Route 66: The Romance of the West (Hardcover)

by Thomas Arthur Repp (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"Colorful and kinetic. . . full of arresting images. . . a serious study of American pop culture disguised as a coffee table book." -- Los Angeles Times, March 31, 2002

"Crisp and entertaining. . . ("Romance" and "Empires") are the best volumes on the list of the growing Route 66 bibliography." -- Dallas Morning News, July 28, 2002

"Gorgeous full-color photography--a fascinating slice of American history--an exciting treasure trove of nostalgic memory and cultural legacy." -- Midwest Book Review, March 2002

"The detail and archival photos makes "Route 66: The Romance of the West" stand out in the crowd." -- The Albuquerque Journal, May 26, 2002

Product Description
Once the West was wild. And so was an automobile ride from the eastern edge of New Mexico through the great Mojave Desert.

From the time the world discovered the Grand Canyon was a wonder, the roadtrip was a craze waiting to be born. As wagon trails and railroad ties gave way to Route 66, a nation learned to tempt the West in newborn motorcars.

What they found was drastically different from the West one finds today. Bootleggers prowled the Painted Desert. Petrified Forest fought a war with a formidable mountain lion queen. A self-proclaimed prophet preached out of the Cave of the Seven Devils (polite folks never ask about him about his murder trial). Walt Disney's heir apparent drew cartoons of Meteor Crater, while a retired prospector penned poems of the Old Frontier. And who was the roadside's most popular personality? Probably a Bluewater, New Mexico, Indian trader crippled by polio: He took Navajo pals gambling in Las Vegas.

These stories--and others like them--comprise Route 66: The Romance of the West. And no one could have set them down like Thomas Arthur Repp. No one but Mr. Repp has spent years working with the families who bravely settled the early western roadside, ferreting out their forgotten histories, compiling hundreds of their interviews, homesteading papers, newspaper articles and photographs, and making their words gallup over every page.

So rev up your 1926 Hupmobile, or better yet, saddle a horse. This trip, you're going where the skies are not cloudy all day: onto the frontier of yesteryear, "Route 66: The Romance of the West."

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 214 pages
• Publisher: Mock Turtle Press (February 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0966914813
• ISBN-13: 978-0966914818
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #656,412 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dad, Can we Please Stop Here??, April 7, 2002

By	Steven Rider (Albany, NY USA) - See all my reviews

Here's the story behind those magical roadside attractions children of all ages longed to stop at during your family travels on old Route 66. They're all here...trading posts, snake pits, the strange and the unusual places designed to lure travelers off the road. Thomas Repp spent years researching and interviewing surviving business owners and their survivors to provide intimate and fresh details about these gems from the past. A must-have for any serious Route 66 enthusiast or to anyone who enjoys reading about the old roadside businesses that made traveling what it was during the post-war period. This book is a complement to Thomas's first book, Empires of Amusement, which covered the eastern part of Route 66 in much the same way.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An exciting treasure trove of nostalgic memory, March 17, 2002

By	Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

Filled with gorgeous full-color photography, Route 66: The Romance Of The West is a fascinating slice of American history and a "yesteryear" way of life. Filled with anecdotes garnered along the length of what is perhaps the most famous highway in America, Route 66: The Romance of the West presents such unique locales as the Wigwam Motel, Dinosaur Caverns, Lyon Pony Express Museum and much, much more. A treat for armchair travelers, Route 66: The Romance Of The West is an exciting treasure trove of nostalgic memory and cultural legacy. Also very highly recommended is author Thomas Arthur Repp's previous book, Route 66: The Empires Of Amusement.

5.0 out of 5 stars Route 66 Book Review, August 16, 2008

By	Richard L. Spaziani - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The sections of Route 66 pertaining to the Miller Family is essentially a 'family history' in that my wife, ne Miller, is a direct descendent of the Miller Family noted in the book. She assisted the author with a few photos as well as snippets of the Miller Family history.

Tom Repp thoroughly and accurately researched into the lives of individuals and events portrayed in Route 66, especially those relating to the Miller Family. All coincides with known family histories of individuals and locations in Northern Arizona. Through his research, he confirmed information previously known only by rumor within the Miller Family, as well as additionally filling in many genealogical gaps and relationships.

Prior to Tom Repp writing his book, my wife, other members of the Miller Family and I, have made several road trips to a number of locations noted in Route 66. We've met, and talked with family descendents as well as to those who personally knew the Miller Family, including Chief 'Yellow Knife' at the "Cave of the Seven Devils" just the year prior to his death.

Route 66 is a well documented, vividly accurate glimpse into the colorful lives and events of individuals that helped make Route 66 famous. The author's indepth research and 'artist brush' presentation of its equally colorful history, breathes life once again into what in most part is now a somewhat lonely strip of concrete, sand and sagebrush. He accurately portrays the lives and events in that colorful history of the west, which will never appear in school books. But describes all in such a way people will remember that history, its names and places.