Road Trip USA: Cross-Country Adventures on America's Two-Lane Highways [Paperback]

Jamie Jensen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 14, 2009 | Series: Road Trip USA

Now in its expanded fifth edition, the best-selling Road Trip USA is better than ever. Inside you’ll find cross-country routes and road-tested advice for adventurers who want to see the parts of America that the interstates have left behind. Mile-by-mile highlights celebrate major cities, obscure towns, popular attractions, roadside curiosities (if you’re looking for the world’s largest jackalope, you’re in luck), local lore, and oddball trivia. With full coverage of more than 350,000 miles of classic blacktop, Road Trip USA will take you off the beaten path and into the soul of America. Features include:

A flexible network of route combinations, extensively cross-referenced to allow for hundreds of possible itineraries
Essential tips for the road: call letters of lively radio stations, Survival Guides for two dozen cities, and details on where to eat and sleep
More than 140 meticulously detailed maps

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Jamie Jensen has been immersed in road trip culture from an early age. After a three-year stint bumming around the country, making hay in Kansas, sailing boats in Chesapeake Bay, painting houses in Boston, and living in the storeroom of a Manhattan music studio, he returned to California and earned a degree in Architecture from U.C. Berkeley. Rather than get a real job, he then moved to England, where he began to write about America. Jamie is the author of Road Trip guides to the USA, California & the Southwest, and New England. He lives in Northern California, at the west end of US-50.

Product Details

• Paperback: 928 pages
• Publisher: Avalon Travel Publishing; Fifth Edition edition (April 14, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1598801015
• ISBN-13: 978-1598801019
• Product Dimensions: 5.4 x 1.5 x 8.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #154,275 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I grew up in Southern California back when cars were king, freeways were new, cheeseburgers cost a quarter, and every beach had a beachfront amusement park. After some very pleasant years traveling around the country (making hay in Kansas, crewing sailboats on the Chesapeake Bay, studying architecture at UC Berkeley and ghost-writing a book for the Grateful Dead...), I started work on my book Road Trip USA, a thick and tasty (and fully illustrated!) guide to the best drives in America.

Since then, over 20 years and what are now six (SIX!) ever-improving editions of the book, I've traveled close to half-a-million miles in search of the perfect stretch of two-lane blacktop. Though I drive way more than is healthy, for me or for the planet, I get out of the car as much as possible to check out the best french fries, rodeos, historic trails, and slices of cherry pie that I can find.

So please join me. Check out Road Trip USA, and hit the road!

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars One word: Awesome April 26, 2010

By Christopher M. Fulton

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

This is one of the best books I've ever read. It is, in my opinion, a Goldilocks book. Not too much info, not too little. It gives you the route for 11 road trips across North America/the U.S. I didn't know it while I was doing it, but I've done 30%-45% of the Great River Road tour. I've hit a bit of a few of the other ones as well. If you just want to get out and go, and aren't sure where to go, this is worth picking up. If you just want to try something different, pick this up. It gives you an idea of what to see along the way, and even where to stay. It doesn't give you everything, otherwise it would weigh a hundred pounds. It does, however, give you a bit above the basics. I've been to some of the cities on several of the routes, and I knew about those cities, but this showed me a few things I didn't know. It's just a good read to get off the Interstates and Freeways of America and really see America.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome Book!! June 9, 2009

By Lisa Mccully

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

This book is action packed with info, pictures and old postcard art. I love it. I look at it all the time. It has trivia, facts, history and just everything you'd want to know. I carry this book with me all the time, just in case I get bored somewhere. It has inspired me to stop at places I would not have stopped at before. I have a few trips planned and I have looked things up in this book to coordinate with the driving. I'm so happy I bought this book :)

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars AWESOME book December 10, 2010

By Rachel M. Kozak

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

very pleased with this book. it has roadtrips going north to south and east to west across the united states in it. it has commentary about the cities along the way and some pictures and fun facts. my dream retirement plan is to travel the united states and this book is exactly what i'd need to get me started (because of course you would see more than what was listed along the way). very inspiring book if you're a travel bug or got the wanderlust.