The Complete Route 66 Lost & Found Review

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(More customer reviews)Well, I have to admit that I have a soft spot in my heart for old Route 66. When I was growing up, back when the earth was young, my family took vacations. Our vacations consisted of our father seeing just how many miles he could drive on each of the days of our trip. As we lived in the Midwest, Route 66 was a major part of our "vacation" experience. With the exception of extreme Southern California, I have at one time or another traveled ever mile of this highway of highways. At present, living here in Missouri, I travel sections of this once great road at least once a week. Many of the old buildings are still standing and the old route is still marked by special signs.
This particular work by Russell A. Olsen is certainly a trip down memory lane for many of us, and should be a glimpse into the forgotten past by the younger generation. The author as used the "then and now" format and used it quite effectively. Each page, or I should say double page, features a business (and yes, this particular work does address businesses; gas stations, motels, and restraints for the most part), showing the business as it was in its hay day, and then a picture of what exists today. These photographs are both in black and white and some in color. It is interesting to note that some of these old places are still doing quite well even to this day. I often stop at several of the old eating establishments and do on a regular basis. Of course others, most in fact, are long gone.
It is rather amazing that some of the buildings are still standing and are completely recognizable for what they were. On the other hand, there are times when we see a photograph of "then" showing a neat café or restraint and when we see a "now" photograph... alas, only a barren field or pile of rubble. Each set of photographs is accompanied by several paragraphs telling us of the business, its history, ownership, impact upon the local area and eventual fate. The photographs date back to the 1920s with the majority being 1930s and 1940s. The quality of each photograph is quite good, with some being more detailed than others, but all quite nicely done. Meticulous care has been taken with the "now" photographs in presenting them at the same angle as the "then" photograph and it would appear that the same time of day was even used. Of course this was not always possible, but the author has certainly given it a good try.
I cannot say that things were better way back then. Let's face it, staying over night in a small, and I mean really small, single room motel in Kansas in the middle of August with no air conditioning and a very slow working fan, was not the most comfortable night ever spent. Some of the eating establishments were absolutely great, but on the other hand, many of them were playing roulette with botulism and vying for your vitals with the local roaches. Of course, some of the littlest and dirtiest places had the best tasting food around.
I am giving this one five stars rather than four simply because it addressed a nostalgic spot. I would have enjoyed more narrative, more history, but I suppose this book accomplishes what it was meant for. This is one that you might want to check out from the library.
Don Blankenship
The Ozarks


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