“This is it my friends, what we have all been waiting for, magic, brilliance, humanity, compassion, wonder, imagery, no more searching, this a must read that as soon as I completed it I couldn’t wait to begin again, for I know I will be reading this book repeatedly and everytime I pick it up, even if I only have time for a page or two, I will be sent soaring....Thank you Mr. Zimmer for restoring my faith that great literature is still being written. Mr. Steinbeck would be so proud, for as his brilliant work, you have truly captured the human spirit. ”

““Journey: If Where You’re Going Isn’t Home” won a place in my heart as one of the books that I will not only read twice (I already have), but three times, four times, five times and perhaps even more. Zimmer has created a character in Shake Tauffler that I really care about. It’s been a long time since I’ve been so captivated by an author’s fictional creation. Shake’s story is told in the second person so we see what he sees; we experience what he experiences and we feel what he feels. His friends are funny, his friends are tragic. His friends stand up for him and one betrays him. He has a crush on one girl but by the time he finally gets to talk to her he finds her vapid and shallow. He stands up to bullies and pays the price. He is everyman.”

“Even if you don’t care about Salt Lake City in the ‘50s, the LDS church, jazz, racism or the post-war immigrant experience, you will care about Shake Tauffler. ”

“Shake is all of us, and we all have had to decide at some point to stay home as are or accept the quest away from places we thought at the time were bountiful.”

““Journey” is the powerful, first installment of Max Zimmer’s trilogy, “If Where You’re Going Isn’t Home.” A poignant coming of age story of Shake, the son of Swiss immigrants who came to Utah to practice their Mormon faith, it rings true emotionally. And his descriptions of the dry, desolate-but-beautiful landscape around Bountiful reminded me greatly of my home state of New Mexico. He makes us love Shake right away, and we root for him as he questions his religion, tries to navigate the emotional terrain of a complicated family, and discovers his strengths and deep interests. Although it explains much of the Mormon faith and its lifestyle, it does not elevate or denigrate anything. This is not Big Love or Book of Mormon. Just fabulously crafted fiction (based on real people).”

“I read the first chapter and was hooked. It felt like the opening of a movie. Shake is half Huck Finn and half James Dean. The voice is true. A pillow mint on every page. A great journey. Best book I’ve read in years.”

“The last book that felt this way to me was “Look Homeward Angel” when I read it in school way too long ago. I am so glad that Max is planning two more books about Shake because this one left me hungry for more.”

“I was late for work because of this book. I neglected my family because of this book. This guy, Max Zimmer, is the real deal — an author with great gifts and an authentic voice and vision. I know “I couldn’t put it down” is cliche, but I couldn’t....This is a great American story, like To Kill a Mockingbird. I can’t wait to read books two and three. ”

“This book is amazing, incredibly human and phenomenally detailed. Max Zimmer is incredibly talented. He will transport you to Utah in the 60s and give you a window into the closed doors of the Mormon church.”

“But the great craft of this book is that it neither demonizes nor sanctifies its characters. And it neither demonizes nor sanctifies the Mormon church and faith. Zimmer presents his wonderful, quirky and often hilarious cast with affection for all their foibles and strengths. This is the Mormon church and community I came to know during my years in Utah. This is the character of a community of `the elect,’ with all its strengths and weaknesses. This is the book to read if you want to know the character of presidential candidate who was nurtured in this garden.”

“I’ve always greatly appreciated John Irving’s writing. Having spent almost of my entire adult life in New England, I’ve been able to relate to the places John Irving describes and the Yankee culture he bathes his readers in. I never expected anyone to write a like characterization of the place where I grew up. A more unlikely place to grow up would be hard to find, and even harder to describe, than Bountiful, Utah. Yet, that’s where I grew up and that’s what Max has chosen to write about. I never expected anyone to write such a book and I’m delighted Max decided to.
At every turn; at every corner; at every depiction of street scenes; at every Priesthood Meeting and Sunday School class I mentally defied Max to properly characterize the Bountiful I remembered and felt nurtured and put off by. Max passed the test with flying colors.”

“Max Zimmer’s “Of The World”, the second book in the “If Where You’re Going Isn’t Home” trilogy, more than meets expectations. His first book, “Journey - If Where You’re Going Isn’t Home” is a hard act to follow but Zimmer doesn’t disappoint.”

“Max Zimmer has done it again with Book II of his “Journey” trilogy, the continuing story of Shake Tauffler growing up in Bountiful, Utah, in a dysfunctional Mormon household. Shake’s story resonates deeply with me, as I was also journeying there in that parallel universe, at the same time and in the same place. Max’s remarkable telling of Shake’s story reverberates with life, light, and truths that transcend the darknesses. Journey is an opus, a magnificent contribution to our literary world. TEN STARS would not do it justice.
Book III - PLEASE HURRY! ”

“Max Zimmer has captured my experience (only as a girl) in growing up in the Mormon Church. While at BYU (1960-64) I left the church because I could not reconcile a number of doctrinal positions with my widening experience in the world. Back then I had quite a bit of angst in my departure and animosity as well. However, 50+ years later I see that animosity as necessary to make the cultural and familial break. I have not been “mad” at the Mormon Church for many, many years and tend to view them from an American History/ sociological lens coming out of the evangelical movement in the early 1800’s. However, reading this story touched old nerves and old pain. Even though I came from a big Mormon family, and know the tenets well, Max offered me the inside view of how indoctrinated young boys are in the system of bestowing the “priesthood”. They are separated from women and told that they are uniquely special and superior. The sexism hit me in the face from a new perspective, insider chauvinism. Women are conditioned in this help maiden role to this day. This view of men and women was typical in the society of the 1800’s as was the racism. While the church was pressured to change their doctrines by “revelation” to include black males because of the civil rights movement and the backlash that was happening towards them then, they have not changed their rules to include women as equals. I was struck again how the Mormon Church political involvement in funding prop 8 in California against gay marriage has also had a backlash. As society moves to allow equal rights for gays the church may have to acknowledge that civil marriage is a secular one, and that the separation of church and state should be honored. Needless to say Max Zimmer has captured and articulated the inside culture of this church with amazing truth telling.”

“In this second book of a trilogy, Max’s easy, yet compelling style of writing continues taking the reader on Shake’s journey. In the first book Shake was a child; now he is growing up. The reader sees Shake’s trouble at home and his growing awareness of the world outside his community. We turn the pages, eager to see how he deals with these conflicts and finds meaning in realities different from the Mormon world he was taught as a child.”

“If you enjoyed the first book in Max Zimmer’s trilogy - Journey - you will love this one! As we follow Shake Tauffler through his turbulent adolescent years, experiencing the typical rites of passage: young love, fast cars, and family conflicts, we continue to learn more about the inner workings of the Mormon church and the effects it has on its followers. As Shake develops into a talented jazz musician, he continues to question the teachings of the church while trying to maintain a sense of normalcy within his increasingly dysfunctional family. A stint in the National Guard allows Shake to experience life outside of his cloistered Utah town, contributing to his struggle with conflicting loyalties. This book ends with Shake going off on his 2-year mission for the church, leaving us all to anxiously await the conclusion to this fascinating story in Book 3.”