This is a story about being a man in America. More specifically, it's about me being a man in America. Or trying. With those opening words by James A. Reeves begins a most unusual memoir. The sprawling "The Road to Somewhere" (412 pages, $25 retail price, softcover, W.W. Norton) is part autobiography, part travelogue, part … Continue reading Book review: “The Road to Somewhere”
Category: Books
Wagon Wheel Motel gives more details on anniversary gala
Connie Echols, owner of the historic Wagon Wheel Motel on Route 66 in Cuba, Mo., has provided more details on its 75th anniversary celebration set for Aug. 20-21. From the news release: Now Echols is ready to celebrate the history of the Wagon Wheel with an Open House and Celebration with a 1930s Bonnie and … Continue reading Wagon Wheel Motel gives more details on anniversary gala
Using video to sell books
This sounds counterintuitive, but publishers and authors are using videos and other multimedia to help promote the written word. That includes Ron Chavez, former owner of the famed but long-closed Club Cafe on Route 66 in Santa Rosa, N.M. He posted a video on YouTube today to promote his 2008 collection of short stories and … Continue reading Using video to sell books
A video review of “The Art of Cars”
The book, "The Art of Cars," was published about the same time the first Disney-Pixar "Cars" movie was released in 2006. This is a new review of the book, and the video format shows the book's illustrations and exceptional design as well as anything I've seen. https://youtu.be/Sjwnb6bRm9I The fellow who reviews this book runs a … Continue reading A video review of “The Art of Cars”
Book review: “Route 66 Adventure Handbook”
You can't accuse Drew Knowles of resting on his laurels with the fourth, "turbocharged" edition of his "Route 66 Adventure Handbook" (456 pages, $19.95, softcover, Santa Monica Press, e-book available). In fact, so many good changes have been made since Knowles published his first volume in 2002, you could argue that the book has become … Continue reading Book review: “Route 66 Adventure Handbook”
Writer plans book about ghost stories on Route 66
Richard Southall plans to write a book about ghosts and paranormal activity along Route 66, and is searching for additional such stories in Arizona, reported the Kingman Daily Miner. Southall has written another book, "How to Be a Ghost Hunter," with Llewellyn Publications. He wants his Route 66 ghost stories book in stores by 2013. … Continue reading Writer plans book about ghost stories on Route 66
A new wrinkle on Wrink’s Market
For an all-too-brief period, Terry Wrinkle resurrected Wrink's Market, the longtime Route 66 business in Lebanon, Mo., owned and operated by his late father Glenn Wrinkle. When Terry shut down the business in 2009, the future of the building looked cloudy. However, in recent weeks, the old Wrink's Market has found new life with D.C. … Continue reading A new wrinkle on Wrink’s Market
Book review: “The Big Roads”
Many Route 66 fans loathe to give much thought to interstate highways. However, to understand the history of the Mother Road, one must also understand the history of the superslabs. That's where Earl Swift's new book, "The Big Roads" (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 376 pages, $27, e-book available), comes in. Subtitled "The Untold Story of the Engineers, … Continue reading Book review: “The Big Roads”
Book review: “Get Your Pics on Route 66”
Joe Sonderman has written at least four books through Arcadia Publishing using his massive collection of vintage postcards from Route 66. Alas, those books come in black-and-white, preventing readers from seeing the postcards' vivid colors. That problem has been rectified with a beautiful new book, "Get Your Pics on Route 66" (160 pages, softcover, full … Continue reading Book review: “Get Your Pics on Route 66”
Book review: “Route 66 American Icon”
Here's a sign a photography book is really good: When I first opened it, I gasped. And when my wife saw the images in it, she gasped as well. Photographer Shannon Richardson's new book, "Route 66 American Icon" (160 pages, hardback, self-published, $66), will elicit that sort of reaction. It proves to be a testament to the … Continue reading Book review: “Route 66 American Icon”