Prolific author Jim Hinckey’s new book “Here We Are … on Route 66” (Amazon link) contains plenty of color photos of easily recognizable landmarks along the Mother Road. Don’t let the familiarity fool you. This volume is more of a deep dive into the obscure past of selected towns along the Mother Road. Noting that … Continue reading Book review: “Here We Are … on Route 66”
Prolific author Stephen H. Provost this spring released two books barely two months apart about the early history of American roads and the so-called golden age of U.S. highways. “America’s First Highways” delves into the pre-1926 era when the nation’s main roads — including a precursor to Route 66 — were named and not numbered. … Continue reading Books review: “Yesterday’s Highways” and “America’s First Highways”
A new book from prolific author Jim Hinckley, “Route 66 Treasures” (64 pages, hardback, Voyageur Press, $30 U.S. retail) might seem just a simple collection of facsimile souvenirs from the Mother Road. It is that, but it’s more. Although its 64 pages seem to be a slim book, Hinckley and more than 100 color illustrations … Continue reading Book review: “Route 66 Treasures”
I’m pleased to report that the Route 66 section of the newly published sixth edition of Jamie Jensen’s popular “Road Trip USA” (Avalon Travel, 1,002 pages, paperback) contained no errors that I could detect. That seems an unusual way to begin a book review. However, longtime readers of Route 66 News may remember my 2009 … Continue reading Book review: “Road Trip USA” (sixth edition)
You have to admire the nerve or foolishness of two pals who are so determined to travel old alignments of Route 66 that they get stuck not once, but twice, during their journey. That’s what happens in Rick Antonson’s “Route 66 Still Kicks” (Skyhorse Publishing, paperback, 336 pages, illustrated, e-book available). Although this book is … Continue reading Book review: “Route 66 Still Kicks”
Road warrior and author Brian Butko dropped me a note Friday, telling me that he has received a cover image of Michael Wallis’ upcoming book, “The Lincoln Highway: From Times Square to the Golden Gate.” The cover is shown below: There’s no set release date for the book, except it’ll be out this summer. It’s … Continue reading A preview of Michael Wallis’ Lincoln Highway book
There are certain authors who have such a good track record, you know their books are good even before you pick them up. Michael Karl Witzel is on that short list. He’s written books about drive-in theaters, drive-in restaurants, gas stations, diners, Americana and barns. “Route 66 Remembered” remains a classic of the Mother Road … Continue reading Book review: “Legendary Route 66”
It’s not about Route 66. It’s not a book in the traditional sense. But Jeff Jensen’s “Drive the Broadway of America” (self-published, 223 pages, $30, including shipping) should greatly please Route 66ers and entice roadies to new two-lane adventures. Jensen’s book, subtitled “The U.S. 80 and the Bankhead Highways Across the American Southwest,” is the … Continue reading Book review: “Drive the Broadway of America”
I should preface this by saying I have been a longtime fan of Jamie Jensen’s travel guides. I still possess a 1999 edition of his “Road Trip USA” (subtitled “Cross-Country Adventures on America’s Two-Lane Highways”). Jensen, by all accounts, has driven hundreds of thousands of miles to scout out the best road trips in America. … Continue reading Book review: “Road Trip USA Route 66”
Many Route 66 fans loathe to give much thought to interstate highways. However, to understand the history of the Mother Road, one must also understand the history of the superslabs. That’s where Earl Swift’s new book, “The Big Roads” (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 376 pages, $27, e-book available), comes in. Subtitled “The Untold Story of the Engineers, … Continue reading Book review: “The Big Roads”
