From Publishers Weekly
Route 66 was, from the 1920s to the 1970s, the principal highway from Chicago to Los Angeles, until it was displaced by interstate highways. As this splendid contribution to American popular history shows, it played a significant role in our national development. Witzel (The American Gas Station) profiles many kinds of travelers, from carefree vacationers to weary Okies headed for what they hoped was a better life. He covers four principal subjects: attractions along the road (from phony totem poles to snake pits), filling stations, roadside eateries and motor hotels. While his text is very good, it is carried by 200 photos, more than half in color, which pay tribute to the twin gods Schlock and Kitsch. Readers will also pick up much Americana along the way, including the origins of corn dogs, carhops, chicken in the rough and house trailers. A minor defect is the absence of a capsule history of the highway, telling exactly when it began and ended, and, above all, a map. Even so, Witzel has produced a gem of nostalgia.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Product Description
Now available in paperback!!This incredible collection of historical photographs captures the reverence of all the attractions and towns of the Mother Road, Route 66. Noted author Michael Witzel spent years traveling Route 66 collecting mementos of life and folklore that make up the most famous road in America. His unmatched photography takes readers back to the attractions and towns as they were and offers a captivating view of them today. Here it is, the American highway past and present in Motorbooks' beautiful 10 x 10 format, the classic photographic essay of an American legend.
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
