Try free for 30 days

1 credit a month to use on any title, yours to keep (you’ll use your first credit on this title).
Stream or download thousands of included titles.
Access to exclusive deals and discounts.
$16.45 a month after 30 day trial. Cancel anytime.
O America: Discovery in a New Land cover art

O America: Discovery in a New Land

By: William Least Heat-Moon
Narrated by: Clive Johnson
Try for $0.00

$16.45 per month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $27.99

Buy Now for $27.99

Pay using voucher balance (if applicable) then card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions Of Use and Privacy Notice and authorise Audible to charge your designated credit card or another available credit card on file.

Publisher's Summary

In 1848 an English physician, Nathaniel Trennant, accepts an offer to serve as doctor on a ship carrying immigrants to America. When arriving in Baltimore, Trennant stumbles onto its slave market and witnesses the horrors of human bondage. One night in a boardinghouse he discovers under his bed a runaway slave. Disturbed and angered by the selling of human lives, he offers to help the young man escape, a criminal action that will put the fugitive slave and physician into flight from both the law and opportunistic slave hunters.

Traveling by foot, horse, stage, canal boat, and steamer, Nathaniel and Nicodemus explore the backcountry and forge a deep friendship as they encounter a host of memorable characters who reveal the nature of the American experiment, one still in its early stages but already under the stress of social injustices and economic inequities.

The book is published by University of Missouri Press. The audiobook is published by University Press Audiobooks.

©2020 William Least Heat-Moon (P)2020 Redwood Audiobooks

Critic Reviews

"A remarkable and skillfully crafted historical novel...a thoroughly entertaining and compellingly thought-provoking read throughout." (Midwest Book Review)

“A joyous, rollicking mash-up of Moby-Dick, Huckleberry Finn, and On the Road.... This is truly a great American novel and a soulful gift to humanity and the earth we inhabit.” (Independent Publisher)

“For those familiar with Heat-Moon's writing, this book breaks new ground. It's a buddy movie waiting to be made.” (Kansas City Star)

What listeners say about O America: Discovery in a New Land

Average Customer Ratings

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.