Books : American Road: The Story of an Epic Transcontinental Journey at the Dawn of the Motor Age
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Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 917.304913
EAN: 9780805068832
Edition: 1st
ISBN: 080506883X
Label: Henry Holt and Co.
Manufacturer: Henry Holt and Co.
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 304
Publication Date: July 03, 2002
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.
Studio: Henry Holt and Co.
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Editorial Review:
Product Description:
A fascinating account of the greatest road trip in American history.
On July 7, 1919, an extraordinary cavalcade of sixty-nine military motor vehicles set off from the White House on an epic journey. Their goal was California, and ahead of them lay 3,250 miles of dirt, mud, rock, and sand. Sixty-two days later they arrived in San Francisco, having averaged just five miles an hour. Known as the First Transcontinental Motor Train, this trip was an adventure, a circus, a public relations coup, and a war game all rolled into one. As road conditions worsened, it also became a daily battle of sweat and labor, of guts and determination.
American Road is the story of this incredible journey. Pete Davies takes us from east to west, bringing to life the men on the trip, their trials with uncooperative equipment and weather, and the punishing landscape they encountered. Ironically one of the participants was a young soldier named Dwight Eisenhower, who, four decades later, as President, launched the building of the interstate highway system. Davies also provides a colorful history of transcontinental car travel in this country, including the first cross-country trips and the building of the Lincoln Highway. This richly detailed book offers a slice of Americana, a piece of history unknown to many, and a celebration of our love affair with the road.
Average Rating: 
Rating:  -
In July 1919 an Army motor convoy set off from the White House to drive to San Francisco, a distance of 3250 miles of dirt roads. It took two months for 300 men and 81 vehicles. About fifty miles a day. Its purpose was to demonstrate the need for a national highway system, and led to the Lincoln Highway from New York to San Francisco, the financial capitals on the coasts. [The national railroad system could travel this distance in about a week.] Automobile manufacturers and suppliers wanted the government ... Read More
Rating: -
American Road by seasoned author Pete Davies is an amazing, and intimate portrait of a piece of America's past. This story is adventure travel at it's best. Peter Davies telescopes backward in time to 1919 as the U.S Army plans a 3000 mile journey across America's heartland as the First Transcontinental Motor Convoy. To promote the building of America's roads, the army devised a scheme to gather up 81 various vehicles such as cars, trucks, tractors, motorcycles, ambulances, and kitchen messes, to then cross ... Read More
Rating:  -
This is one of those books that will stick to you for a long time as opposed to a book that you finish and forget. We've come a long way in such a short time in this country.
Rating: -
A book for all western history buffs--the "military road train" wanted to prove that coast to coast travel could be done, of course having repair and recovery vehicles along with them helped a lot.--the Lincoln Hiway (another good look at historic travel in the '20's)--came along and became part of the interstate hiway system
Rating:  -
Despite only giving it only three stars, I really loved this book because I love the story of the Transcontinental Expedition. And it was truly an expedition in every sense of the word. Davies covers the story well from the people perspective. It was an epic journey where human will and endurance was tested. The influence this journey had on creating America's road systems cannot be underestimated and Davies covers that aspect in detail as well. Where Davies missed the mark, in my opinion, was in the area of ... Read More
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