Route 66, Lost & Found

Book excerpt: “[The] text and photos make this . . . more than a pretty coffee-table book, Route 66 aficionados will want to add this descriptive tome to their collections.” —Ruidoso News (New Mexico) Much more than a ribbon of crumbling asphalt, Route 66 is a cultural icon revered the world over for its nostalgic value—an east-west artery pointing America toward all the promise that the great West represented. But as stretches of Steinbeck’s “Mother Road” were bypassed and fell into disuse, so too did most of the bustling establishments that had sprouted up from Illinois to California to cater to weary travelers and hopeful vacationers alike. Motor courts, cafes, main streets, filling stations, and greasy spoons—all are represented in this second volume of Lost & Found images from photographer Russell Olsen. As with its predecessor, Route 66 Lost & Found (2004), this new installment presents dozens of locations along Route 66’s entire 2,297 miles, showing them both as in their heydays in period photographs and postcards and as they appear today. Each site is accompanied by a capsule history tracing the locale’s rise and fall (and sometimes rebirth), as well as an exclusive map pointing out its location along Route 66. “Author Russell Olson has unearthed old photos and postcards of various buildings, landmarks and towns which he carefully researches and then rediscovers and takes pictures of them as they are today.” —Auto Aficionado “I could barely put this down.” —Daily Express (UK) “A good read for fans of roadside architecture.” —Classic and Sports Car (UK)