With his book, "Hunting Mr. Heartbreak: A Discovery of America," Jonathan Raban wanted to see if, in the 20th century, a man could have a new life in America. Raban traveled to New York City, to the deep south in Alabama, to Seattle and finally to the Florida Keys.

Living in Montana in the early 20th century had many hardships, as covered in Jonathan Raban's book, "Bad Land: An American Romance". Raban said people were looking for new lives in the west but they encountered prairie fires, hail storms and grasshopper plagues.