Open Road: A Celebration of the American Highway

by Phil Patton

A panoramic celebration of American ingenuity and engineering focuses on the myth of the open road as exemplified in the development of American highways and the roadside culture--franchises, motels, and ticky-tack--it has spawned

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Travel

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1986

About the author

Phil Patton is a contributing editor at Departures, Esquire, and I.D., a contributing writer at Wired and an automotive design writer for The New York Times. Phil was a regular contributor to The New York Times Home and Garden section and, in 1998, originated the "Public Eye" column. He has written many books including: Made in USA: The Secret Histories of the Things That Made America (Grove-Weidenfeld, 1992), which was named a New York Times notable book of the year; Bug: The Strange Mutations of the World's Most Famous Automobile (Simon & Schuster, 2002); Michael Graves Designs: The Art of the Everyday Object (Melcher, 2004); and Dreamland: Travels Inside the Secret World of Roswell and Area 51 (Villard, 1998). He has also written for Art in America, ARTnews, Connoisseur, Geo, Harper's Bazaar, Men's Journal, The New Republic, New York Magazine, The New York Times Book Review, Rolling Stone, Smithsonian, Travel + Leisure, Traveler, The Village Voice and Vogue. Phil was the Editorial Consultant on the Guggenheim Museum's "Motorcycle" show in 1998 and Consulting Curator for the "Different Roads" exhibition at MoMA in 1999. In 2000 he was consultant and contributor for "On the Job: Design and the American Office" at the National Building Museum in Washington.

Reviews

[Kate McKinney · Rating 3 out of 5]

Exploration of the origin & history of America's highway-system. I approached this book from the standpoint of a road-trip enthusiast; but for that purpose it didn't meet my needs. The concept is great & some fascinating points are occasionally made; but the author's writing-style is often a hindrance. Initially he buries information under the rubble of overly philosophical, poetic, run-on sentences in the early chapters. Later he turns to an emphasis on politics, national defense & business, as the primary paradigms thru which to view highway development. The subtitle of this book is named "A Celebration of the American Highway," but there's not much celebrating going on. Instead, it seems to offer a cynical expose of self-serving practices by the railroad companies (predecessors of the highways), various other organizations, businesses & government. There is also a tendency towards introducing information as would be done for a history class: w/emphasis on dry, obscure dates & names. I don't need to know every small-town bigshot who put his stamp of approval on a public works project. This reduces what could be an entertaining, enthralling foray, into a quite boring trudge. Much of this is simply tedious minutiae, which I ended up skimming thru. There are chapters which critique roadways thru the lenses of film & literature. His final chapter, "Ends of the Road" is thought-provoking in addressing infrastructure deterioration issues. So much of this book is cerebral; almost intellectual. The author often resorts to haughty vocabulary which would likely be unfamiliar to many readers (ontogeny/phylogeny, apotheosis, phenominologically, etc.. ). I would've enjoyed a more adventuresome, accessible, travel-oriented book, to take the reader on a tour of the major, notable roadway systems in various regions of the country, w/their highlights & landmarks, along w/an entertaining anecdotal history & more of a cultural outlook (instead of delving into matters like the details of franchise establishment in strip-malls). For me, the book was disappointing & I was glad to finish.

[Ian Durham · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this book when I was kid, probably around the time it came out over thirty years ago. Though a bit dated, it holds up pretty well. I loved William Least Heat Moon's Blue Highways, but that was mostly a book about the people he met while on the road. Kerouac was mesmerizing but the focus was on the experience. Patton sees the road almost like an architectural critic might. Indeed, he frequently invokes famous architects in discussing the things one finds along the road and even how the road itself reflects general architectural and aesthetic trends. I did find that he repeated himself a few times and there were one of two places when I found his prose a little overdone. But overall it was a good read.

[Marc · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good and scholarly. Patton covers the history of roads for motor cars in all its details. The kitch and hostelry and all. For any serious student of the road which will soon become remodelled again for the new century.

[Tim Basuino · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very enjoyable look at the reasons why American roads are the way they are.... while I've read several books of this genre before, the idea that the American psyche demands the 'freedom' to roam about as much as possible due to our perception of space was new to me. And that actually kind of makes sense.

[Sarah Sammis · Rating 4 out of 5]

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