Route 66: Lost & Found

The famous Mother Road pathway lingers in our memories, and Russell A. Olsen highlights its charms in Route 66: Lost & Found (Voyageur Press, $30).

From motels to bridges, each page shares the story of some of the well-known and oft-overlooked establishments along the route.

This book provides an experience to those wishing to return to and reminisce over an era that most consider bygone, but is still hanging on today. The vintage postcards the author obtained from private collections help illustrate the sites, and he mixes color photographs in for the places he recommends people visit today, in order to create a balanced blend between the past and present.

The author succeeds in not shying away from the fact that many places have vanished. At the same time, he reminds readers how his friends and other volunteers continue the fight to preserve the historical relics on Route 66, stating that “they’re all just an Interstate exit away.”

Some of the places have been turned into museums or private residences, and sections of the road were bypassed, but the fact that these sites are still standing and the roads are still accessible by car is what gives the Route 66 family their heritage and has created a community that is more than willing to welcome you.