Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Best guide yet for Rt. 66!, November 22, 2005
I've spent two months out of the past three years traveling Rt. 66 for an upcoming photography book. I wish I had had this guide on all of my trips. It is the most user-friendly guide available, down to the rather compact size and choice of spiral binding, so it always lies flat and stays on the page you need while in the car.
The author is incredibly knowledgable about the history of 66, and the maps in this book are as extensive as just about any traveler would need, but perfectly clear and easy to follow. Alternate alignments are clearly marked.
I have used the book for Missouri, Kansas, and for parts of California, and only wish I had the book for earlier trips. Using other 66 guidebooks got me hopelessly lost, this book kept me right on course.
I reserve one star because the text and the maps don't always align perfectly (requiring some flipping back and forth) and some of the pages in my copy seem to be bound out of sequence. But don't let that stop you from buying this inexpensive, invaluable guide to 66!
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31 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
EZ? Not So Much., June 27, 2007
This guide has a lot to recommend it, and McClanahan deserves our thanks for chronicling easy-to-overlook delights along the path of the Mother Road, but let's not confuse "EZ" with "Small." The same information displayed on pages large enough to permit juxtaposing it with the strip maps would be much more user friendly. It's very EZ to lose your point of reference on any given page, which requires forward and backward thumbing through the text to retrieve the corresponding map, and the celebrated spiral binding actually contributes to this.
It's interesting to note that several of the reviewers rated it five stars without actually having used it, which speaks more to the cuteness of its appearance than its practicality. McClanahan's syntax and terms of art also can be fairly frustrating. The route instruction "Stay Ahead" not only lacks any intuitive meaning, it's also misleading because whereas "staying ahead" implies going straight ahead, it doesn't rule out the need to watch carefully for required turns. In the intro, he says "Stay Ahead" means "do not turn off the road you are traveling," but is that the street name, the route number or the pavement? Rally nomenclature is much more instructive, e.g. "Turn onto Jones Road and follow," where "follow" is the operative term meaning "stay on the road marked Jones Road until instructed to leave it." Based on last week's real-world experiences using the guide from Oklahoma through Arizona, I would strongly recommend studying each section thorougly before entering it, and using color-coded highlighters, Post-Its or other such devices to facilitate quick cross referencing.
I wish I could gush over this work as other reviewers have because I truly appreciate the work McClanahan has done to improve awareness and appreciation of this once-lost natural treasure. Good info? Absolutely. EZ? Not so much.
The following was added to my review after a second experience with the book:
My wife, who is a seasoned navigator, had a heck of a time using the EZ Guide last week. We enjoy taking motor trips together, do so frequently, and have excellent navigator-driver communication. I can't recall the last time we lost our bearings when she was using conventional maps or even AAA Triptiks. Instructions for navigating Amarillo are especially poor. And even having run much of the same route with my son last summer, I wasn't much help.
By way of practical advice, I strongly urge anyone planning to use the EZ Guide to take Mr. McClanahan up on his offer and obtain updates before setting out. We found several motels he mentions in the book out of business. In this regard, the user should take special care to avoid using the Guide to project an evening's final destination -- in our case there was nowhere to stay when we did, and had to press on for a larger city.
Finally, I would also suggest taking McClanahan's caveats about restaurants and motels he mentions in the Guide seriously. Even in the context of the faded and funky world of Old 66, his comments on some of the places he more-or-less recommends are somewhat optimistic. Unfortunately, this may have more to do with the declining health of commerce along the route than a divergence of opinion on what constitutes a good meal or a nice place to crash for the night.
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Don't do Route 66 without it!, October 4, 2006
An invaluable tool for travelling Route 66 from beginning to end, as important as your vehicle. This book will keep you on track, informed, and make things "EZ" for you. I just used this book on a two-week trip (Sept 2006), and couldn't imagine doing it without this guide. (Although Illinois is very well signed and easy to follow on it's own.)
Get this, as well as the "Route 66 Adventure Handbook", and you'll be armed with all you need for a fun and complete trip down The Mother Road. I can't recommend these books strongly enough!
I can't, however, recommend the "Route 66 Lodging/Dining Guide", as it was a real let-down for us. Incomplete in some sections, useless in others. (the recommended "Lincoln Motel" in Chandler OK was a filthy dump!) Just find your lodging & dining as you go along the route, and don't be afraid to try the various offerings along the way. You might be pleasantly surprised! (Ask to see rooms before you check in, though.)
Oh, and be sure to check the EZ66 author's updates before leaving! (He offers up to date info that didn't make it into the book.)
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