Customer Reviews

The Old U.S. 80 Highway Traveler's Guide (Phoenix-San Diego)

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I only discovered this book when I was past the half-way point of the very drive it describes. It added immensely to the remainder of the west bound drive and I used it to locate a couple of missed sites on the way back. US 80 doesn't have the current popularity of Route 66 or the Lincoln Highway but, as the "All-Year Southern Route" for "Coast-to-Coast" travel in the early days of the automobile, it was once one of the more important roadways in America. This is a great "roadie" book with plenty of history, sightseeing tips, and those details that help you put together your own two-lane experience. It is well written and illustrated and would probably make good reading for the arm chair traveler but it's real place is in the glove compartment.

I went over this entire route on a trip with my family when I was 13 in 1965. One marvels at the variety of landscapes that it covers, and the historical associations it is connected with. From the long stretch between Phoenix and Yuma (which is reminiscent of the terrain seen in the chase in the film THELMA AND LOUISE), past the former prison town and now thriving desert community of Yuma, along the desert route of the old plank road between Yuma and El Centro (some of the planks survive to this day), through the agricultural oasis of the Imperial Valley, going up over the Laguna Mountains and the San Diego backcountry, recently scarred by fire but still a great asset to this area), and finally winding down into San Diego proper, this highway covers every conceivable terrain. A valuable book for those who love the highways and byways of America.

WONDERFULLY WRITTEN, WELL ILLUSTRATED; AUTHORITATIVE. A MUST HAVE FOR ANY TRAVELER, ROADSIDE AMERICANA REVELER, TRANSPORTATION HISTORY ENTHUSIAST, OR ANYONE INTERESTED IN THE HISTORY OF THE GREAT AMERICAN SOUTHWEST!! (ADDITIONAL NOTE SHOULD BE MADE HERE; AMAZON IS CREDITING THE WORK TO JERRY JACKA; THE AUTHOR IS ERIC J. FINLEY)