Route 66: Ghost Towns and Roadside Relics Hardcover – June 20, 2016

*PREFACE*I bought this book in April 2017 and was immediately disappointed with it. I wrote the review below quickly thereafter, but decided not to publish it. Instead I would revisit the book later with a fresh point of view. It’s now December 2017 and I have re-assessed the book and stand by my original review as written in April. Honestly I’m probably being generous at 3 star, but I’ll let you be the judge. Read on …GOOD:Over the years I’ve collected the vast majority of Route 66 & Roadside Americana books out there. So while I don’t profess to be an expert in the subject, I have seen a wide palette of approaches … some include picture books, historical documents, scholarly assessments, nostalgic reminiscences, travel guides, and fine art books.In this book, the author does take a refreshing approach. He presents an untypical perspective not overly polluted with nostalgia (aka the good ole days). Instead he is very matter of fact, succinctly discussing facts or aspects that are often overlooked, in lieu of the more stereotypical stories and iconic landmarks that have become an almost untouchable mythology. Whether or not his “facts” are true, I will leave to more well informed historians. His writing is clear and to the point, with a bit more density than one usually gets with the run-of-the-mill Route 66 coffee table book.For me this matter of fact approach drives home One Key Point. Route 66 is gone… I MEAN REALLY GONE. Its not coming back. Yes, there are valiant efforts to salvage what remains by many historical preservation groups; that is to be commended. But that is a small part of all that has been loss. The author indicated that over 3,000 abandoned motels litter the remnants of Route 66. Wow! There are many communities that seek to capitalize on Route 66 mythology, both for pure profit and / or survival via tourism and product. I’m torn to admit the truth of this loss, but if your goal is to travel the full length of the Mother Road, then be prepared for a lot of ruins and very little glamour. There are iconic elements in places, and sometimes closely clustered … but that is the exception rather than the rule. That’s the Good (if you want call it that) that I got out of the book. As an aside, the first book that really turned me onto this ugly truth is the outstanding fine art book by Kozo Miyoshi called “In The Road” (from Nazraeli Press).Note: While my comments are generally positive on the text, there is a consistent element that should have been addressed differently. Anyone familiar with Route 66, including a child who has watched Cars, knows that Route 66 fell into ruin largely because new, more modern highways took traffic away from Route 66. Yet in this book, for almost every city, a similar statement is made. The author states that when Route 66 was built in that town, and when it was decommissioned, and that in most cases the town collapsed. Stating this again and again took valuable space for other text; the repetition is unnecessary. Instead the author & book designer should have created a succinct legend on each city’s page with this info. The info is helpful, but it should have been presented more efficiently.BAD:A - Lets start with the PHOTOS. I hate to be so blunt … but they are mostly awful. Period. Why? I don’t want go into a tutorial on photography fundamentals, but here are a few of the big problems.0) Photographer didn’t know where to stand — Its the most important part of a photo!1) Lens choice — Often did not seem quite right for the picture taken. Sure if you are Cartier-Bresson, you can pull it off with one focal length. This photographer is no Cartier-Bresson (nor am I for that matter).2) Poorly composed — Where’s the point of interest? Make the image speak to me.3) Inconsistent in look — Some are saturated, others muted, underexposed, overexposed, some HDR-esque, a few black & whites. A mix could have worked, but that is not the case here. Its a big distraction that results in lost continuity. Note - I’m not referencing if it was a sunny or drab day, but rather the overall character that results from the photo edits. Its as if the photos were taken by multiple photographers, even though they are only credited to one person.4) Control of depth of field — Why is almost everything in focus? Controlling focus depth can add interest, and lead the viewer to key image elements.5) Uninteresting and often irrelevant — How does another random rusting old car or unnamed collapsing building contribute to the story? These objects could be stock photos from anywhere in America? And why are there almost no images from inside buildings? Make the image count.For the last 5-10 years, many photographers have been obsessed with so called Ruin Porn, that is the disintegration of built infrastructure and the societal collapse that it represents (for example The Ruins of Detroit). While this genre seems to be fortunately waining, this book’s photos fall firmly into this category. More often than