A comprehensive listing and review of all the Route 66 guidebooks and maps
that are currently in print.Fortunately for the authors represented here,
almost all
of them do not compete directly with each other. Each product has its own place
in the world of Route 66 because each serves a different audience or has a
different use. Also, each has both features and limitations, which are
noted in the text.
The website is organized into these sections:
A quick FAQ about guidebooks and maps:
Q: Who's sponsoring this website? Is there
an ax to grind here?
A:
- The website does NOT have a commercial sponsor. The costs of running the
site are borne by the webmaster,
Rich Cunningham, a co-author of one of the publications that appears on
the site.
That, of course, begs the question as to why the site includes so many
more publications than just the author's own work.
The question can be answered in two ways:
First, a restatement of what appears at the top of the website:
"Each product has its own place in the world of Route 66 because each
serves a different audience or has a different use."
Second, the biggest competition faced by all the authors - and fans of
Route 66 everywhere - is with time, not each other.
We are all enthused about a
highway that is a form of living history, and whether or not it dissolves
into dead history depends on the unified strength of the Route 66
community, and careful consideration of where it chooses to do battle. Those battles
should not be among the Road's supporters, and this website was made
all-inclusive for that reason.
- The selection of the publications that appear in the listings
was solely the choice of the webmaster. However, no significant guidebook or map of Route 66
was excluded from the listings.
- No payment/compensation was asked or received from any of the
authors or publishers, and the contents of the listings were not subject
to the approval of the authors and/or publishers.
Q: I don't have all day to fish through everything listed on the website.
What are your recommendations?
A: Well, it depends. (Sorry!)
- First, for an overview of Route 66 for the beginner, teacher,
or traveler who just wants to "hit the high points" of Route 66:
Visit Historic66.com and also
get a copy of each of these two maps:
AAA's "The Best of the Mother Road"
and
Quick Access Route 66.
For very little investment, you can get a great first look at
Route 66, and you will see why it is such a treasure. You can also
use the maps to visit some famous places on the highway.
- Second, for the casual Route 66 traveler who would like to
enjoy the many aspects of the highway but also appreciates some level of
detail in their road adventure:
Get either of these two books: EZ66 Guide For
Travelers or the
Route 66 Adventure
Handbook.
The EZ66 Guide is a balanced combination of maps and text, but if
you choose the Route 66 Adventure Handbook, you
should also get a copy of this map set:
Here It Is: The
Route 66 Map Series, because
the Adventure Handbook doesn't have any maps, although the text is
excellent and more substantial than the EZ66 Guide.
- Third, for the serious Route 66 traveler who wants to
experience the road with mile-by-mile instructions that cover every stop
and turn, explore abandoned alignments, and wants the most detailed maps
of the highway that are available:
Get The Complete Guidebook and Atlas of Route 66. This two-volume set
is the ultimate guide to the Mother Road because of its size, level of
detail, and precision GPS-based mapping. It is also of significant value to
researchers, historians,
and advanced instructors.
- Fourth, for the die-hard Route 66 enthusiast or researcher who wants
information at the most detailed possible level, there are two
interesting sources:
1) There is a series of
state-specific guidebooks available.
Click here to see the list of the state
guidebooks.
2) The Rittenhouse Guidebook,
the godfather of all Route 66 guidebooks, written in 1946, is still in
print.
- Finally, for all travelers, there are two special guidebooks:
1) There is an extensive list of
lodging and dining recommendations assembled by local volunteers up and
down the highway entitled
The Route 66 Dining and
Lodging Guide.
2) If you're traveling with little people, be sure to get a
copy of Route 66 For Kids. It has
dozens of listings showing places along the Mother Road that children
would enjoy, and help keep you sane in the process!.
Q: Where can I go to buy the guidebooks and maps
described in this website?
A: Each product has at least one link that takes you to a seller. In
general, the seller listed is the author or small publisher associated
with the item. The links do not take you to mass marketers such as Amazon.
The reason for this is that small-volume authors/publishers get scalped in
the mass-market world - typically having to give a 55% discount to the
marketer. That makes for a very difficult financial arrangement for the
writing community.
Also, the mass marketers make it difficult for the hundreds of small
businesses along Route 66 that sell these guidebooks and maps. No one
running a business alongside the highway is making a killing, so if you
don't/can't order through the links, consider buying from the folks on the
road.
Q:
Where do I go to find about other types of Route 66 books besides
guidebooks and maps?
A: There are dozens of other kinds of books about Route
66, from memoirs to travelogues to picture books to cookbooks, you name
it. One of the best lists of books is maintained by
Historic66.com, along with video
recordings, etc. The best Route 66 bookstore is the one run by
Route66Magazine. It has just
about everything in print.
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