Book Description
In the second volume of the acclaimed "Gas, Food, Lodging" trilogy, authors John Jakle, Keith Sculle, and Jefferson Rogers take an informative, entertaining, and comprehensive look at the history of the motel. From the introduction of roadside tent camps and motor cabins in the 1910s to the wonderfully kitschy motels of the 1950s that line older roads and today's comfortable but anonymous chains that lure drivers off the interstate, Americans and their cars have found places to stay on their travels. Motels were more than just places to sleep, however. They were the places where many Americans saw their first color television, used their first coffee maker, and walked on their first shag carpet.
Illustrated with more than 230 photographs, postcards, maps, and drawings, The Motel in America details the development of the motel as a commercial enterprise, its imaginative architectural expressions, and its evolution within the place-product-packaging concept along America's highways. As an integral part of America's landscape and culture, the motel finally receives the in-depth attention it deserves.
Customer Reviews:
Motel Mania My Goodness.......2004-10-03
This book is not a big coffee table picture book. It is not a book to take to the beach. But I could see taking this book on vacation - that is if you were driving the old state highways that may still have some of the kewl vintage motels and stuff. This book covers a lot of ground and it would be of interest to those who enjoy funky motels and stuff. The writing style is not a fun as I would like - perhaps this book started out as a college thesis. But the info and pictures make it a good buy for the money.
Fascinating pictures and very interesting documentary.......1999-07-09
Upon completion of this book, the reader will have a complete history of the growth of today's hotel industry from the days of tourist camps, through motor courts, motels, and now motor inns. It is well researched, very quick reading, and gives an excellent history of this major form of commerce during the earlier part of the 20th century. The only thing missing might be a pictoral diagram showing the evolution of early chains into today's major lodging chains. I would also suggest a little more detail on the circumstances of some of the chain's that went out of business. Either way, a great piece for anyone interested in travel history and highway evolution.
Average customer rating:
- an archaeology classic
- Macaulay has some fun
- A book ALL Archaeologists / Historians should read
- Motel of the Mysteries
- Motel of the Mysteries
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Motel of the Mysteries
David Macaulay
Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin/Walter Lorraine Books
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Cathedral: The Story of Its Construction (Sandpiper)
ASIN: 0395284252 |
Book Description
It is the year 4022; all of the ancient country of Usa has been buried under many feet of detritus from a catastrophe that occurred back in 1985. Imagine, then, the excitement that Howard Carson, an amateur archeologist at best, experienced when in crossing the perimeter of an abandoned excavation site he felt the ground give way beneath him and found himself at the bottom of a shaft, which, judging from the DO NOT DISTURB sign hanging from an archaic doorknob, was clearly the entrance to a still-sealed burial chamber. Carson's incredible discoveries, including the remains of two bodies, one of then on a ceremonial bed facing an altar that appeared to be a means of communicating with the Gods and the other lying in a porcelain sarcophagus in the Inner Chamber, permitted him to piece together the whole fabric of that extraordinary civilization.
Customer Reviews:
an archaeology classic.......2007-08-06
Archaeologists spend so much time thinking about the past, and it's inevitable that occasionally we wonder just what those in the future will think about us. This does, of course, poke some fun at the profession and the logic employed in how we come about our conclusions, while making you wonder just how wrong we might be in that regard. A must-read for archaeologists with a sense of humor, though just about anyone will find this humorous and entertaining.
Macaulay has some fun.......2007-07-24
I have always been a big fan of Macaulay's work. The humor that makes "The Way Things Work" so much fun is here in full force in "Motel of the Mysteries." The erroneous interpretations by Macaulay archeologist from the future are a riot.
Written about the time the country went crazy for King Tut and Rameses exhibits around the country, it's a fun read by a great illustrator and funny writer.
A book ALL Archaeologists / Historians should read.......2003-07-25
If you are a fan of David Macaulay's books about the contruction of such wonders as a Cathedral, Pyramid, City, Mill, etc ... then you will really enjoy this book about future archaeologists / explorers "discovering" the burried ruins of an American motel room in the 41st century ... and the miss-identification of just about every item found.
I think that this is a book that every archaeologist / historian should read because it perfectly explains the traps that we may fall into when trying to explain the past using present day knowledge and sensibilities.
The events portrayed in this book show the reader just how easy it is to make a mistake ... even when one's best intentions are at stake.
Then again, it is a David Macaulay (always great) and it is funny! Especially the Museum Gift Store items displayed at the end of the book.
Motel of the Mysteries.......2003-06-13
I think this book is creatively written to get young people to read, and to get a good laugh about how people in the future look at people in the past.
Motel of the Mysteries.......2003-06-13
Great and interesting book for adolescents! I would highly recommend this book because it will keep you on the edge of your seats.
Customer Reviews:
Motel Mania - Next Exit.......2004-10-01
I have read several of this author's books and they have never let me down. Sure, it's light reading. But there were lots of info that I found very entertaining (I am in the travel/tourist business). What I liked most was the way the author pointed out the different eras of the motels in the USA. He discussed the big chain motels as well as the small mom and pop operations. This book will bring back memories to anyone who stayed in a motel that boasted of having "air conditioned" rooms.
