| This reproduction of the original 1946 guide to Route 66 is an invaluable companion for any trip on the Mother Road. Not only does it give you a feel for what the road was like at the dawn of America's love-affair with automobile traffic, but it gives you a feel for the psychology of those pioneers who attempted to drive the Route. While we're now accustomed to well-marked Interstates with easily located on and off ramps, early cross-country routes were less highway and more stitched and patched collections of local roads, filled in with connectors and dotted with small towns. The map was, in essence, the route itself. Following these early routes was not trivial, and drivers had to take caution not to find themselves stranded without food, lodging or fuel. Rittenhouse's guide was the first comprehensive effort to assuage fears of long-distance car travel, and provide a mile-by-mile guide to services and sights along Route 66. While most of the sites (and most of the services) he documents are long-gone, the sense of wonder that is Route 66, and the thrill of coasting into the cities through which it threads, remains fully intact. No one should drive Route 66 without a copy of this in the glove box. Doing so would rob your of a good deal of the road's history. Note to West Coasters: though the book is arranged from Chicago to LA, it can just as easily be read backwards for the Eastbound trip. |
| This book reads like a good fireside friend, or an uncle, or even Tom Snyder in his famous Roadside Companion. It's a wonderful spin back in time to the period just before "Getting your kicks" became the American pastime, and provides a postcard view of the towns, cities and countryside that was America not so long ago. As an 8-time veteran of Route 66 roadtrips (and all within the last 5 years), I have to admit I'm chomping at the bit to get back out on the road and try to find traces of some of the landmark places and hamlets Rittenhouse has recorded in this highly usable travel guide. Kudos to the U of New Mexico Press for reissuing this book as a facsimile of the original (no updates save for a warm intro to the new edition by the author himself!), and doing so at a very accessible price point. A must have for any 66 roadie's collection. |
