It’s a Long Way to Youngstown

What starts as a lighthearted account of college, young love, and

military service takes a shocking turn in this unforgettable memoir. Set

in the late 1960’s and the early 1970’s, “It’s a Long Way to Youngstown”,

follows James Thomas from Steel mills and frat houses to the haunted

halls of Fort Monroe, where he served as an Army journalist during

the Vietnam era. Along the way, he interviews sports legends, dodges

explosions, spars with boxers, and unknowingly shares dozens of

long drives with a serial killer. Both deeply personal and humorously

charming, this is a true story about fate, ambition, and the unnerving

reality that we might not really know the people closest to us.