Roadside Americana (Enthusiast Color) Review

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(More customer reviews)There is a disguise to this volume, a new title for a compendium of three books originally published by Motorbooks International (MBI), under its corporate pseudonym, Crestline. While each of the trio is worthy in its own right: Michael Karl Witzel's ""Gas Station Memories" (1994) and "Drive-In Deluxe" (1997); plus Tim Steil's rendering of "Route 66" (2000) -- pictures by Jim Luning now appear uncredited --- there is no advance notice offered by amazon.com that this is NOT new material. That is the caveat for those who might already own any of all of the original publications and are fooled by the revamped moniker. However (and this is why I offer 5-stars), the encompassment is a great value as an introduction toward the heritage of The Great American Roaside for newcomers to the genre. The sub-title, 'Gas-Food-Lodging' is meritous for its depictions of the first two topics, but leaves much to be desired on the latter: the only motels featured are along Old Route 66 in Mr. Steil's reprint, and even there, they are few and far bewteen (such is reality). Since I purchased this single-bound set sight-unseen, and already owned each of the indvidual photo/texts, I intend to award my copy of this book to a friend as a Christmas present.

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While countless books have covered individual Americana, roadside culture, and car-related subjects, none have attempted to encapsulate the lure of roadside America in one neatly packaged volume. But what is Americana, if not an expanse of fond memories and compelling kitsch as vast as the nation itself.This smorgasbord offers discriminating readers a tasty assortment of A-Z articles and accompanying photographs and images that touch upon all the old chestnuts (Route 66, drive-in restaurants, filling stations, et al) as well as some edgier topics to appeal to younger generations interested in the seedier and/or more whimsical sides of roadside America (how about Earl Scheib, the Chicago entrepreneur who promised America that he could paint and car for $99; a brief history of 1950s juvenile delinquent hot rod films; or a look back at the brief but brilliant film and TV series "Then Came Bronson"?). As with any encyclopedia, each entry varies in length, depending upon the relative importance of the subject. All of the standards are there, and if some of the 250 entries seem arbitrary, its because they are. This book is a compilation of Witzel's Gas Station Memories (ISBN 0879389257) and Drive-In Deluxe (ISBN 0760302111) and Steil's Route 66 (ISBN 0760307474).

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