Route 66: Lives on the Road [Hardcover]

Jon Robinson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 15, 2001

From the rise of the automobile in the United States until the 1960s, Route 66 was the byway of choice for cross-country travel. Connecting Chicago and Los Angeles, the "Mother Road" was not only filled with vacationers and travelers, it was also lined with businesses that offered these pioneering motorists a variety of services. This nostalgic, illustrated guide presents the stories of people who lived along Route 66, traveled it, and made their living there over the course of five decades. Along with stories of Route 66 travels, the book examines the entire range of Route 66 vocations: gas, food, and lodging; museums; souvenir shops; law enforcement; wrecker operators; and more. Fans of this American icon will enjoy the tales of the folks who made the road a legend, as well as the hundreds of period and modern color photographs which illustrate their stories.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 128 pages
• Publisher: MBI (May 15, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0760307660
• ISBN-13: 978-0760307663
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 9.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,604,608 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars The People of the Mother Road, June 29, 2001

By 

Robert Harmon (Illinois) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Route 66: Lives on the Road (Hardcover)

Robinson describes people who live or work on Route 66 and people who are 66 enthusiasts in one way or another. His book answers a question being asked in this 75th anniversary year of the Mother Road: What's so special about Route 66?

The author allows people to answer for themselves and from their own experience as truck drivers, state troopers, gas station attendants, artists, photographers, motel and restaurant owners, writers, gift shop operators, and even collectors of memorabilia. There is an excellent chapter on Route 66 museums, attesting to the appreciation of local communities of their 66 heritage. The photography is excellent.

The book takes a very different approach in presenting Route 66; it is about the old highway but through the perspective of people who can still be found along the way and who express well what Route 66 was and still is. The author writes well, but it is clear that through the many interviews conducted for his book he also listens well. A great variety of Route 66 lives are presented, and Robinson's "people book" is a valuable addition to the growing body of literature on the Mother Road.

5.0 out of 5 stars The most people-oriented history of Route 66 I've read, June 13, 2001

By 

B. Bowling (NC, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Route 66: Lives on the Road (Hardcover)

In this book, the author manages to bring a fresh light to a subject many lovers of Americana and automobilia feel they already know by heart.

Besides being a naturally talented writer (this is his first book) and photographer, Robinson shows he has a great gift for getting to the core of his subject matter and sharing it with the rest of us. Rather than filling his pages with dry recounts of Route 66's various alignments and long lessons on '30s-era cartography, he gives us stories that in many cases leave you wanting more, such as the itinerant farmer who had to take a job at a diner in New Mexico -- and wound up owning the business for the rest of his life.

Every tale in the book comes from extensive interviews Robinson conducted while traveling the remaining sections of the highway.

The book's primary theme woven through the various first-hand recounts is the collectibility of Route 66 -- and not just the ubiquitous highway sign that's come to symbolize the Mother Road for so many people around the world. The highlighted collections run the gamut from pieces of the "hard road" itself to one man's lifelong obsession with Route 66-related postcards; from bundles of barbed wire to a yard full of neon signage.

Because I love traveling through the Midwest and West, anything written about Route 66 gets my attention. "Route 66: Lives on the Road," however, should even appeal to readers whose interests aren't so specifically focused on that famous highway.