Route 66: The Empires of Amusement [Hardcover]

Thomas Arthur Repp (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1999

Route 66: The Empires of Amusement is, quite simply, the first book ever written to examine in detail the lives of the most overlooked group of people on America's favorite highway: the tourist attraction operators. From Whoopee Coasters to show caves, snake pits to trading posts with piano-playing chickens, Route 66: The Empires of Amusement goes to the families themselves for their stories, and then tells those stories in full. It tells tales of Blue Whales and prairie dog towns. Sweethearts who smooched between buffalo burgers. And how each came to claim their place in the Mother Road's history. Route 66: The Empires of Amusement showcases these stories with over 200 color and vintage photographs--many taken from the personal collections of the old entrepreneurs themselves. Their discovery completes a package guaranteed to take you back to those days when happiness was a rubber tomahawk. And getting there was all the fun.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"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

"Just when folks start to think everything has been said about Route 66 along comes Thomas Repp and his Route 66: The Empires of Amusement. Repp's painstaking research, his obvious passion for the open road, and his attention to detail make Route 66: The Empires of Amusement an important contribution to the Route 66 revival. Bravo, Thomas Repp! Bravo!" -- Michael Wallis, author, Route 66: The Mother Road

"Thomas Repp delivers one of the great missing links in the Mother Road story with punch and pizzazz. In Route 66: The Empires of Amusement, he piles us into the back seat for a bug-eyed trip through the fun house of yesteryear, where we are entertained by an amazing cast of characters and where the ride through each chapter is as unpredictable as the last. Buckle up, because this Tilt-A-Whirl spins full speed until the last page!" -- Jim Ross, Route 66 historian and author, Oklahoma's Mother Road

From the Inside Flap

A man who buries himself alive for profit. . .
A flying saucer sitting in Doc Holliday's backyard. . .
A reptile garden maintained by a church congregation. . .

Route 66 has been called the Mother Road, America's Main Street and the Dust Bowl Highway filled with angst and wrathful grapes.

Now award-winning author Thomas Arthur Repp wields a ringmaster's baton to point out how U.S. Highway 66 was also the Road of Wonders.

Route 66: The Empires of Amusement takes an in-depth look at the old road's carnival roots. It revisits and reconstructs those establishments that sprang up along the highway to serve simple entertainment. It pays an overdue tribute to early curbside impresarios who dared to dream candy-apple dreams.

Repp works closely with owners, operators and grown children of Route 66 tourist attractions. He sets down the histories of these establishments in a style nostalgic and lively. These are stories of reptile houses, show caves and prairie dog towns. They are tales of entrepreneurs who earned quarters with piano-playing chickens and motel proprietors who struck deals with traveling snake men.

Families of roadside entertainers have graciously shared photographs from their personal albums. Their generosity makes possible a book filled with never-before-published peeks at the workings of Route 66 roadside attractions--and the people behind the elbow grease who invited a nation's travelers to play.

So put on your cave suit and pump out the Submarine Room. Break bread with the Talking Crow of Pontiac. And save a Zingo or two for the Supernatural Raccoons.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Mock Turtle Pr; 1 edition (May 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0966914805
• ISBN-13: 978-0966914801
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.7 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,691,466 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "DON'T MISS IT", January 28, 2000

By 

Jerry McClanahan (Corsicana, Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Route 66: The Empires of Amusement (Hardcover)

Thomas Arthur Repp's love for his oft-maligned subject matter (he dislikes the term "tourist trap") shows in the care in which he hunted down the enthralling stories of those wonderful roadside diversions that once enlivened Route 66. Repp takes us behind the flamboyant facades of these mostly "Mom and Pop" operations, to give us a privileged "behind the scenes" peek at the entrepreneurial life along the road.

The attractions presented illustrate the changing face of the highway, as the amusement parks of urbanized eastern U.S. 66 slowly give way to the snake farms of rural Oklahoma and Texas. Along the way, Repp takes us to places as famous as Oklahoma's Buffalo Ranch, as well as to more obscure, but no less fascinating, enterprises such as Amarillo's Prarie Dog Town. Each attraction is brought to life with priceless anecdotes and colorful quotes.

The stories of these attractions and their operators are brightened with wonderful old photos and memorabilia that take one back to the days when a trip down old 66 was as exotic as a jungle safari, and the old road seemed lined with incarcerated rattlesnakes, supernatural raccoons, talking crows and "Live Buffalo."

"Route 66 The Empires of Amusement" thoroughly covers the roadside entertainment scene from Illinois through Texas. I understand that Repp is hard at work researching the myriad delights of western '66. I can't wait!

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Step right up, ladies and gentlemen...!", November 27, 1999

By 

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

This review is from: Route 66: The Empires of Amusement (Hardcover)

"Step right up, ladies and gentlemen,...!" Author Thomas Repp offers up a decidedly different Route 66 book sure to please both novice and veteran road warrior alike. Repp's book is a nostalgic salute to the entrepreneurs whose creativity led to the many quirky roadside attractions and amusements that helped make the Route 66 legend. Repp examines over 30 attractions, some of which survive today, and arranges them in geographic order from east to west in the chapters of the book. Included are such well-known attractions as Meramec Caverns but also many that only the most seasoned highway expert will recognize. Repp researched extensively, including many first-person interviews, and has included an extensive bibliography. There are hundreds of nostalgic photographs included as well as a complete index. The book heavily emphasizes the eastern half of the route because, according to Repp, that's where the people and hence the attractions were.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fascinating dimension to the legendary road, November 27, 1999

By 

David Knudson (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Route 66: The Empires of Amusement (Hardcover)

Anyone who traveled the route in its heyday will remember the miles of signs for numerous roadside enterprises tempting you to stop and buy an oddity or, at least, see one. A talking monkey, jumping beans, a two headed cow and the less miraculous Navaho blankets and genuine arrowheads became mainstays of this 2,400 mile carnival. Rep brings us back in his colorful rememberance of this era of anticipation and excitement. The book is a joy to read and see whether you remember those days or not.