Product Description

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #32773 in Books
• Published on: 2006-03-31
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 964 pages

Amazon.com
Whether we're beret-bearing beatniks or Lexus-driving cosmopolitans, road trips still beckon. Gas up the tank, load up the trunk--it's hard to resist. But who has time to waste on wrong turns, getting lost, and bad choices? When it comes to finding fun, time is of the essence, so Jamie Jensen's guide takes the pain out of the road trip, be it across the continent or a Sunday jaunt. With directions to pit stops, scenic routes, bizarre museums, and the best apple pie stands, all you have to do is drive.

From Library Journal
Jensen, the author of two books in the "Rough Guides" travel series (Penguin), knows that to really see the United States the traveler must exit the interstate highways and enter the two-lane byways. Covering 11 cross-country, noninterstate roads that traverse the nation north to south or east to west, Jensen documents the local color of American popular culture?the out-of-the-way monument, throwback diner, area radio station, or local brewery. He provides historical lore and amusing trivia about points along the way, as well as practical advice on where to stay, where to find tourist offices, and how to find updates on local road conditions. An appendix includes "Survival Guides," which offers travel information on two dozen major cities, and an annotated reading list. Jensen's guide is essential for travelers who are more interested in finding the real America than the fastest way from points A to B. Highly recommended.?Pamela W. Bellows, Northwestern Connecticut Community Technical Coll. Lib., Winstead
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Independent Publisher
"The simple act of avoiding the soulless interstates, with their soggy franchises and identikit chains, opens up a parallel, and much friendlier, two-lane world. You'll chance upon monuments marking the actual sites of things you last thought about in high school history classes, or kitschy little souvenir stands flaunting giant dinosaurs outside their doors, and inside still selling the same postcards as they have since the Eisenhower years. With that introduction, Jensen and his contributing writers kick off a fun, off-beat tour of America. This is one of a series of travel books written by Moon for those of young spirit looking for something a bit different than McDonalds and Disney. In fact it devotes all of two paragraphs to Disneyland, and not a word to Disney World. It takes you on some old tours: Route 93 from Montana to Mexico, the Appalachian Trail, Route Two from Washington State to Maine and, of course, Route 66 from California to Illinois. I thought I knew all the travel highlights in my tiny state of Rhode Island. Not so. Jensen informs me that Providence is the birthplace of the diner and advises that a diner museum is soon to open. I've got to go check that out. If you're traveling, get this book. You are bound to learn something interesting about America, and maybe even your own home town as well. And you'll definitely have fun doing it.

Customer Reviews

OK minor reference
The USA is just too big to encompass in one book. Most things covered in this book can be found by searching the internet. Good reference.

Road Trip USA - Jamie Jensen
Extensively researched and very well written - good humor makes the exhaustive details easy to read. Over the years, I have driven many of the roads travelled - and I wish I had this book with me in the past. I read through it and say "Oh yeah, now I get it" about many of the sights I have seen. Going to enjoy bringing it with me on future travels - this book gives me far greater insight than other such books I have read. Well laid out, great index and cross-references.

An Indispensable Guide
I recently completed a series of road trips around the U.S. with one of my children. We found Road Trip USA to be an indispensable guide to each section of the country we visited. The book was full of accurate recommendations and suggestions of what to see and what to avoid.