"Would the fictional westerns of Louis L'Amour, or the Golden Age of Sci Fi from Heinlein or Asimov, qualify?"

Good point Amos, and I concede my question was rather er, fuzzy. Probably not so much the sci-fi, as I've read cartloads over the years so unless it was really special I'm not so sure. I'll look up the westerns though.

Books like On The Road are what I'm talking about, or Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, The New York Trilogy etc. Road trips are a definite favourite though.

As for Upton Sinclair - I like that!