sue the author and/or come after him waving a gun. Murphy also has some caustic commentary on American sociological and economic trends. Just here and there he verges into nearly-too-much technical detail -- a page and a half on how to disassemble a baby grand piano for moving? -- but overall it's a very interesting depiction of a profession that's essentially a lifestyle as well.

First of all, when I searched for this book on the store all that came up was the pre-order for the paperback edition that doesn't come out for months. I had to really search around for this one, which you can buy now . . . this should be fixed ASAP.

Second, why this is marketed as a trucker or transportation book I don't know. It may be that in some respects, but it is largely a very good memoir that anyone can enjoy whether they have an interest in trucking/transportation or not. I got this book after hearing Finn Murphy's interview on Fresh Air and I really was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. The writing style is smart and funny and he has great stories. He also gives us a great perspective on changes in America vis a vis jobs, middle America versus coastal America, and the way we view our stuff. I loved the story about the piano and the bereaved wife the most. Finn, you may have walked out on your liberal arts education, but it has served you well even without graduating. You made this novel-loving English major have a whole new level of respect for the moving profession, and I learned a lot and was entertained. I really liked your book and hope you will write more.

Finn Murphy is a college drop out and an over the road trucker. If you are an English snob, as am I (or at least used to be in my grad school days), this makes him and his writing somewhat suspect. When I add that in the pages of this book he details how to pack a trailer (as in tractor trailer) for a full house move, how to clean the trailer, and how to hitch the tractor to the trailer (doing so incorrectly can be a disaster to the trucker and fatal to anyone on the road at the time the trailer detaches), you might wonder why anyone in their right mind NOT wanting to be a part of this profession would read this book. Read the book. You won't wonder any more. First of all, he uses big words -- you know, polysyllabic ones -- correctly. A lot of them, a lot of the time. And his stories, from how he got into trucking to how he morphed into a long haul high end house mover, are fascinating, sometimes laugh out loud funny, sometimes painfully sad. This is his first book, and I hope it's not his last. His is a voice from which I want to hear much more.

I am a grocery hauler from Allenwood Pa. Good my start as a general freight hauler 5 years ago. I finished reading this book 2 weeks ago. I got the book after hearing the NPR interview. I loved the book. Especially the opening when Finn describes driving down a steep Colorado descent, in bad weather. He really nailed down how this feels, in his description. Right down to how you feel as faster moving big rigs taunt you on the CB radio, if they feel you are, too slow. Spot on. I would recommend this brilliant account of what driving a big truck is like to anybody who has ever pondered what it’s like, while driving past a tractor trailer on the open highway.

I am very glad Finn wrote this book. It is definitely the best trucking book I’ve read. I learned a lot about the moving industry. I also could relate to much of what was talked about in the book. Especially the driver hierarchy. Witch like Finn I never really fit into. And the myth of today’s drivers being the last cowboy boys. Witch Finn describes very well in the book.

I am very glad this book was written. Finn does a great job smashing the stereo type of the dumb truck driver. With thoughtful descriptive accounts of life on the road. And captivating story telling.
As a trucker myself I would have to say this is a must read.

I recommend this book whole-heartedly. I was in the moving business for 35 years, and in an elite specialization but not in household goods moving, and in fact I was surprised to even know of the existence of such a thing in household. I've been out of the moving business due to disability which forced me to close my company (a sales and service representative company almost always affiliated with United Van Lines Agents) after 20 years, ten years ago.

My area of specialization was trade shows, especially, some electronics, and I did haul household goods on my two trucks in the off-season. I also had a mid-life crisis which caused me to lose my mind and drive one of my trucks for almost two years, doing household goods mostly in the two summers, but primarily trade shows. I tried to do the crazy stuff I'd gotten drivers to do in the past in our elite group, worked about 90 hours a week when on a trip, and finally decided that it was time to hire a driver for it after I lost my brakes coming out of the mountains on my way home - empty, by the way, coming down out of the Black Mountains (I think that's correct) heading for Raleigh NC.

I am now a poet and wanted to read Finn's book for ideas about what to write about in some of my memoir-like poems. I haven't written many of those yet - I keep thinking I'm not ready. I'm 67 now.

I learned a lot from Finn, and remembered a lot, and I was impressed with his literary style. Finn was never in management and from that I think comes the one criticism I had of the book, which is that his perspective as a driver only was sometimes wrong, and a bit ludicrous at times when he seems to take wild guesses at management perspectives and actions and states his feelings about them as fact. I read the book a few months ago and can't remember specific instances now. Having been a driver myself and always hung out with drivers a lot in marshaling yards at shows in places like the Jacob Javits Convention Center (which I think I remember him mentioning), so I know the kinds of thoughts that arise from many hours of contemplation going down the road. I just have to mention this.

