Off the Grid: My Ride from Louisiana to the Panama Canal in an Electric Car

February 1, 2017
An engineer and novelist's account of how he traveled from Louisiana to Panama in an electric car.Successful but bored with the "yuppie robot" he had become, Louisiana native Denmon (Lords of an Empty Land, 2015, etc.) decided he needed to "get off the grid, away from the cell phones and emails." So he and a peripatetic college friend named Dean packed Denmon's new Tesla Model S electric car with a GPS, two long, 240-volt extension cords, and "all the plugs and adapters I could lay my hands on" and headed south across the Rio Grande. Beyond possible encounters with crooked immigration agents, drug lords, carjackers, and roving bandits, they faced other dangers and challenges. Fully charged and traveling on flat, well-paved roads at an average of 65 miles per hour, the Tesla had a driving range of 265 miles. However, the terrain they encountered between Mexico and Panama was highly unpredictable, and the roads were often covered with large asphalt chunks that they had to dodge in order to avoid damaging a car that sat "six inches--at best--off the ground." Finding locations where they could charge the car also proved difficult. "It would likely take all of our creative juices and ad-libbing to keep the sleek, high-tech machine moving south every day," writes the author. Sometimes, they found hotels with the electrical outlets they needed; other times they had to beg and bribe and make due with whatever equipment they found. Denmon's experiment in high-tech travel through the developing world is intriguing, but his observations about the countries through which he traveled are as limited and simplistic as they are pedestrian. With the exceptions of Costa Rica, "the planet's biggest natural amusement park," and former American protectorate Panama, Denmon typically depicts Central America as consistently dangerous and primitive and the U.S. as a place that has the "comforts that most of the world craves." A facile narrative about haves traveling in a land of have-nots.

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February 15, 2017

In a 21st-century twist on a midlife crisis road trip, Denmon (Lords of an Empty Land) sets out on a journey that promises to be more foolhardy than adventurous. When he reads of the first coast-to-coast road trip in an electric car, he persuades his friend Dean to accompany him from Louisiana to Panama in a Tesla Model S. Under perfect conditions, the vehicle has a range of 265 miles. Battling rough roads, desert, and jungle terrain, the author asks: Will the car reach the next charging station before the travelers are attacked by bandits or kidnappers? Their holy grail is finding an outlet with enough amps to charge at the end of each day. The seven Central American countries, including one known as the "murder capital of the world," have unpredictable cell phone service and corrupt law enforcement. This isn't a road test--the author doesn't include technical details--but a journey of self-reflection and challenges, told with humor. VERDICT This tale of two guys in a futuristic car traveling across a low-tech landscape will appeal to fans of humorous travel writers, such as Bill Bryson and Tim Cahill.--Susan Belsky, Oshkosh P.L., WI

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 1, 2017
What does a fortysomething president of a busy engineering firm do when he's tired of meetings, invoices, reports, e-mails, and drudgery? I was a dull workaholic, Denmon writes, and so he decided to do something truly exciting (not to mention intimidating): climb into a Tesla electric car and drive from Louisiana, through Latin America, to Panama. For companionship, he took along his friend Dean, who, like the author, is a Gulf War veteran. Denmon describes himself as a Louisiana redneck, and sometimes the writing reflects thatfor example, he describes a television broadcaster as a sexy Mexican weather gal but we get the impression he's throwing some rednecky prose in there to emphasize the self-deprecating person. Denmon is actually a very good writer, with some well-received western novels under his belt, and he strikes a nice balance here between adventure and misadventure (the road to Panama was not always a smooth one), with some moments of comedy and danger thrown into the mix. It's an entertaining tour of Latin America, but one that might make readers glad to experience it from the comfort of their own armchairs.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)