In the opening essay from his book The Ecstasy Of Influence, the American writer Jonathan Lethem recalls an unnerving journey hitch-hiking in the USA.

Jonathan Lethem is one of the most idiosyncratic voices in US literature. Before he became a published writer the New Yorker spent 15 years working in secondhand bookshops. His first published works were science fiction stories; before moving on to novels. His interests are eclectic: ranging from Bob Dylan to Marvel comics; Philip K. Dick to cyber culture.

The Ecstasy Of Influence is a collection of previously published pieces and new essays and is a provocative array of the writer's talent.

"One of the most emotionally engaging and intellectually nimble of contemporary novelists"
The Guardian

Reader: Kerry Shale
Abridger: Pete Nichols

Producer: Karen Rose
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