Highway 50: Ain't That America! [Hardcover]

James Lilliefors (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 27, 1993

A lively, anecdotal chronicle of travels along U.S. Route 50--a road that literally cuts through the middle of the country, from Ocean City, Maryland to Sacramento, California. Following a course mapped by George Washington in the East and by gold-rushers and pioneers in the West, the present-day Route 50 remains the most intriguing thoroughfare spanning the United States. Photographs.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A little wacky, a little mysterious, this saga of a journey along one of America's oldest cross-country routes offers vicarious adventure to the house-bound, as well as a sense of wonder at what lies ahead at the next gas pump, eatery or small town along Route 50. Lilliefors, a former correspondent for the Associated Press, gets on the road first mapped by Washington and later traveled by pioneers where it starts in Maryland and follows it for several months to California. In person he seems to be a laconic but charismatic presence, attracting people at each place he parks his old Ford. As he tells it here, Lilliefors stopped in a host of out-of-the-way hamlets along Route 50 in Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and California. The author's gift for dialogue makes the blase waitresses and macho barflies, coal miners, oystermen, ranchers and others he meets come alive. His account is enriched by the bits of regional history he inserts and by his propensity to go off the road to track down local lore. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Who has never secretly dreamed of abandoning the nine-to-five life and taking to the open road? Lilliefors did just that, and the account of his cross-country adventures via historical Highway 50 are offbeat and varied. There is a genuine feel of real landscapes and people here, as Lilliefors tells of lingering at neighborhood eateries, going oystering on an icy bay, philosophizing with hitchhikers, laboring at a coal mine, and so forth. As he crosses West of the Mississippi, however, the tales seem a bit less in-depth and reflective, perhaps mirroring a growing urgency to reach the final destination. Overall, though, these are absorbing personal stories of daily America. "What we ultimately become," concludes the author, "is determined by stories." Recommended for circulating libraries.
- Carol J. Binkowski, Bloom field, N.J.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Fulcrum Publishing (April 27, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1555910734
• ISBN-13: 978-1555910730
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,115,686 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Takes its place alongside Blue Highways, October 15, 2000

By 

RDtoo "Some guy in Detroit" (Detroit) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Highway 50: Ain't That America! (Hardcover)

I cannot understand why this book is not better known. I found it to be in the same vein and every bit as good as Blue Highways and Travels with Charley, and it should take it's rightful place alongside those classic American travelogues. It is the classic story of a man who drives across America, reporting on the people he meets and the discoveries that he makes. One interesting aspect of this book is that the author, who quit his job as a journalist to make this trip, has to stop now and then and work to make a little cash when he is running low. It is filled with odd people and interesting places, and Lillefors thoughtful commentary is often poetic. If you have been looking for something to read since finishing Blue Highways, this is the book that you have been waiting for!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding road book, June 3, 2006

By 

pat keller (new york) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Highway 50: Ain't That America! (Hardcover)

This is one of my favorite "road" books. It's a fun, well-crafted story about a great neglected highway. Very different from Blue Highways and many other road books because it's about a single highway. It's in the same tradition, the way Blue Highways is in the tradition of Travels With Charley and Travels with Charley is in the tradition of Mark Twain, etc. A fun read.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a small classic, February 11, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Highway 50: Ain't That America! (Hardcover)

This book is kind of a small classic, idiosyncratic and funny. I agreed with the review in The Times when it was first published, saying that it's best enjoyed as a collection of individual stories. I still like picking it up and reading a chapter now and then. Each creates a portrait of some aspect of America that is certainly worth knowing, and is often poignant.