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Route 66 Adventure Handbook: Updated and Expanded Third Edition (Route 66 Series)x$10.45
  (23 reviews)
Best Price: $16.95 $10.45
A guide to all the exuberance, splendor, and absurdity of Route 66, this reference includes details on the magnificent architecture, natural wonders, vintage motels and cafes, unique museums, offbeat attractions, fascinating artifacts and icons, and kitschy tourist traps that dot this famous stretch of road. Painstakingly researched, this resource provides information on how to locate unmarked portions of the old highway; contact information for Route 66 associations and local visitor bureaus; maps and other navigational aids; an index of all Route 66 towns; and anecdotes, trivia, attractions, and suggested side trips. From well-known hotspots to obscure, off-the-beaten-path destinations, this inspiring guide presents a wealth of information for both first-time adventurers and seasoned travelers. Also included is a foreword by David Knudson, Executive Director of the National Historic Route 66 Federation.
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Customer Reviews
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A Great Guide to 66
By A2BQMHS3339G8A on 2004-09-12
We traveled the Route in 2004. I saw this book a couple times, but didn't buy it until New Mexico (I thought we had plenty of Route 66 guides)...kicked myself for not getting it earlier all the way to LA. Definitely buy this before you go and use it for helping to set up your itinerary. It has all of the essential stops, and you can tell it's written from the heart.
A Super Adventure
By A202W6CY979ZJA on 2002-04-04
Drew's book was gifted to me. I followed the map as I read through and couldn't put the book down. It was loaded with interesting information: history, sights, adventurous side trips, museums, famous and forgotten quaint towns and sites.
The book is, indeed, like a co-pilot in your pocket. It guides the traveller off the beaten track to explore nature, beautiful sights, and mysteries of the past. The colorful photos add interest and lure one to plan ahead, to include Route 66 in ones travels. It sounds like a place for family vacations--not just once, but many times to drink in all the sights.
I commend Drew on an excellent book.
The best Route 66 guide book available
By A7JHAADMVY9UM on 2007-05-02
I used the first edition of this book last year on my Route 66 trip (this edition came out only a week after I had left!). I liked it so much that I bought the new edition and gave the old one to a friend.
Route 66 Adventure Handbook is both comprehensive and easy to use. I had no trouble following along while on the road - not once did I get lost. Drew really knows his stuff and very clearly points out the attractions that you don't want to miss. Also, I highly recommend reading this cover to cover before you even get in the car. It really helped me decide ahead of time what I wanted to see in the time I had. I'll most definitely use it again on my next trip!
Simply the Best
By AC3F6WQM76ZN8 on 2004-03-31
As a veteran traveler of backroads America, I own dozens of books and videos on Route 66, but if I could keep only one, this would have to be it. No other guide comes anywhere close to the wealth of fascinating information available here. Just open the Adventure Handbook to ANY PAGE and you'll want to jump into your car and go exploring RIGHT NOW!With this guide you won't miss ANYthing -- history, people, museums, roadside attractions, holes in the ground, you-name-it. In fact, if you'll excuse me -- I think I need to go Route 66-ing right now -- see you on the Road!
Drew ROCKS!
By A1EB7A9J80OU76 on 2003-12-12
This book is absolutely the best resource for anyone looking to explore the Mother Road! I found it at the Midway Cafe in Texas (the halfway point) and it was EXACTLY what I was looking for. Filled with interesting artifacts, side trips, factoids and fun stops, this guide to Route 66 is just what any first-timer or veteran traveler of America's lost Americana needs. I just wish that I had found it before setting out to California. But, there's always the next time. Drew helped me to find some very interesting sights along the way and the trip was absolutely the coolest nine days I have ever spent in a car or by myself!
Thanks, Drew!!!
- A Heritage Tourist Traveling the Mother Road
By A5I96IVLHDY5P on 2007-06-18
Route 66 is also known as the Mother Road. In the early 1900's roads were built on the local or regional level. Work was spotty and haphazard. It was not until 1926 that the federal highway system was launched. In order to qualify for federal funding highways had to meet standards for surface quality and so on. Marking of highways became consistant across state lines. At first highways were marked by posting black and white shields along roads that already existed. So even though they were not originally built as a connected route, they became one. The major routes ended in a "zero" and stretched from coast to coast. Route 66 was a lesser route stretching from Chicago to Los Angeles.
So how did Route 66 become the "mother road?" In 1939 when John Steinbeck wrote _The Grapes of Wrath_ and gave it that nickname. The Mother Road got a further boost just after WW II when Bobby Troup wrote a song called "Get Your Kicks on Route 66." About the same time Jack Rittenhouse realized that travel would increase in America and wrote _A Guidebook to Highway 66_. In the 1950's the federal government began construction of what we now know as interstate highways.
Interstates often paralleled highways like Route 66. Unfortunately their limited access was often the death knell for small businesses that had existed alongside the older highways. Traveling Route 66 is a chance to see what was left aside so many years ago. Knowles organizes his book by state: Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California. Knowles writes charming tales of Americana beginning with Chicago.
My only complaint with this book is that Knowles too quickly begins with the Chicago fire of 1871 and progresses into the 1930's gangsters. Oh well. Along the route one just has to see the Cadillac Ranch. At the end of the route, Los Angeles (actually Santa Monica is the end of the route) is the site of the La Brea Tar Pits.
This book is for the "heritage tourist," the person more interested in experiencing the roots of America than its theme parks.
- Full of information!
By A255FZJ25AAOWL on 2006-03-25
I have a lot of Route 66 books. This is definitely one of the better ones.
