Route 66: Traveler's Guide and Roadside Companion

by Tom Snyder, Bobby Troup (Introduction)

Fully revised and expanded

New stories-more details

-Nearly 30 feet of strip maps
-350 towns and attractions
-More highway memorabilia
-Mini-tours-rentals-discounts
-Chicago-L.A. mileage table

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction, Reference, History

224 pages, Paperback

First published June 7, 2011

Reviews

[carl theaker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tucumcari here we come !

As the author notes in the intro, this book isn’t a picture book for the coffee table, it’s for the car to use as a quick reference when you’re cruising the ‘Mother Road’, Route 66. It’s divided into 2 parts, and each part is divided by state.

The first section is a travel guide, which gives you directions and mentions interesting sites. The maps are basic, but helpful. Again the author says get good maps for the whole route, these are just to get you started. It’s really helpful that he points out the ‘real’ route, which at times varies off what is now usually interstate highway, and at times is merely a gravel road.

The second section is a Roadside Companion, in which he relates quirky stories about the history of the road. The stories, while interesting, all seem to have something negative to say, as if to remind you that things weren’t always good in “the good ol’ days”.

We plan to be intersecting the ol’ road in a few places this summer, and will be using some of the information provided, can’t wait to get to get on the road.

This handbook is a good starter, I plan to look into other guides to fill out the rest of the story.

Note this is the 4th Edition, so if you pick one up say at a used bookstore, and you want the latest in the maps, try to get the latest edition.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is excellent. It's small enough to fit in my purse and is easy to navigate. I really LOVE the mileage chart in the back that shows Interstate mileage vs Route 66 mileage from one town to another. I expect this to be a great resource when I'm on the road.

I had planned to skip through this book and only read about the states that I plan to travel through but I ended up reading the whole book. You definitely CAN skip around though and just read the info that relates to your planned adventures.

My book was not an ebook as stated. It was a paperback. Having trouble fixing that on Goodreads.

[Catherine Mustread · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good overview, by segments, of Route 66 if you are traveling from east to west and don't care about exact mile markers. For Arizona travelers on Route 66 (in either direction) Route 66 Across Arizona is a much better choice.

[Ken Bickley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is ostensibly a travel guide, but I've always loved maps, atlases, and even geography texts. Weird, I know, but there it is. So I personally found this a book that not only explains the routes one has to follow to approximately trace old US66; it also made (for me) fascinating reading. Tom Snyder founded the US Route 66 Association, and has been instrumental in preserving as many segments of the old road as possible. Besides actual travel advice, it also is filled with interesting stories about the highway and some of its leading characters. I never got to take the tour, but I would do it if I could. I recommend it only to map aficionados like myself.

[Discoverylover · Rating 3 out of 5]

Have to say that I enjoyed the second part of this book more than the first part, although the first section was admittedly much more informative!

Good resource to have for next year :-)

[John Orman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book, detailed description of traveling the Mother Road from Chicago to Santa Monica. Few photos, but many maps.

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Planning trip to AZ and this was helpful.

[Kristen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a handy little guide for planning a Route 66 road trip although this edition is a little dated. It's not nearly as comprehensive as some of the other guides.