A Route 66 companion / edited by David King Dunaway ; foreword by Michael Wallis ; illustrations by Robert Waldmire.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Dunaway, David King

Waldmire, Robert.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

United States Highway 66--Literary collections.

United States Highway 66.

Genre:

Literature.

Physical Description:

xviii, 179 pages : illustrations ; 22 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

Austin : University of Texas Press, 2012.

Summary:

Even before there was a road, there was a route. Buffalo trails, Indian paths, the old Santa Fe trace-all led across the Great Plains and the western mountains to the golden oasis of California. America's insatiable westering urge culminated in Route 66, the highway that ran from Chicago to Los Angeles. Opened in 1926, Route 66 became the quintessential American road. It offered the chance for freedom and a better life, whether you were down-and-out Okies fleeing the Dust Bowl in the 1930s or cool guys cruising in a Corvette in the 1960s. Even though from around the world who long to experience the freedom of the open road.

A Route 66 Companion gathers fiction, poetry, memoir, and oral history to present a literary historical portrait of America's most storied highway. From accounts of pioneering trips across the western plains to a sci-fi fantasy of traveling Route 66 in a rocket, here are stories that explore the mystique of the open road, told by master storytellers ranging from Washington Irving to Raymond Chandler, Joan Didion, Sylvia Plath, Leslie Marmon Silko, and John Steinbeck. Interspersed among them are reminiscences that, for the first time, honor the varied cultures-Native American, Mexican American, and African American, as well as Anglo-whose experiences run through the Route 66 story like the stripe down the highway. So put the top down, set the cruise control, and "make that California trip" with A Route 66 Companion. Book jacket.

Contents:

I Railroads and the Prehistory of Route 66

Buffalo Hunting on Route 66 / Dave Edmunds Edmunds, Dave 2

A Tour on the Prairies / Washington Irving Irving, Washington 5

On the Western Tour with Washington Irving / Count de Pourtalès Pourtalès, Count de 8

The Journals of the Superintendent of the Wagon World / Edward F. Beale Beale, Edward F. 11

Railroaders' Route 66 / Michael Amundson Amundson, Michael 15

Jr., One Night in the Red Dog Saloon / Hal G. Evarts Evarts, Hal G. 18

The U.P. Trail / Zane Grey Grey, Zane 23

Recalling Route 66's Trail of Tears / Man Susanyatame Susanyatame, Man 27

A Bioregional Approach to Route 66: An Introduction 31

II Prairie 66: Illinois, Missouri, and Kansas

The Santa Fe Trail / Vachel Lindsay Lindsay, Vachel 34

Too Many Midnights / Carolyn Wheat Wheat, Carolyn 38

The Lost Boy / Thomas Wolfe Wolfe, Thomas 41

The Boy: Okie Passage on Route 66 / Jay Smith Smith, Jay 44

Blind Corner / David August August, David 47

West on 66 / James H. Cobb Cobb, James H. 51

III Plains 66: Oklahoma and Texas

Working with Will / Greg Malak Malak, Greg 56

The Autobiography of Will Rogers / Will Rogers Rogers, Will 58

Back Road 66 / Lance Henson Henson, Lance 61

Wild Boy of the Road / Karen Hesse Hesse, Karen 63

The Negro Motorist Green Book / Victor H. Green Green, Victor H. 66

'53 Buick / Gary Phillips Phillips, Gary 68

Black on 66 / Edmond Threatt Threatt, Edmond 72

Mr. Route 66 / Michael Wallis Wallis, Michael 75

Kicking 66 / Robert M. Davis Davis, Robert M. 78

On Route 66 in Texas / Delbert Trew Trew, Delbert 81

Cadillac Ranch / Stanley Marsh III Marsh, Stanley III 87

IV Mountain 66: New Mexico and Arizona

Mining Along 66 / Raymond Wierth Wierth, Raymond, Joe Miller Miller, Joe 94

Hot Saturday / Harvey Fergusson Fergusson, Harvey 98

The Thin Mountain Air / Paul Horgan Horgan, Paul 101

Laguna Exile / Mary Toya Toya, Mary 104

The Grapes of Wrath / John Steinbeck Steinbeck, John 108

Ceremony / Leslie Marmon Silko Silko, Leslie Marmon 112

The Hitch-Hiker / Lucille Fletcher Fletcher, Lucille 114

The Air-Conditioned Nightmare / Henry Miller Miller, Henry 118

Hispanic on Route 66 / Rudolfo Anaya Anaya, Rudolfo 121

V Desert and Coastal 66: California

Gunslinger / Ed Gorman Gorman, Ed 126

The High Window / Raymond Chandler Chandler, Raymond 128

Indian Farm-Workers on 66 / Louis Owens Owens, Louis 132

The Music of 66 / Ry Cooder Cooder, Ry 136

Soul in the Desert / Robert Ervin Ervin, Robert 141

Blue Time / Earlene Fowler Fowler, Earlene 144

Sleep in the Mojave Desert / Sylvia Plath Plath, Sylvia 147

Some Dreamers of the Golden Dream / Joan Didion Didion, Joan 150

Sleeping Beauty / Ross MacDonald MacDonald, Ross 153

VI The Future of 66

A Rocket Scientist Looks at Route 66's Future / Peter Friedman Friedman, Peter 158

Rogue in Space / Fredric Brown Brown, Fredric 161

Brave New World / Aldous Huxley Huxley, Aldous 164.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN:

9780292726604

0292726600

9780292735736

0292735731

OCLC:

749115621