Neil Young will turn 60 in 2005. Kevin Chong will turn 30. To celebrate these two milestones, Chong sets off on a road trip in search of his boyhood hero. Crisscrossing the continent, he visits Winnipeg, where Young formed his first band; Toronto, where Young was a Yorkville folkie; Los Angeles, where he became a star with Buffalo Springfield; and other noteworthy stops before ending up in Seattle, where he finally sees Neil Young on stage. Along the way he spars with rabid Neil fans, talks to people who knew Young as a kid, and puzzles over Young’s strange, sometimes contradictory pronouncements on such topics as digital music, the environment, AIDS, and Ronald Reagan. More than just an entertaining account of Chong’s journey, Neil Young Nation is a celebration of rock and roll, contrarianism, the allure of the road, being cool, and aging gracefully.

Kevin Chong was born in Hong Kong and raised in Vancouver.He’s the author of four other books, including the racetrack memoirMy Year of the Racehorse, which was cited as a book of the year onAmazon.ca and in the National Post. As a journalist, his work hasappeared in a range of publications, including Taddle Creek, Chatelaine,Maclean’s, Maisonneuve, Vancouver Magazine, and The Walrus. Heteaches creative writing at the University of British Columbia and livesin Vancouver with his partner, Holly, and her son, Joe.

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