Follow the Money: A Month in the Life of a Ten-Dollar Bill
*Starred Review* In 2006, British journalist Boggan wrote an article about following a single 10-pound note for a week, tracking its movements from hand to hand. This highly entertaining book expands on the theme. Making his way to the U.S., Boggan changed from pounds to dollars and sent a marked $10 bill on its way, vowing to follow its progress for a full month. His journey—or, rather, the bill’s journey—took him from his starting point of Lebanon, Kansas (popularly if inaccurately known as the geographical center of the U.S.), to Detroit, Michigan. The rules were simple: he had to be present at every transaction, he couldn’t influence how the 10 bucks was spent, and he couldn’t influence where the bill went (there was a tense moment when a guy said he was going to mail the bill to a place 406 miles away). Like Bill Bryson, whose travel books are as much about the people he meets as they are about the places he visits, Boggan writes entertainingly about the characters he encountered along the way—most of whom were, somewhat surprisingly, pretty cool with his unusual request to follow them around until they spent the money—and about his various misadventures, which included racing down the road in hot pursuit of a First Responders vehicle on the way to an emergency. A nifty book with an unusual premise and plenty of fun. --David Pitt