Arranged by world-wide Travel Agent Roe Gruber of Escapes Unlimited in Orange County, the tour is unique in the publishing world.
“It’s extravagant by any standards and unprecedented among authors with small, independent publishing houses like ours,” said Lighthouse Press Publisher, Ron Richard. “Fortunately the tour is underwritten by a third party sponsor, thus providing the opportunity to say thank you to Mr. Tower’s most avid readers.”
The Wayfarers (in Yiddish, they were called, “Fusgeyers,”) is based upon accounts by young Romanian Jews who fled Romania after years of trade boycotts, disenfranchisement, abject impoverishment and the persistent threat of deadly pogroms. In groups numbering from 60 to 120, they trekked across a xenophobic Europe to the North Sea. Along the way they peacefully protested against the totalitarian Romanian government while fending off hostile resistance, roaming gangs, and military units.
From 1899 to 1914 over 300 of these groups are estimated to have marched from the communities of the Moldavian and Wallachian provinces of Eastern Romania. Their descendants throughout the United States and Canada, now number in the tens of thousands.
For two weeks, Tower will lead his readers along the trails, paths, and village stopovers experienced by the Fusgeyers of a century ago. The route will take them from Bucharest to Brasov, Sighishoara, Cluj, Sighet, Voronets, Piatra Neamts, Iasi (Yash), Birlad, and Constantsa on the Black Sea. From there, a short two-day foray into Bulgaria is scheduled, with stops in Varna and Veliko Tarnovo. While there will be periodic hiking, accommodations include a touring bus and hotel reservations.
The Lighthouse Press reports that since the novel’s release Mr. Tower has spoken in over 65 venues around the United States and that production on The Wayfarers feature film is anticipated for mid-2006, with filming to begin in Romania.
Although not involved with the production, filmmaker Steven Spielberg has remarked that, “In this electronic age, plain old fashioned, captivating storytelling is rare. In The Wayfarers, Stuart Tower has done just that.”
The Wayfarers is available through online and local bookstores everywhere. For more information, readers and booksellers are invited to visit the Publisher’s website at www.TheLighthousePress.com.