A Colorful Lightweight.......2001-10-25
I've been a fan of Margolies since his first book, and I ordered this with high expectations.
Unfortunately, this book is almost completely advertisements and memorabia. There is very little narrative. Like another reviewer, I was quite disappointed that there was only a sketchy outlining of the various transitions that motels have progressed through over the generations. I got the impression that Mr. Margolies probably had most of these old brochures, cards, maps, etc., and simply assembled these in a chronological format.
On the other hand, if you are a fan of Margolies's photography, his own photographs in the book match his earlier photographic achievements.
This book is probably worth the price of admission, but I'd like to see a more comprehensive history of twentieth-century hospitality industry.
Fun reading.......2000-08-18
Anyone who enjoys reading about roadside culture will enjoy this book. It brings back great memories of those family roadtrips and how exciting it was as a kid to stay in a motel. It also entices you to seek out the quirky and fun motels next time you're in need of an overnight stay. John Margolies is an excellent author and photographer. I highly recommend this book!
Spectacular photography and good historical summary.......1999-08-05
For all of us who stayed at the one and two story roadside motels of the 1960s and 1970s, this book will bring back great travel memories as well as educate us on the precurser to these lodging establishments. Fascinating and fast reading and it made me go out and locate some of the motels near my residence. The only down side is that it could have used a little more history on the early motel chains and the history of their demise. A section on motel bilboards would also have been entertaining. Otherwise, a great historical book.
Book Description
From the bestselling author of Rats, a personal and national history of one of
America
’s favorite pastimes: driving across the country.
The cross-country trip is the trip that often whizzes past us on our way to quaint back roads and scenic parks; it’s an America of long, looping highways, strip malls, fast-food depots, and road rage, but also one that is wide-open, awe-inspiring, and heartwarmingly lonely. Here, Sullivan, who has driven cross-country more than two dozen times, recounts his family’s annual summer migration from Oregon to New York. His story of moving his family back and forth from the East Coast to the West Coast (and various other migrations), is replete with all the minor disasters, humor, and wonderful coincidences that characterize life on the road, not to mention life.
As he drives, Sullivan ponders his nation-crossing predecessors, such as legendary duo Lewis and Clark, as well the more improbable heroes of America’s unending urge to cross itself: Carl Fisher, an Indianapolis bicycle maker who founded the Indy 500, dropped cars off of buildings and imagined the first cross-country road; Emily Post, who, before her life as an etiquette writer, was one of the first cross-country chroniclers; and the race car drivers who, appalled by the invention of seatbelts and speed limits, ran an underground cross-country car race in the 1970s known as the Cannonball Run. Sullivan meets Beat poets who are devotees of Jack Kerouac, cross-country icon, and plays golf on an abandoned coal mine. And, in his trademark celebration of the mundane, Sullivan investigates everything from the history of the gas pump to the origins of fast food and rest stops. Cross Country tells the tales that come from fifteen years of driving across the country (and all around it) with two kids and everything that two kids and two parents take when driving in a car from one coast to another, over and over, driving to see the way the road made America and America made the road.
Customer Reviews:
Wonderful!.......2007-08-01
When I began the book, I didn't like it. I didn't care about Lewis and Clark and their expedition. Then I thought, give it a chance. I believe everyone and everything deserves a second chance. Boy, am I glad that I did! I absolutely loved it! I hated that it ended. I did learn a thing or two about our interstate system, and this spectacular country of ours. I wish it never ended. I may read it again some day.
I had to quit reading it.......2007-06-19
I very rarely quit a book without finishing, but this one I did. Not only is it edited very poorly, with many irritating misspellings and words out of place, but the author mixes up names of towns and cities. This leads me to believe he didn't ever really know where he was or what he was doing. For instance, he seems to have difficulty determining which Dakota he is in at any given time. He also drives alot from Indiana into Missouri, mysteriously tele-transporting himself over Illinois somehow. I'm sure there were many other mistakes I could have caught if I had actually finished the book. But the worst is the author seems to be the type of person you would never want to go on a road trip with, too boring, not a fun family, not a good book.
Decent Book About One Man's Travels.......2007-02-06
This book has a most eye-catching cover, but the writing does not live up to the promises made on the book flaps. Robert Sullivan has driven across the country dozens of times and writes of his experiences
The best part of the book is the crude drawings and accompanying notations. This serves to make up for the uninspired writing that relates much about Lewis and Clark and service station coffee while not telling us the kind of interesting stories that the book flaps promised us. The writing is just so much hot air and endless details of his travels.
Bottom line: Wait and see if this book makes your public library and if it does, give it a look.
words words words..........2007-01-29
This book isn't about one man's love of the open road, it's a paean to his love for his own voice as we are interminably subjected to his rambling, circular, paisley stylings. Somewhere near the beginning of the book, he mentioned that we, unlike his family, had the advantage of being able to put the book aside as a break, which not only made me put the book down many, many times but made me want to stage an intervention for his obviously long-suffering family.
