Route 66: The First 100 Years Book Review—A Century on the Mother Road

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Explore Route 66: The First 100 Years, a richly illustrated journey through the history, people, places, and enduring spirit of the Mother Road.

There are roads you drive simply to get somewhere, and then there is Route 66. Even after nearly a century, the Mother Road still has a way of convincing you to leave the interstate, slow down, and see what you might discover around the next bend.

That’s one reason I enjoyed Route 66: The First 100 Years by Jim Ross and Shellee Graham. With a foreword by Michael Wallis, this beautifully illustrated book looks back at the highway’s evolution from its beginnings in 1926 through its glory years, decline, and remarkable revival.

But this isn’t simply a chronology of an old highway. Ross and Graham have spent more than 30 years traveling, photographing, and documenting Route 66, and that firsthand knowledge gives the book a wonderful sense of place. More than 350 photographs and illustrations—many of them vintage—show the people, roadside businesses, landscapes, and wonderfully quirky attractions that helped transform a highway into an American icon.

For me, those images also brought back memories of our own travels along Route 66.

Rediscovering the Route 66 We Know

During the three years Bill and I traveled across the US in our RV, we drove portions of Route 66 many times. Whenever we could, we left the faster highway behind to explore the old road.

That usually meant the journey took longer. It also meant we found some of the places we remember most.

One of my favorites is Oatman, Arizona. Bill and I drove there last year, and getting to Oatman is part of the adventure. You have to choose to leave the faster route and follow the old road as it twists through the desert hills.

Driving Tip: Do not take the RV to Oatman. Leave it parked in nearby Kingman, Needles, or one of the RV parks along the Colorado River. Parking is at a premium in Oatman, and there is no RV parking!

Then you arrive in a town that seems to have decided the modern world can wait.

Wooden sidewalks front historic buildings, the surrounding mountains recall Oatman’s mining past, and burros wander freely through the streets. Descended from animals once used by local miners, they have become some of Oatman’s most famous residents.

It’s quirky, historic, a little unexpected, and completely memorable.

Those are precisely the kinds of places that make Route 66 special—and Route 66: The First 100 Years understands that the road’s story is about far more than pavement.

A Route 66 History Told Through Photographs

The book’s visual storytelling is one of its greatest strengths.

With more than 350 photographs and illustrations, you can watch Route 66 change through the decades. Vintage images capture roadside businesses, signs, automobiles, architecture, and communities during the highway’s heyday, while the broader story follows Route 66 from its creation in 1926 to its place in American culture today.

That makes this an easy book to browse. You can sit down intending to look at a few pages and find yourself lingering over an old photograph, wondering what became of the motel, filling station, or roadside attraction pictured there.

Yet it has enough historical substance to be more than a Route 66 coffee table book. Ross and Graham put those images into context, explaining how the highway changed along with America.

Where the Mother Road Still Lives

I especially appreciate that the book doesn’t treat Route 66 as something that disappeared when Interstate highways bypassed it.

The Mother Road is still there. You just have to be willing to look for it.

Tucumcari, New Mexico, is a perfect example. You can stay on the interstate and pass it by, but why would you?

Head into town and Route 66 comes alive again. Vintage motels and roadside architecture recall another era of American travel, while those glorious neon signs transform the streets after dark. It’s the kind of place where spending the night becomes part of the road-trip experience, not just a stop between destinations.

We discovered places like this repeatedly during our RV travels. Route 66 rewarded us whenever we were willing to take the detour.

That connection between yesterday and today runs throughout Route 66: The First 100 Years. The photographs may document history, but they also make you curious about what remains—and what you might still experience for yourself.

More Than Nostalgia

It would be easy for a centennial Route 66 book to rely entirely on nostalgia. Plenty of nostalgia is there, but Ross and Graham add depth.

They explore the people and communities that shaped the highway, along with the cultural changes that transformed it. The book follows Route 66 through its rise as a major automotive corridor, the roadside culture that grew alongside it, its decline as Interstate highways changed how Americans traveled, and the preservation efforts that ultimately helped bring it back into the spotlight.

That history makes today’s Route 66 experiences more meaningful.

A neon motel sign becomes more than a great photograph. An old diner becomes more than a place to grab lunch. A crumbling roadside building makes you wonder who stopped there 70 years ago and what their journey looked like.

The book helps provide that context.

A Route 66 Book for Travelers and History Lovers

Route 66: The First 100 Years will naturally appeal to anyone who already loves the Mother Road, but I think its audience is broader.

History enthusiasts will appreciate the look at American transportation and roadside culture. Travelers planning a Route 66 road trip will find plenty of inspiration for future detours. And anyone fascinated by Americana can lose an afternoon exploring the photographs and stories.

It also makes a beautiful gift. At $34.99, the combination of more than 350 images and substantial historical storytelling makes it feel like a keepsake rather than simply another travel guide.

Most importantly, though, it makes you want to go.

The Road Still Beckons

Perhaps that is the greatest compliment I can give Route 66: The First 100 Years. It reminds me why Bill and I so often chose the slower road.

Route 66 isn’t simply a line between Chicago and Los Angeles or a collection of famous roadside attractions. Its appeal is in the little discoveries—the fading signs, old motels, neon glowing after sunset, diners that have served travelers for generations, and towns you would never experience if you stayed on the interstate.

Ross and Graham celebrate the Mother Road’s first century while reminding us its story isn’t finished. Detours still await, towns to explore, and stories waiting along the road.

Plan Your Own Route 66 Journey

Books like Route 66: The First 100 Years may begin with history, but the best ones eventually make you reach for a map.

Ready to discover more of America’s legendary highways and the unexpected places waiting beyond the interstate? Explore Wander With Wonder’s Road Trips & Scenic Drives for road trip inspiration, memorable stops, and ideas for making the journey as rewarding as the destination.

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