Some of Finn's opinions are based on limited information and, as would be expected, he doesn't qualify some of his guesswork. Just remember, dear reader, that fact. But let me say that I DO share his ideas about the unfairness to the working people in this country, which is getting worse and worse, and was caused in the trucking business by deregulation. A lot of drivers cleared $150,000 and more (in my elite segment) back in the '70s and early '80s and that probably was not quite right, although they were the most unbelievably competent of any people I've known in just about anything, and intelligent (even some who had very limited education), but somehow it wasn't quite right for us to earn so much back then (even with those 90 hour weeks) and we knew a decline in income was coming - I ended up working twice as hard for half the money. It created a disaster for a lot of good people and it seems like it has led to major Agents taking over a lot of the industry and that was part of the unfair consolidation of wealth in a few hands.

SO - READ THIS BOOK! Nice job, Finn. I recommend it to anyone who's been in the trucking industry and anyone who wants to get a feeling for what it's like to be in charge of one of those big, fancy moving trucks you see on the highway.

This book works on several levels - as an autobiography of an "ordinary" American. but also as an Economics treatise with insights into the recent Economic History of the United States. There is a sociological aspect to it as well, with discussions about race and racism within the industry and between customers and workers. His breakdown of costs and industry economics should provide useful insights for anyone contemplating becoming an entrepreneur. There is even a little bit of philosophy and Zen thrown in for good measure. An excellent, multi-faceted read. If you've enjoyed books like Studs Terkel's "Working", Ben Hamper's "Rivethead" or Michael Lewis' "Liar's Poker" this insiders view of an industry will interest you as well.

Who hasn't passed, or been passed by, truckers on the road and wondered what their life was like or dreamed about the kind of freedom you think trucker's enjoy? Of course, reality is quite different as first time author Murphy tells in his book. Who knew movers were considered the untouchables among their world? Or that fuel fill-ups can cost $1000 at one go? None of the stories in the book were edge-of-the-seat but, overall, they were interesting and unique. A good read from a new writer. I do wonder, though, how the same topic would have been covered by an outsiders like John McPhee or Charles Kuralt.

NPR interviewed Finn Murphy and I pulled over to listen to the ripe stuff of life and got a copy of The Long Haul. A smorgasbord of life on the road and fast fun read by a straight talking sage that ditched college to be an independent long haul trucker/mover...

It is so good you can’t make the stuff up. Full of heroics and misadventures. Every profession should have a Finn Murphy who is all out for the customer especially in a business of stressed out executives, homemakers, military personnel, and down and outers.

A travel tale of life on the road that reveals the paradox of America beyond main streets and highways to the beauty of scary mountain passes to sprawl, gutted towns, and wreckage of community development and urban planning,

His characterizations of people, places, situations and the human condition flow in in great storytelling style. He puts you into scenes of full of fright, drama, humor and insight. Murphy shows you how the world really works--from cool characters to pure lunacy, and deals with it all--from male egos to lovely, bossy, and frazzled women; short on help, save for the unsung working heroes on his jobs.

If there is a rainbow of humor, Murphy has mastered every shade, with some mighty sweet and spicy scenes too.
I loved riding shotgun with Murphy on his travels from my Lazy Boy. I did not want it to end. Great cross genre stuff.

Wow. Just wow. It's been a while since I've read a nonfiction that was such a really good read. It moves fast like the best fiction, has lots of surprises and interesting stuff, real people doing real work. Thanks to Finn for sharing his life story and tales of the road. You'll never look at a long distance moving truck the same way again after this book! Also, you'll be sure to give them plenty of room on the road - because you never know when they might need it. I think I read it in all of two days and wish there was more.

Nothing special. I thought it would be about life on the road, but it's really about packing moving trucks and dealing with customers (shippers).

I thought it was preachy at times and the author went out of his way to present himself as the "blue collar intellectual". I've met many intellectual blue collar workers and I knew it without them going out of their way to tell me.

A "normal person memoir" and an interesting view into the trucking world. I thoroughly enjoyed the visit in Finn's life and learned a lot about about movers and their daily life. He is an amazing story teller and not once did I find myself bored or overwhelmed with technical information but I did learn a lot and realized that my idea of trucking and reality are not exactly the same (of course).
A collection of some of his adventures on the road and the people he moved.

The book has strong focus and lots of repetition so you better decide going in whether you'll enjoy this subject matter. No, it's not just about long-haul truckers, but about a particular kind of long-haul trucker. Movers only--not freight. And movers with an attitude since the author feels the average trucker gives movers short shrift even though he feels his ilk are far superior. Well written and fairly well edited.

A fun read and an interesting picture of a different life. Almost everybody has a moving story and it is interesting to go behind the scenes as it were.
Some worthwhile insights about changes in America.