not buildings or cars are shown crumbling as nature reclaims them. While in fact that is consistent with the matter of fact message of the author, these photos often do not support the specific examples of the author. Instead there might be a random car or old nameless gas station, when the author’s example remains not shown. Why? The pictures shown could be from anywhere in the U.S.; they come across as filler. I expect that people buying a Route 66 book want to be surprised & delighted with spectacular imagery, even if they are photos of ruins. Try to make it engaging and pertinent to Route 66. Each picture should be meaningful as they are an integral part of the story being told in this book.In my opinion, the images fail to a spectacular degree at multiple levels.B - The BOOK DESIGN / LAYOUT do NOT support the text of the author.I already critiqued the actual images. For the design, how were these images cropped, chosen and assembled to tell the story of the author? Not very well it turns out. I’m not suggesting that a book should be boring with 1 picture per page and some text. Let creativity reign. The design of this book is surprisingly amateurish. The layout of the images do not lead one’s eye through the page. Frequently I felt I was hunting and pecking to figure out what the takeaway was. Plus the image crops were often odd unflattering proportions that did not suit the image. In fact, it could be that some of the above photo criticisms regarding photo composition could be the result of poor crops made to fit the layout. Often I felt that the chosen image and crop defied explanation.I’ll also point out that the paper & print quality is very average. The paper thickness & quality was a bit better than I expected, while the printing quality of the images a were a little worse. Images seemed very soft in most cases. In some instances the softness might be a result of poor source material. The images also have a a dirty, muddy quality that I suspect (along with the softness) results from an effort to save money on printing costs. Even at this price point I would expect a bit better image reproduction.If I had to summarize my feeling of the book design, then it would be … Choppy. Variation through a book can be good. Unconventional layout can be good. But here it never comes together into a cohesive, integrated vehicle for communicating the book’s bigger story. Very unfortunate. Very unnecessary.SUMMARY:As the old saying goes … if you can’t do it right, then don’t do it. Well in this form, this book should not have happened - in my humble opinion. The text is the best part often offering new insights (if true) in manageable chunks, and even it is far from groundbreaking. Moreover neither the photos, nor the design successfully support the text. They both are constant distractions where one is left trying to associate much of the text with the surrounding photos. So frustrating! This book could of been great, but I was left thinking that EITHER the author / photographer / designer was under a very tight deadline to meet the publisher’s deadline irregardless of quality, OR the said production team simply didn’t know what they were doing. I prefer to think it was the former, but I have no way of knowing. I could find no credit for an Editor, so perhaps that falls into the mix of causes. All I know is that the final result is completely subpar. It lived up to neither its potential nor my expectations.SHOULD YOU BUY IT?I give it a VERY CAUTIOUS RECOMMENDATION, based purely on the information presented — and certainly NOT for the photos or presentation. Start elsewhere if this is among your first books on either Route 66 or Roadside Americana. BOOK IS NOT ESSENTIAL. I would only purchase it at a very very very deep discount.RATING: Generous 3 out of 5 Stars (Reduced by 1 Star for Poor Photo Quality / Content, and by 1 More Star for Poor Book Design)BOOK TITLE: Route 66: Ghost Towns and Roadside RelicsISBN: 978-0-7858-3309-3KEY BOOK CONTRIBUTORS …Author: Bruce WexlerPhotos: Greg DischDesign: Sue J. Casebourne

I am planning a drive of old route 66. This book has given me some wonderful history and some interesting places that I must visit.

Used this book for a school "Collector's Day" presentation for the kids to look through while they looked at my collection of Route 66 souvenirs and signs.

Great book and thank you for fast shipping

Great info and photography.

A gift for a Route 66 enthusiast and was appreciated.

Gave as a gift for someone's 66th birthday. Beautiful coffee table type book. She loved it!

BOUGHT FOR MY DAD. HE IS VERY HAPPY WITH IT. HE IS PLANNING A TRIP.

Bought as a Christmas present and he hasn't taken his nose out of the book since! Lovely photos of places he will see on Route 66 later this year.

Great Book Very good buy the pictures are of very good quality a good bit of reading I have many books on route 66 so great to add to the collection

Excellent

Fabulous. A must if you've travelled Route 66 and want to relive it.

A present and it looks really good.