Route 66 Remembered (Motorbooks Classic) (Paperback)

by Michael Karl Witzel (Author) "Throughout the Roaring Twenties and straight on up to the 1960s, the roadsides along Route 66 jumped with an eclectic mix of attractions..." (more)
Key Phrases: municipal camps, car customers, oil refiners, New Mexico, Los Angeles, Courtesy Chuck Sturm (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Route 66 was, from the 1920s to the 1970s, the principal highway from Chicago to Los Angeles, until it was displaced by interstate highways. As this splendid contribution to American popular history shows, it played a significant role in our national development. Witzel (The American Gas Station) profiles many kinds of travelers, from carefree vacationers to weary Okies headed for what they hoped was a better life. He covers four principal subjects: attractions along the road (from phony totem poles to snake pits), filling stations, roadside eateries and motor hotels. While his text is very good, it is carried by 200 photos, more than half in color, which pay tribute to the twin gods Schlock and Kitsch. Readers will also pick up much Americana along the way, including the origins of corn dogs, carhops, chicken in the rough and house trailers. A minor defect is the absence of a capsule history of the highway, telling exactly when it began and ended, and, above all, a map. Even so, Witzel has produced a gem of nostalgia.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review
Author Michael Karl Witzel is a very enthusiastic historian of America's car culture and roadside phenomena, and it shows. His writing style is easy and thoroughly enjoyable to read, and the book's layout and design are first-rate and very creative. The book closes with a chapter titled "Mother Road Memories": life on the road. Here you'll read personal stories of the Route 66 experience from others, and see their family photographs. Simply fascinating. -- Vette Magazine, October 1996 --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: MBI; illustrated edition edition (April 28, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0760314985
• ISBN-13: 978-0760314982
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 9.8 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #494,506 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Driving the Old Mother Road, July 12, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Route 66 Remembered (Hardcover)

I got this book before going on a trip down 66, along with a few others. I loved it. I had a lot of the people I met along the way sign the book and once in a while, got some of the owners of restaurants, gas stations, roadside attractions, and diners featured in the book to sign it. What a wonderful scrapbook to have of one of the last great American road trips!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I got my kicks with Route 66 Remembered, June 29, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Route 66 Remembered (Hardcover)

This book isn't a travel guide or a map-style publication, but a really cool scrapbook of the Mother Road. Witzel's sidebars on interesting segments of road culture are fascinating. The photography is great, too. Unlike a lot of the other 66 books, this one is divided up into chapters on gas stations, motels, restaurants, and other roadside attractions. The final chapter, "Mother Road Memories," recounts the true tales of people who actually took the trip down 66 and really takes you back to the way it used to be when traveling across country. Of all the roadside books I have in my library, I would highly recommend this treasure. It's one of Witzel's best ......

5.0 out of 5 stars The book is a trip down Route 66!, March 11, 2007

By	Manitou4 "manitou4" (Parker, CO USA) - See all my reviews

This is a great book, and not just a rehash of other Route 66 material that's already out there.