This is a reprint of the self-published 1946 book that Rittenhouse sold door-to-door at truck stops, motor courts, and cafes along the route. It lists every community from Chicago to Los Angeles that existed on the highway along with attractions, lodgings and services.

The book is divided into nine sections, corresponding to the journeys between stops by the average motorist. Rittenhouse includes altitude and 1940 population figures for each town, information on reliable garages, tourist courts (the forerunner's of today's motels), and other local attractions. This piece of Americana recalls a day before the arrival of franchised restaurants and hotels, when travel still held surprises.

Route 66: Lives on the Road, Jon Robinson

This illustrated history gathers the stories of those folks who used Route 66, as well as those who lived along the road and made their living there. Along with tales of travel, the book examines the entire range of Route 66 vocations and services: gas, food, lodging, museums, souvenir shops, law enforcement, wrecker operators, and more. Readers will enjoy the tales of the people who made the road a legend, as well as the hundreds of period and modern color photographs that illustrate their stories.

Thomas Arthur Repp

Thomas Arthur Repp has spent eight years travelling Route 66 and working with the families of the early American roadside. He is a veteran writer and photographer

Route 66: The Empires of Amusement, Thomas Arthur Repp

This book details the lives of the tourist attraction operators on Route 66. From Whoopee Coasters to show caves, snake pits to trading posts with piano-playing chickens, Route 66: The Empires of Amusement goes to the families themselves for their stories, and then tells those stories in full. It tells tales of Blue Whales and prairie dog towns, sweethearts who smooched between buffalo burgers. And how each came to claim their place in the Mother Road's history. Showcasing these stories with over 200 color and vintage photographs -- many taken from the personal collections of the old entrepreneurs themselves -- this book takes you back to the days when happiness was a seeing a piano-playing chicken. And getting there was all the fun.

Once the West was wild. And so was an automobile ride from the eastern edge of New Mexico through the great Mojave Desert. As wagon trails and railroad ties gave way to Route 66, a nation discovered the West in newborn motorcars. And bootleggers prowled the Painted Desert, a self-proclaimed prophet preached out of the Cave of the Seven Devils, a retired circus clown penned poems of the Old Frontier and a New Mexico Indian trader crippled by polio took Navajo pals gambling in Las Vegas. These stories -- and others like them, taken from hundreds of interviews, homesteading papers, newspaper articles and photographs, are the heart of this book.

So rev up your 1926 Hupmobile, or better yet, saddle a horse. This trip, you're going where the skies are not cloudy all day.

Tales from the Coral Court: Photos and Stories from a Lost Route 66 Landmark

A landmark that probably had as much mythology as truth attached to it, the Coral Court really was part of the cultural heritage as well as architectural heritage of St. Louis. To call this place the "no-tell motel" is a misnomer; it has plenty of stories to tell. With pictures and tales, Graham reclaims a piece of Route 66 where people really did get their kicks.