Book Description

In 1991, Time Magazine wrote that Americans were tired of the rat race and wanted a “simple life.” And no Americans were more desirous to find something personally meaningful than the 77 million Baby Boomers populating the place. Stumbling into the ancient village of Chagford amid the desolate Dartmoor in England, the author encounters villagers at a pub called Bullers Arms, who seem to embody that “simple life.” He meets them, and marvels at their camaraderie and stress-free life. Moreover, he demonstrates that even if Boomers discovered this life, they would still be haunted by a generational ghost that prevents a truly simple existence: Vietnam, a measuring stick for America since the 1970s and a collective guilt trip following every Boomer. Surely, such a “ghost” couldn’t inhabit a sleepy village on the moor? In fact, there is a ghost, as terrible as Vietnam, and the author reveals it. During his final stay, he also discovers that life is not that simple in Chagford, but that there is still a way to attain this elusive dream. Written in a lively, humorous style and traveling from past to present, Bullers Arms is a journey you will take with relish, again and again.