It started in the heartland and originally ended in Los Angeles (not, contrary to myth, at the ocean). It carried truckers crossing the country, Okies fleeing the Dust Bowl, vacationers seeking the sun. It was Americas Main Street, the Mother Road, the Will Rogers Highway, and, at its dangerous curves, Bloody 66. Get your kicks on Route 66 with this wonderfully illustrated tribute to the best-loved highway in this car-loving nation. Michael Witzel shares his expertise and wealth of personal, archive, collector, and contributing photographer images in these pages, offering a nostalgic tour of the charms and oddities of this road through American cultural history.

Starting in Chicago and running to Santa Monica, this book highlights the sights along the highway with historic and current photos in then-and-now pairings, and includes Route 66 postcards, road signs, trinkets, maps, brochures, and advertisements.

Here we see Route 66 as it was in its heyday and as it is now, the neon glamour of yesterday versus the ghost towns of today. Witzel and his wife, Gyvel Young-Witzel, recount the highways history, its role in popular culture, and its demise, as well as the individual stories of famous sights. Several profiles of those with close ties to the Mother Road, including the woman who played Ruthie Joad in the The Grapes of Wrath film, are included.

With the dawn of the automobile age, droves of Americans could no longer resist the urge to head west. In 1926, one road started taking them there: Route 66.

 

Starting in Chicago and running to Santa Monica, Legendary Route 66 highlights the sights along America’s Main Street with more than 600 photographs of classic gas stations and motels, road signs, postcards, maps, and memorabilia. This unparalleled look at the Mother Road lets you get your kicks on Route 66 through each decade of its existence—from when auto adventurers first started using this transcontinental route to when Okies made this the Dust Bowl road of flight and 1950s-era vacationers headed west seeking sun. You’ll see Route 66 as it was in its heyday and as it is now, the neon glamour of yesterday versus the ghost towns of today.

 

Route 66 historians Michael Witzel and Gyvel Witzel-Young lead the journey, recounting the highway’s history, its role in popular culture, and its demise. Along the way, they chronicle the rise, fall, and resurgence of many iconic Route 66 roadside stops, as well as profile many people with close ties to the Mother Road. With many never-seen-before photos, this book is a great tribute to the legendary Route 66.

Michael Witzel and Gyvel Young Witzel are some of the best known American car culture historians. Michael is the author of Route 66 Remembered as well as a dozen other pop culture histories, including with co-author Gyvel, Soda Pop! and The Sparkling Story of Coca-Cola.

 

Michael Witzel and Gyvel Young-Witzel reside in Austin, Texas.