This was an amazing book that I picked up at the library. The book gives a rare viewpoint into the lives of the movers we all hate. Finn Murphy did a terrific job writing this book. Unfortunately, I missed the tour date, but I still loved the intelligent tone he used throughout the book, going against the stereotype that truck drivers are stupid. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone with even a slight interest in the truck driving industry.

This was RIDICULOUS! What a pompous JERK! And ENOUGH of this IRISH crap. I hope everyone was SO impressed with Finns diction capabilities! And to put himself on this "greater than thou" position that places him above any other form of trucking profession makes me sick to constantly be reminded in this book.
"Great White Trucker" my ass!

Once I started reading it, I couldn't put it down until I finished it.

It is filled with humanity, hard work and a look at how we react to stresses in life. Page 60 holds a simple but important message for most of us. Murphy's view of the perceived Americana compared to reality is spot on and not something that most people might notice without similar travels to his.

So many great characters but have to say I adored Dr. Dewan and was captivated by Mrs. McMahon.

Great read.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading about Finn's experiences. Having logged a few thousand miles as a long haul mover, I've had similar days. His tales evince the reality that truckers, 4 wheelers, movers, doctors, colonels all have commonalities.

Thanks to Finn for sharing his life experiences. This book is an easy read. I finished it over a weekend. Finn has a great sense humor and an excellent way of presenting his experiences. It was very enaging and I couldnt put the book down. Finn also shares some wisdom. It's sad to see how some of the rich executives have bad attitude. I hope Finn writes more books in the future.

I got the impression that the writer wanted the reader to be sympathetic to his mission. Yet he showed no sympathy or empathy for the people in his life-starting with his family. I found his writing weirdly arrogant. A shame since I'd very much like to appreciative the labors of folks who do the incredibly hard work that keeps us roling every day.

I would love to sit with Finn, buy him a beer and just talk. This book is about far more than life of a truck driver. It is about stereotyping and treating people with dignity and respect. The book was a fun read. i wanted more. Hope that some of the folks Finn moved read the book, and come to realize that big money and a white collar job doesn't equate to class.

I've moved a lot with my family over the years and enjoy road trips. Now I have a much better appreciation for movers and drivers and will definitely pass rigs more respectfully to get past the tractor's front wheels. I especially liked the observations about the gutting of small towns. Thanks for a great read.

Immensely interesting stories, with good amounts of philosophy, social commentary, and technical explanation. Mr. Murphy shares the connections he has made with the shippers he has met and the people with whom he has worked with humor and pathos, and an awesome vocabulary. This was a real pleasure to read.

Too short! (That's a good sign.) I love a good road trip story and these are excellent. Somewhere between the aforementioned Jack Reacher novels and Lolita. For Finn Murphy's sake, I hope he gets a movie deal for this memoir.

Finn Murphy started off with a good book but then threw in some elements that were unnecessary which put a damper on the story. His start with stories of the road were good, interesting and sometimes funny. The inside workings of the trucking industry are fascinating to me and some of his experiences both with moving and off the road work pretty well. Where he did fall apart is with the stories of his romantic flings which seem both puriant and made up. What also makes it dull at times is his stories of arguments with customers. One would believe that there were cases where he was wrong based on how he insists that he was always in the right.

Not a bad story but nothing really great!

This book is great and it will give you insight as we are headed down the highway to hell. Paying huge fees to haul our junk from town to dying town. Jeezus! The last chapter about the run to New Mexico is the best. Read it and learn the truth about NPR.

Fairly okay read overall (although a little scattered) but turned off by the author. He curses like a sailor, purposely overcharges clients, lives only for himself, and ruthlessly talks down about almost everyone he encounters. Then wonders why movers get a bad rap. Hard to emphasize with a writer who embodies so few positive qualities.

I''m writing this review as one of the ordinary people who has been badly burned by awful movers, both local and long haul. The author's attitude towards other people's property is too offensive to be ignored.

I heard about this book and its author on an episode of Fresh Air on NPR. I'm paraphrasing, but during the interview with the author, Finn Murphy, he pretty much says that he has such a grand view of life that possessions, especially other people's belongings, don't really matter. He put out a gem of a phrase, that "he's become kind of a Buddhist about things", because he sees people acquire things at one stage in life, then get rid of them later on, and that they turn to junk that nobody wants after people die.

This is just super for him, but having half of my furniture ruined in a recent move, waiting four or five months for the insurance claim to come through, dealing with the horrible attitudes of the movers who didn't want to accept any responsibility, and having the practical mess of living with a pile of broken goods is not a small matter. News flash, Murphy: in between being born and dying, people are living their lives, and material goods are part of it. It's the job of movers to get things from Point A to Point B safely, and if you can't even do that, then you're awful at your job.

