Country Roads of Illinois: Third Edition [Paperback]

Marcia Schnedler (Author)

Book Description

Series: Country Roads Of... | Publication Date: September 18, 1995

A guide to old towns along the Mississippi, dense northern forests and the grassland that gave the Prairie State its nickname.

Product Details

• Paperback: 180 pages
• Publisher: Country Roads Press; 3 edition (September 18, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1566260892
• ISBN-13: 978-1566260893
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 1.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,623,156 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Riddled with errors that will get you lost!, September 4, 2004

By 

Laura S. Heiman (Northfield, MN United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Country Roads of Minnesota: Drives, Day Trips, and Weekend Excursions (Paperback)

Admittedly, I am basing this review on the section about Northfield, where I have lived for many years. But if this section is any indication, this book was not fact-checked in any way, nor did they use anything so basic as a map to check directions. For instance: "Turning east off the interstate onto State 19, you have only about a 30 minute drive to Northfield." Last time I checked, it was 7 miles, less than 10 minutes. "The city's other highly respected university, Carlton College..." Hello, it's a _College_, not a university, there are _no_ universities in town, and it's spelled Carleton. "A sign greets motorists: Northfield, a special space." Try _Place_. "Head north out of town on Division Street (State 3)" - if you do head out of town on Division, it becomes State 19. "Northfield was founded in 1855...by John North and blacksmith/farmer I. S. Field." There's no mention of this Mr. Field in any of my books about Northfield history - did the author make this up? The author complains that "revisionist history [is] the rage these days," but I'm afraid he's unintentionally contributing to the revision. There are a fair number of other errors and wierd interpretations of reality in this section, but I think I've made my point.

I think the idea of the book is great - traveling through on the smaller roads, getting to know a state in a way other than just hitting the major cities, which are only a small part of what makes up this state. Unfortunately, the casualness with which dubious "facts" and directions are tossed around keep this book from being useful to most people.