Join LancasterHistory on Tuesday, April 4 at 5:30pm as we welcome author Neil King, Jr. back to Lancaster for the launch of his new book, American Ramble. King’s American Ramble is a revelatory memoir about a 330-mile walk from Washington, D.C. to New York City, an unforgettable pilgrimage to the heart of America across some of our oldest common ground.

Neil King, Jr.’s desire to walk from Washington, D.C., to New York City began as a whim and soon became an obsession. Determined to rediscover what matters in life and to see our national story with new eyes, Neil turned north with a small satchel on his back and one mission in mind: To pay close attention to the land he crossed and the people he met. What followed is an extraordinary 26-day journey through historic battlefields and cemeteries, over the Mason-Dixon line, through Lancaster County’s historic sites, past Quaker and Amish farms, along Valley Forge stream beds, atop a New Jersey trash mound, across New York Harbor, and finally, to his ultimate destination: the Ramble, where a tangle of pathways converges in Central Park. The journey travels deep into America’s past and present, uncovering forgotten pockets and overlooked people. At a time of mounting disunity, the trip reveals the profound power of our shared ground.

Neil King Jr. grew up in Colorado in a house with the Rocky Mountains out the back door and the flat plains out the front. He went to school in Chicago and then New York City, where he studied philosophy at Columbia University. He worked a multitude of jobs, from busboy and ranch hand to cab driver and private investigator, before settling into a career in journalism. He worked in Florida for the Tampa Tribune and later for the Prague Post in the newly born Czech Republic. For 20 years he traveled to more than 50 countries in all continents to write and report and poke around as a reporter for The Wall Street Journal. During his years in Washington, DC, he served as chief diplomatic correspondent, national political reporter and, at the end, the Journal’s global economics editor. He now travels and writes on his own. He is the founder and editor of Gotham Canoe, an online journal dedicated to life out of doors. American Ramble: A Walk of Memory and Renewal is his first book. He lives with his wife in Washington DC.

About the Event

American Ramble: An Evening with Neil King, Jr. will take place on Tuesday, April 4, 2023 at the Ware Center for the Performing Arts, 42 N. Prince Street in Lancaster. A book signing will begin at 5pm, followed by the main event at 5:30pm. The event is free and open to the public, but advance tickets are recommended to guarantee a seat at the program. (Seats are not assigned.) American Ramble books will be available for sale at the event while supplies last. Parking is available in the nearby Hager Parking Lots and Prince Street Garage for a fee. (This event will not be recorded.) Venue accessibility information is available online.

Tickets may be reserved online or by calling (717) 392-4633.