Journey to the West

By William Hauptman,

Book cover of Journey to the West

Book description

It is the 1960s, and Will Langner is a high school thespian who cannot wait to get out of his Texas town and attend college in Austin, where he will never have to see any of his peers again. But Will has no idea his path is about to lead…

Shepherd is reader supported. When you buy books, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Why read it?

1 author picked Journey to the West as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

William Hauptman is a Tony Award-winning playwright and the author of one of my all-time favorite Texas novels, The Storm Season, about a tornado chaser in Wichita Falls during the Reagan era as the middle class is dissolving.

Journey to the West is a diamond-sharp autobiographical novel based on Hauptman’s experiences leaving his conservative hometown of Wichita Falls to go to college at the University of Texas in Austin. He arrives just as the sixties begin taking off, and soon his mind gets blown and his life upended. Hauptman writes so well of this quintessential experience that so many…

Want books like Journey to the West?

Our community of 11,000+ authors has personally recommended 81 books like Journey to the West.

Browse books like Journey to the West

5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in the 1960s counterculture, Texas, and San Francisco?

Texas 220 books
San Francisco 203 books