“Feeling restless lately? Hop on a Greyhound bus and see the continent. That's what Dave Cameron did. Trained as a journalist, Cameron makes his living as a freelance writer when he's not on the road. He's lived all over Canada and has travelled in Europe, Asia, and Australia. He's also developed the ability to sleep soundly on buses and in departure lounges. This has turned out to be a very useful attribute.

Cameron is the author of Continental Drifter. It's a travel book, the story of a man who fights the pressure to settle down by taking a bus trip. He decides to begin his trip in Dawson City, Yukon, and cut across the continent diagonally, ending up in Key West, Fla. On the way, he talks to strangers, family members and to himself. One of the first people Cameron meets is a trapper he decides to call Red Max after the cheap wine he shares with the man. Red Max lives at Old Crow, "halfway to the ocean," he he's in Dawson City. A bit of a philosopher, he's also a commentator on the world around him. Red Max notes the stupidity of a government program intended to teach the Inuit about boat safety.

"What can they possibly teach people who have been boating since there were boats?" he asks, quite sensibly.

Miles away, Cameron meets up with some family members. An uncle, living in Calgary, wonders aloud when the traveller will get  real job. (The uncle is the same guy who complains that buskers don't pay taxes, not a "thin dime.") Such comments only feed Cameron's self-doubt--of which this book might contain a little too much.

The author uses the trip in part to rehash failed relationships and the like. But if travel is an occasion for self-reflection--as a change in scene brings a change in perspective--it's also an opportunity to meet others, and that's where Continental Drifter most entertains. The writer will talk to almost anyone, or they will talk to him.

As he gets further into the American South, the people become more and more odd. There's the Crocodile Lady who runs something like a freelance animal clinic in suburban Kansas City. Her house is filled with cages for birds and reptiles, including 24 caimans. There's also a blind rat but the Crocodile lady says, "He takes care of himself just fine."

Cameron helps her with some carpentry work (she has a lot of cages), and she sweetly insists on paying him, even though she doesn't appear to have a lot of money.

Then there's the bus driver who pauses en route to lead an impromptu prayer service. Just outside of Jackson, Miss., he stops the bus, walks down the aisle and announces, "Now, I'm gonna share some little wisdom with ya."

Continental Drifter is an enjoyable story of the places Dave Cameron goes and the people he meets. It's ideal travel reading for people who can't fall asleep on buses.”

— Quentin-Mills Fenn Uptown Magazine

“Cameron is admirably honest in recording his own doubts, mixed feelings and anxiety and in the process he captures the essence of being a footloose young adult... Readers whose wandering years are behind them may get a shock of recognition and a warm feeling of nostalgia from Cameron's writing voice and his observations. Younger readers, especially those drawn to the selection of Lonely Planet budget travel guides in the bookstore, may see in Cameron a kindred spirit.”

— Winnipeg Free Press

“The oral style of loosely gathered episodes has been worked into a tight, cohesive, and flowing text without losing its vocal character-a thing not so easily achieved. Cameron wisely resists exposition which many writers can't; he simply tells the stories, allowing the reader to interpret them.”

— Books in Canada