- A book to dream by
By AQZ82WEZWOY31 on 2006-07-25
Even if I can't do the drive right now, this book is an inspiration towards that SOMEDAY when I get in the car and go.
- Route 66 Trip
By AV5B8FIYS17UC on 2002-03-15
My husband and I have always dreamed of a trip on rt.66 I have Drew Knowles rt. 66 book. When the day comes we can finially go this book will be this book will be a very helpful guide. Can't wait!!
- Opened my Eyes
By AKSMB7SWYBLGH on 2002-03-26
I didn't realize all that I was missing until I read the Route 66 Adventure Handbook. I'm a veteran of many many road trips, but Drew Knowles has to be the master at finding the really cool stuff that makes any trip ten times more interesting. Definitely impressive.
- A great book!
By A2ZMNZY6AEJSUL on 2003-09-24
It was packed with useful information from accomodation to site seeing trips and insiteful information on Route 66 itself.I would recommend this book to anyone planning on taking this trip of a lifetime!
- A must-have for any Route 66 traveller!
By A2OA6RRCVZDHMV on 2006-10-05
This book is fantastic. It's like having Drew sitting next to you on the ride, pointing out sites of interest, giving you bits of history about each and every town you pass along the entire length of Route 66.
If you have a "navigator" with you, have them read each entry as you hit the towns listed... it will make the trip that much more interesting. Better yet, get the 1946 Jack Rittenhouse book (A Guide Book to Highway 66), and read the "then and now" listings to really get a feel for what you're seeing, and what you would have seen then. (Sometimes, the two are the same!)
Team this book with "Route 66: EZ66 Guide for Travelers", and you've got an unbeatable combination for any Route 66 trip, one state or the entire thing.
If you want to have a great Route 66 trip, you only need three books:
Jerry McClanahan - Route 66: EZ66 Guide for Travelers
Drew Knowles - Route 66 Adventure Handbook
Jack Rittenhouse - A Guide Book to Highway 66 (1946)
For those doing Oklahoma, the complete-to-the-last-inch "Oklahoma Route 66" by Jim Ross is also highly recommended. It details stuff that other books just couldn't. It's SO complete, that the OK Highway Dept website uses part of it for their Route 66 section. (All these books are available on Amazon.com)
There you have it. Arm yourself, and get out there and do Route 66! It will be an experience you'll never forget.
- Excellent guide!
By A1J2HQLHYXFIK8 on 2006-12-02
We recently traveled several hundred miles along Route 66 and it was great to have this book as a reference. It lists every little place that ever once existed. We read each entry as we drove east to west through Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. It was easy to follow and fun to spot the things we most likely would have missed without having Drew's information with us - sections of the road that still exist, old signs and buildings as well as those places still thriving and rebuilding. Thanks for a wonderful guide!
- nice book
By AVRXDL6J5OW37 on 2006-11-06
worthwhile and very accurate for the parts of 66 that I live on/near. overall all a fun read.
- i used this on my road trip
By A1AM5T0KBHECE5 on 2007-03-08
got this for a california - georgia road trip and had SO much fun following along and learning of the history of the route and all the cities we passed. the only thing I wish it included was more specifics on directions (although I know he intended it that way). the book doesnt tell you exactly where to exit or find things...so I stopped and asked.
i used this book from cali to oaklahoma...loved it.
- Awesome guide for anyone going out on Rte. 66
By A31DI85NZ24FKF on 2007-08-09
Went on a roadtrip last week and traveled by lots of old Route 66 stops, and we were so happy we picked this book up beforehand. It has everything you need to know about the drive, and pointed us too areas that we would have just zoomed by otherwise. If you're going on any part of Route 66 pick this book up!
- Great tool for traveling the mother road
By A1CBZ86EPDRZFG on 2007-08-21
We took our vacation this summer with the intention of finding and driving as much of route 66 as practical for our intended travels. We did manage to travel almost a thousand miles along the route and this book helped us see and know far more than we could have easily found on our own. This wasn't our first foray onto "the mother road" but it was our most educational - due to having this handbook handy as we approached the various towns and landmarks on the route. There may be others that do as well or better, but this one provided all the information we wanted along the way.
- Great book but...
By A4PBNUUQR1C2D on 2007-09-15
The book was great for pointing out things to see along Route 66. I highly recommend it; however, I really, really wish that it included more directions and approximate mileage to find the items listed in the book. The Giant Ketchup bottle was about 20 miles off the beaten path. The Cherokee Indians Trail of Tears was close by route 66, but there were no directions on how to get there, so it took several hours and wrong turns to find something that was only 5 minutes away. An icon to indicate directly on route 66 or not would have been terrific and saved a lot of eye-strain trying to find things. We did somehow manage to find most of the items listed in this book in conjunction with route 66 specific maps.
- Route 66 Adventure Handbook
By A9WRC0J5WE4SR on 2008-04-07
I have read this book along with reading Route 66: EZ66 Guide for Travelers simultaneously. I find reading them together you get a little more information out of them. We are leaving for our trip in May and will bring both books with us. This book has a wealth of information and very easy to follow. I am very excited to take our trip because of all of the exciting information I have read about. The author has great experience and has driven this route many times. I feel confident we will have a wonderful trip.
- Descent
By A29ZOA72QSHL5F on 2008-05-19
This book was a disappointment to me, rather than being a step by step guide as you travel was more of a read through type book. Obviously good for reference but wouldn't be the only book I used for a trip. Good point of the book is the pictures, bad point is the lack of detailed maps.
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