Road Trip USA [Paperback]

Jamie Jensen (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Whether we're beret-bearing beatniks or Lexus-driving cosmopolitans, road trips still beckon. Gas up the tank, load up the trunk--it's hard to resist. But who has time to waste on wrong turns, getting lost, and bad choices? When it comes to finding fun, time is of the essence, so Jamie Jensen's guide takes the pain out of the road trip, be it across the continent or a Sunday jaunt. With directions to pit stops, scenic routes, bizarre museums, and the best apple pie stands, all you have to do is drive. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Jensen, the author of two books in the "Rough Guides" travel series (Penguin), knows that to really see the United States the traveler must exit the interstate highways and enter the two-lane byways. Covering 11 cross-country, noninterstate roads that traverse the nation north to south or east to west, Jensen documents the local color of American popular culture?the out-of-the-way monument, throwback diner, area radio station, or local brewery. He provides historical lore and amusing trivia about points along the way, as well as practical advice on where to stay, where to find tourist offices, and how to find updates on local road conditions. An appendix includes "Survival Guides," which offers travel information on two dozen major cities, and an annotated reading list. Jensen's guide is essential for travelers who are more interested in finding the real America than the fastest way from points A to B. Highly recommended.?Pamela W. Bellows, Northwestern Connecticut Community Technical Coll. Lib., Winstead
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 923 pages
• Publisher: Avalon Travel Publishing; 2nd edition (May 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1566911494
• ISBN-13: 978-1566911498
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.4 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (64 customer reviews)
• Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #450,441 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

320 of 324 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Only Book You'll Need, July 6, 2000

By	R. M. Calitri (California,USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Road Trip USA (Paperback)

Just last week I returned from taking several of Jamie Jensen's road trips in the USA, and I can attest to the high quality of his book. We set out with Lonely Planet's USA guidebook which greatly failed us. Typical of Lonely Planet's laziness (their television series greatly outranks their travel books),their USA book was wrought with so many errors and outdated information that we quickly reverted to Road Trip USA thereby enhancing the remainder of our 8,200 mile trip around the USA and making it a truly educational, one month drive. We really saw the USA from beautiful back roads and will never regret it. Instead we owe a huge debt of graditute to the author and his editors.

I've used almost every travel book available when traveling, so I have absolutely no doubt that this is the best book available if you are considering taking a drive in the USA. We drove 3 of the major trips in this book--including Route 66, The Oregon Trail, and The Great River Road--and if we had depended on other books, the truth is, we would have missed almost every great site Jensen points out. He and his editors have accomplished more than I'd have ever hoped from a mere travel guide. If you use this book for even part of one road trip, you will see the real USA.

The book provides indepth coverage of eleven road trips in a lively, knowledgeable, and educated format highlighted with many great photographs and asides in the margins of corresponding trip narratives. All routes are readable from either direction one chooses to drive them as we found driving the Great River Road from south to north instead as outlined in the book--from north to south--and we had no problems whatsoever because Jensen has thought of every angle for us.

Road Trip USA is jam packed with hints, "secrets," history, gossip, lore, and myths, in addition to advice on great places to take photographs of unique sights, best spots to find perfect pie, local radio stations to tune in for local flavor, and out-of-the-way lodging and camping information that other books will not even mention. If you prefer the superhighway, this is not the book for you. If you want to see the America you hope is out there, this book will help you find it. I give it my highest recommendation. As far as I can tell, he didn't miss a thing! And I can now say without reservation, this is a beautiful country. END

136 of 136 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hit the Road and Live it Up, March 28, 2001

By	Justin J. Kelley "Justin" (Boylston, MA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Road Trip USA (Paperback)

This is an excellent, excellent book for anyone who wants to take a road trip as a vacation and see the country like you've never seen it before. I used this book to see so many funky pieces of Americana: everything from a miniature Stonehenge in Missouri to the world's largest ketchup bottle in Illinois. I traveled Rte. 66 and stayed at a great little motel in Missouri (Munger Moss) recommended by this book. That motel is a must for any Rte. 66 fans: its gift shop is filled with Rte. 66 memorabilia. And it's cheap!! $25 a night with clean rooms. The whole idea of this book is to get people to see that America isn't all the same, though it seems that way when you stay on the highways. It's filled with great road trips to take wherever you are in the country, north or south, east or west. It's really an amazing country we live in and you'll find out that you can have a great vacation traveling endless roads that provide new discoveries.

You'll get a whole new perspective on areas you may have visited. And the author offers suggestions on places to go to get a local flavor. So instead of eating at a McDonald's or Denny's for breakfast, you can try a diner in Memphis that Elvis used to frequent.

A couple of my Chicago-based colleagues were very impressed when I told them I ate at Berghoff's and Lou Mitchell's in downtown Chicago. They said nobody from out-of-town would have gone there.

It's like having a knowledgeable traveling companion with you wherever you go. I enjoyed every town and city I visited on a two-week trip thanks to this book.

I've looked at other travel guides and they don't compare to this book. High praise to Jamie Jensen for creating such an informative book, packed full of useful nuggets. This book was never far from my fingertips on that trip.

I'm planning a motorcycle road trip in the near future and will definitely have this book along. I only wish I had more time to take more of these road trips.

Enjoy and happy motoring.

56 of 57 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Unique and Wonderful Book, June 24, 2002

By	Sam Butterworth (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Road Trip USA: Cross-Country Adventures on America's Two-Lane Highways (Paperback)

When we drove across country last summer, we searched for a book that could lead us on an off-the-beaten-path American adventure. Jamie Jensen's Road Trip USA gave us more than we could have hoped for. Road Trip USA is filled with credible and detailed information regarding sites, hotels and restaurants. The book provides vivid history and current information, so you can get a real sense of the places you go. We ate crabs with the local beachhounds on the Outer Banks, had BBQ with the 9-to-5'ers in Montgomery, ate pizza with LSU fans in Baton Rouge, and drank the best beer we'd ever tasted in a tiny town off the California coast. The detailed, quirky tidbits the book includes are invaluable. What other book tells you about the B'Hai radio station that you can listen to as you drive through Myrtle Beach, SC? If you want to see the USA- not just check out the tourist sites, but see where and how other folks in the USA really live - this is the book for you.