Road
Trip USA: Cross-Country Adventures on America's Two-Lane Highways ,
by Jamie Jensen
One
of the definitive road guides we've kept close at hand ever
since it was first published, Road Trip USA has recently
been updated in a fourth edition. Jamie Jensen's excellent book
provides detailed descriptions of eleven classic coast-to-coast
road trips. Itineraries include journeys along the "Mother
Road" (Route 66), "The Loneliest Road" (US-50),
the "Southern Pacific" (US-80) and the famous "Road
to Nowhere" (US-83). The biggest changes in this newest
edition are the hundreds of color photographs and an innovative
cover design with fold-over flaps that work as built-in page
markers. If you liked the prose of the first edition published
in 1996, you will find this new one comfortable and familiar.
The author has updated the stated population statistics and
many of the dining and lodging establishments he recommends.
One of my criticisms of the earlier
editions, the occasional harsh treatment of certain towns
and areas, has all but disappeared from this edition. The
author has traveled nearly 400,000 miles in search of the
"perfect stretch of two-lane blacktop." Along the
way his perceptions about the people he has met and the places
he has explored over these last few years seem to have mellowed
and deepened his appreciation for this land. This book creates
a tapestry of great American roadtrip experiences. It's a
guide book that belongs in every roadtripper's personal library.
Two delightful features of this
book are the extensive use of reproduced U.S. postage stamps
to introduce the different states and the remarkable collection
of business and special attraction logos and banners found
on nearly every page. The "Road Trip Resources"
section provides an excellent list of travel organizations
and an interesting selection of travelogues. Jensen's attention
to detail is excellent, and he provides plenty of inspiration
to discover even more hidden treasures that exist along the
path of every road trip. All the routes feature detailed maps,
anecdotes about remarkable people who lived in the area, and
photographs that whet the appetite for further exploration.
The page layout and design
of this new edition is appealing and increases the fun of
"random paging". My favorite articles include the
description of the Overseas Highway in the Florida Keys and
the hobbit-like dwelling created by the British sculptor Sir
Henry Kitson in Tyringam, Massachusetts. The real genius of
the book continues to be the description of the places found
along the eleven routes that Jensen profiles. US-2, the nation's
longest transcontinental highway, runs from Seattle, Washington,
to Acadia National Park in Maine. RoadTrip USA can
guide you every inch of the way, but it's also a valuable
companion for those who have time only for shorter odysseys,
like one of our favorites, a scenic stretch of the Great River
Road in Louisiana.
Mark
Sedenquist
8/27/06
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