Ten years after its original publication, Drake Hokanson's best-selling book continues to inspire readers to leave the interstate for a road less traveled, but one that still fuels the American preoccupation with the open road.
In his new introduction to this tenth anniversary edition, Hokanson revisits the Lincoln Highway and finds it changed—much for the better—since the original publication of this book. Most notably, he calls attention to the reinvigorated Lincoln Highway Association and its efforts to preserve what is left of the old road. Hokanson finds more and more tourists traveling the road—not only Americans but foreigners as well—by car, bus, and motorcycle on journeys not to any particular destination, but simply to see America.
“This book should be owned and read by every motorist who has driven across the U.S.—or only dreamed of doing so.”—Autoweek
“Tracing the history and course of America's first transcontinental automobile road, a masterly photographer and writer creates a classic of Americana. . . . A lovely, lovable book, a work of art.”—Booklist
“This is a model photographic essay: the essay is as carefully composed, as beautifully finished, as the pictures. Hokanson, who says he doesn't like long drives, has written unforgettably about those who do.”—Christian Science Monitor
“With his lively pen and lyric camera, Mr. Hokanson takes us on a journey of discovery. The open road is, in part, a defining characteristic of this country, and the Lincoln Highway is one of the historic traces . . . like the Oregon Trail, the Camino Real, or the National Road. Not just for tourists, the Lincoln Highway accelerated the processes of social mobility, changed our geography, and led inexorably to a new America. This is an important story, well researched and beautifully, perceptively told.”—William L. Withuhn, Curator of Transportation, Smithsonian Institution