Really! Shippers? What about calling them, The Customer. Moving is one of the most stressful activities known to man, and moving companies attribute to at least 80% of the stress. Do not recommend this book, warranted on its attempt to sway me into believing truckers are clean-cut, intellectually stimulating creatures - the stuff of legend. No they are not. And the author of this yawn of a book, (I didn't finish - threw it away) doesn't even begin to tell the real trucker's story. Truckers are anti-social road hogs, that drive massively dangerous vehicles sleep deprived. This books is a bunch of malarkey.

If I could give this book “minus” stars I would. This book is a complete and utter lie!! This is absolutely nothing like anything I’ve ever seen in my 30 years of moving. It’s almost like the person that wrote this book has never been in the moving business!!!! Do not waste your money as I did.

As a person who has both been moved by corporate movers (and had lunch and/or coffee with our moving crew) and worked on the other side in the relocation business, I both believed and loved this book. Often I found myself laughing out loud. He’s a funny guy with a very smart and wry sense of humor, not to mention an interesting back story and an amazing work ethic. This is a world seen through a uniquely articulate driver- my only wish is that there would have been more “weird people” moving stories and a little less about how the truck was packed or how badly he was treated here or there. I know there are far more stories, and I want to hear them.

This is light reading, but a very self-assured middle aged trucker. There are lots of little insights into the life of a long haul trucker. It's fun, but don't expect any deep insights into the nature of life.

Immensely interesting stories, with good amounts of philosophy, social commentary, and technical explanation. Mr. Murphy shares the connections he has made with the shippers he has met and the people with whom he has worked with humor and pathos, and an awesome vocabulary. This was a real pleasure to read.

Too short! (That's a good sign.) I love a good road trip story and these are excellent. Somewhere between the aforementioned Jack Reacher novels and Lolita. For Finn Murphy's sake, I hope he gets a movie deal for this memoir.

Finn Murphy started off with a good book but then threw in some elements that were unnecessary which put a damper on the story. His start with stories of the road were good, interesting and sometimes funny. The inside workings of the trucking industry are fascinating to me and some of his experiences both with moving and off the road work pretty well. Where he did fall apart is with the stories of his romantic flings which seem both puriant and made up. What also makes it dull at times is his stories of arguments with customers. One would believe that there were cases where he was wrong based on how he insists that he was always in the right.

Not a bad story but nothing really great!

This book was so well written. I loved the insights it offers into the inner workings of movers. We are military and have used movers numerous times. I am always thankful not having to do all the packing and moving ourselves.

This book is great and it will give you insight as we are headed down the highway to hell. Paying huge fees to haul our junk from town to dying town. Jeezus! The last chapter about the run to New Mexico is the best. Read it and learn the truth about NPR.

Fairly okay read overall (although a little scattered) but turned off by the author. He curses like a sailor, purposely overcharges clients, lives only for himself, and ruthlessly talks down about almost everyone he encounters. Then wonders why movers get a bad rap. Hard to emphasize with a writer who embodies so few positive qualities.

I''m writing this review as one of the ordinary people who has been badly burned by awful movers, both local and long haul. The author's attitude towards other people's property is too offensive to be ignored.

I heard about this book and its author on an episode of Fresh Air on NPR. I'm paraphrasing, but during the interview with the author, Finn Murphy, he pretty much says that he has such a grand view of life that possessions, especially other people's belongings, don't really matter. He put out a gem of a phrase, that "he's become kind of a Buddhist about things", because he sees people acquire things at one stage in life, then get rid of them later on, and that they turn to junk that nobody wants after people die.

This is just super for him, but having half of my furniture ruined in a recent move, waiting four or five months for the insurance claim to come through, dealing with the horrible attitudes of the movers who didn't want to accept any responsibility, and having the practical mess of living with a pile of broken goods is not a small matter. News flash, Murphy: in between being born and dying, people are living their lives, and material goods are part of it. It's the job of movers to get things from Point A to Point B safely, and if you can't even do that, then you're awful at your job.

Really! Shippers? What about calling them, The Customer. Moving is one of the most stressful activities known to man, and moving companies attribute to at least 80% of the stress. Do not recommend this book, warranted on its attempt to sway me into believing truckers are clean-cut, intellectually stimulating creatures - the stuff of legend. No they are not. And the author of this yawn of a book, (I didn't finish - threw it away) doesn't even begin to tell the real trucker's story. Truckers are anti-social road hogs, that drive massively dangerous vehicles sleep deprived. This books is a bunch of malarkey.

If I could give this book “minus” stars I would. This book is a complete and utter lie!! This is absolutely nothing like anything I’ve ever seen in my 30 years of moving. It’s almost like the person that wrote this book has never been in the moving business!!!! Do not waste your money as I did.