Far and Wide Bring that Horizon to Me!

35 concerts. 17,000 motorcycle miles. Three months. One lifetime.

In May 2015, the veteran Canadian rock trio Rush embarked on their 40th anniversary tour, R40. For the band and their fans, R40 was a celebration and, perhaps, a farewell. But for Neil Peart, each tour is more than just a string of concerts, it’s an opportunity to explore backroads near and far on his BMW motorcycle. So if this was to be the last tour and the last great adventure, he decided it would have to be the best one, onstage and off.

This third volume in Peart’s illustrated travel series shares all-new tales that transport the reader across North America and through memories of 50 years of playing drums. From the scenic grandeur of the American West to a peaceful lake in Quebec’s Laurentian Mountains to the mean streets of Midtown Los Angeles, each story is shared in an intimate narrative voice that has won the hearts of many readers.

Richly illustrated, thoughtful, and ever-engaging, Far and Wide is an elegant scrapbook of people and places, music and laughter, from a fascinating road — and a remarkable life.

Neil Peart is the drummer and lyricist of the legendary rock band Rush and the author of Ghost Rider, The Masked Rider, Traveling Music, Roadshow, Far and Away, Far and Near, and, with Kevin J. Anderson, Clockwork Angels and Clockwork Lives.

Intro: Thirty-Five Concerts. 17,000 Motorcycle Miles. Three Months. One Lifetime. — ix
Chapter 1: Now—And Way Back When — 1
Chapter 2: Science Island — 23
Chapter 3: Rock of Ages — 35
Chapter 4: Gifts of Time — 49
Chapter 5: Backstage Byways — 56
Chapter 6: A Sense of Place — 72
Chapter 7: Show on the Road / Snow on the Road — 82
Chapter 8: Against the Weather — 97
Misfit Middle Eight — 111
Chapter 9: Miracle in Colorado — 127
Chapter 10: Serenity in Motion — 137
Chapter 11: The Accidental Pilgrim — 147
Chapter 12: George Harrison’s Eyes — 162
Chapter 13: Cops and Robbers and Morons (Oh My!) — 179
Chapter 14: East of Eden — 186
Chapter 15: Westbound and Down — 201
Chapter 16: In a Big Country — 216
Chapter 17: Binge Riding — 231
Chapter 18: The Loneliest Road in America — 238
Chapter 19: Bubba Crosses the Backline Meridian — 268