The American Drive-In: History and Folklore of the Drive-in Restaurant in American Car Culture

by Michael Karl Witzel

Photographs and text depict the history of the folklore, architecture, and food of drive-in restaurants throughout the country

Genres: History

Hardcover

First published September 1, 1994

Reviews

[David Erkale · Rating 3 out of 5]

"The American Drive-In: History and Folklore of the Drive-in Restaurant in American Car Culture" by Michael Karl Witzel. Well, this is definitely something else. Here we have a book that does its best to explain drive-in restaurants, as well as point out different parts of fast food culture. While I found this visually stimulating, the layout was that of a newspaper: I'd see the "Continued on page X" text, flip ahead, and then go back to read the other bites of information, which messed with the fluidity of my reading. Never mind that this book was published in the nineties, so some of the drive-ins that "continue to exist" have long since disappeared. (Although Doumar's IS still open!)
I'd say come for the pictures but not for the text. While some of it can be interesting, it should've been arranged in a way that's much simpler to comprehend.

[Sara G · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is probably the most American book about American culture that I've ever read. Don't have anything else to say, unfortunately.