Customer Reviews

The American Motel

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I love Michael Karl Witzel's books (his Route 66 book inspired me to drive the whole route). This may be his best one yet. It has great photos and interesting text and brings back wonderful memories of childhood vacations, when getting to spend the night in a motel was half the fun. But one of the other great aspects of this book is its ability to appeal to a variety of readers, not just fans of the motel. If you enjoy pop culture, roadtrips, roadside Americana, or traveling, this book is for you. I highly recommend it!

The prolific Michael Karl Witzel, whose past works include similar volumes about diners, gas stations, drive-ins and Route 66, now focuses on "The American Motel."

Anyone who's read his past books knows what to expect: detailed research (complete with very useful bibliography), competent writing and an eye-pleasing mixture of modern photos and antique postcards to illustrate the topic, reproduced in full color on glossy paper. It's a good read and a delightful browse.

Having said all that, though, the text is marred in several places by a jarring factual error and an annoyingly preachy tone. Witzel repeatedly misidentifies eastern U.S. 40 as the Lincoln Highway rather than the National Road, which for hard-core roadies is like confusing a Chevy and a T-Bird. And I don't expect, or desire, to see the phrase "prayer has been taken out of the schools and God from our government" in a book on roadside architecture.

Still, if you're interested in the subject, you'll want this book.

I have the Margolies motel book and personally, I think Witzel has the lock when it comes to research and writing. Sure, this is some in-depth stuff and can be dry at times (these are motels, after all), but the dedicated road enthusiast/pop culture historian really wants to know all of this information. A collection of photographs with just a little bit of text does little to document history. Witzel's book not only has a great collection of images, but the editorial depth needed to tell the story. If I were to recommend one book on motels, Witzel's The American Motel would be the one. A seminal work on one of our most cherished American/roadside icons.

Certainly informative but I would recommend John Margolies' shorter but sweeter "Home Away from Home" instead of this book if you want the one "must-read" on motels. The two books contain much of the same information and are similarly organized, but the layout of Witzel's book is lousy, with the (admittedly great) photos not flowing well with the text, which is flat and not especially engaging. There is, however, a 2 page glossy spread on the history of "magic fingers", the kind of info just NOT in your average history text.

I'm a HUGE fan of Motorbooks' Car Culture series, and also a HUGE fan of funky old motels. Michael Karl Witzel's book is a long-overdue look at a topic that is unfortunately ignore in today's chain-obsessed America. The cabin-style motels of the past have a charm that I wouldn't mind seeing anew.

I do agree with Doug that Mr. Witzel sometimes drifted to the preachy side, being a little too harsh on unmarried couples who rented rooms and the proprietors who let them. But still, this beautifully illustrated book is an absolute MUST for motel fans.

As a fan of Mike's work, also being two of his contemporaries, we know this book is another must have for those seeking a nostalgia lesson. Most people never have the ability nor the vision to produce works like this. When they are done, readers should snap them up, not pick them apart! We would advise everyone to buy a copy. Motels can now live forever, they certainly do in this book!