Images of 66 (new book)

[DennyG]

People in the Route66 group over at that place we just left (yeah, Yahoo) have been praising a new book on the route. I just got my copy and had to echo all the good things that guys like Bob Moore, Rich Henry, & Jim Conkle were saying. What follows is the same note I posted there as a reply to one of their messages.

 

Let me get in the line of folks praising David Wickline's "Images of 66". My copy arrived yesterday and it's a real page turner. About 90% (unsupported SWAG) of the book's surface area is covered with photographs but it's not an artsy coffee table book. It has plenty of descriptive text, quite a few directions, and a fair amount on contact information but it's not a guide book. Wickline calls it "An Interactive Photographic Journey". Good enough for me.

 

Each page contains a half dozen or so photographs with descriptions. Some of the photos could be works of art in a large format coffee table setting but in "Images of 66" they're more works of documentation. The whole route is covered and that's a lot of motels, diners, and just plain cool spots. Most appear in just a picture or two but some get a little more attention. These include La Bajada with six pages and a page (plus a pic) on El Vado. The La Bajada pictures let me get a much better feel for a place currently (and maybe forever) outside of my experience.

 

The Lay-Flat binding is a nice touch and indicates that the book is made to be used. Sure you can read it (The four page introduction doesn't just introduce the book, it's one of the better intros I've seen to the road itself.) and it is a great view-port for armchair touring, but it is intended to ride along with you to help find, identify, and appreciate all sorts of things along Historic Route 66. That means that a page might get folded or even torn now and then and there will probably be coffee or worse spilled on some of those great photos. I'm pretty sure David won't mind.

 

I know you can get the book at Henry's Rabbit Ranch and probably several other places along the road or it can be ordered from the author's website:

RoadHouse66