Too many words.......2007-01-10
More thn I cared to know about the author's thoughts about himself. Needs to be cut by half.
Book Description
Andrew Wood is back from his ROAD TRIP AMERICA with his latest cross-country, road-tripping adventure: MOTEL AMERICA. Seeking out the charming, funky, and out-of-the-way mom-and-pop motels, MOTEL AMERICA is your off-the-beaten-path inspiration for vacations and weekend getaways with a retro flair. Wood offers up history, highlights, and loads of fun facts about his favorite sleepovers in all 50 states. From charming owners to offbeat locations, each of these motels is sure to make memories. So pack your bags, bring your sense of adventure, and check in to MOTEL AMERICA.
Customer Reviews:
Where are the OPEN motels???.......2006-01-11
I bought this book because I wanted to go for a vacation while staying at vintage nostalgiac motels. I thought, why not pick up this book, this will be the perfect book, after all its subtitle reads: "A State-By-State Tour Guide to Nostalgic Stopovers"
Little did I realize that I would be wasting my money on a book peppered with very FEW motels that are actually inhabitable because either they were torn down, renovated into something else, or vacant! The author decided to spend a whopping two pages on each state's motels,...TWO PAGES on each state? You're kidding me!!?? To boot, he includes great postcard photos of vintage motels, but doesn't give any info about them 90% of the time!! What the heck is up with this guy! "Oh, here's a great mmotel,...of course I'm not going to actually tell you anything about it though!"
So, tell me how the heck are these, "stopovers" for anyone on a vacation looking for NOSTALGIC STOPOVERS? This book is listed under vacations in many bookstores and online bookstores,....it's 90% useless to anyone actually WANTING to stay at a vintage nostalgiac motel for God's sake! I can think of at least five different motels that ARE in service and date back to at least the 1950's if not earlier in my state alone! Well, after reading this little waste of time, I think I may just see about writing my own Nostalgic Motel travel guide!
Great photos, but then again this isn't a coffee table book of photos,....well, its not supposed to be anyway.
Not a good book, lacks detail and original content........2006-01-11
This book consists of a 4 page introduction which discusses the history of the subject, with the remainder dedicated to 2 page summaries of the motels in each state of the US. The pictures look mostly to be old postcards with a few original photos thrown in. Clearly the research on each state was not thorough. The few motels that are mentioned are seemingly picked at random, with short shrift given to each one.
Giving my own state of Michigan as an example, the authors picked one gem, The Cadet Motor Inn, and a few other motels along the same highway that were either closed or hardly worth mentioning. Although there are several hundred prime examples of the genre throughout the state that could have been featured, the authors chose instead to make disparaging remarks about the area, referring to Detroit as "the beat up capital of America's nearly pulverized auto industry."
We all realize that we have challenging issues facing many of the urban areas in the industrial states, so the author's commentary is un-needed, ill-advised and out of place. I bought this book because it proposes to be a "tour guide" for those interested in Roadside America and its rich history and traditions. Mentioning a few motels on one stretch of road while cautioning the reader to "not stay long," is hardly useful given the hundreds of wonderful, well-preserved motels throughout the country that are not even mentioned.
a long day...a long drive...where do we stay?.......2004-05-02
a road trip full of neon childhood memories...
long day...long drive...where do we stay?.......2004-05-02
a delightful guide to motels we remember as children...
neon and all!
Book Description
Nights to Immagine
Magical Places to Stay in America
"A wonderful little dream book." -- New Orleans Times Picayune
"If you...are planning a holiday getaway and want a truly out-of-the-ordinary experience, don't go anywhere until you've seen Nights to Imagine. -- Glamour
"Share the wonder...Guttman offers unusual ideas for the romantic and adventurous in spirit." -- Honeymoon
Opulence or rustic charm, adventure or tradition, above the clouds or below the sea...if you're dreaming of an out-of-the-ordinary getaway, join author-photographer Peter Guttman on his journey around America and discover the hidden treasures that can turn your vacation in a fantasy come true.
32 of the most unusual and romantic places to stay
Vivid descriptions
Evocative full-color photographs
A directory with telephone numbers, addresses, and rates make turning the fantasy into a reality a breeze
Customer Reviews:
Ten Stars!.......2001-06-25
Truly a wonderful escape or incredible inspiration for planning an excursion. The author gives you just enough detail to whet your appetite. What you do with the information is in your hands! I have owned this book for several years and never get tired of rediscovering it everytime I am ready to get away. Most recently I picked it up when I was looking ahead to planning a honeymoon. I just hope the author and Fodor's won't stop at 32 nights to imagine!
A fantasy travel "to-do" list.......2001-01-21
This little book is filled with beautiful images of great places to visit. The author gives an excellent history of (or details about) the different locations.
No doubt about it, visiting (and staying) at all these locations would be quite a treat. If you can't pack the bags and head out on a year-long jaunt to see them...reading this book is the next best thing.
a wonderful addition to your coffee table.......1998-10-06
Our whole family loves this book...we've spent several evenings reading, admiring and passing around ideas. Its a beautiful way to dream about next year's vacation and feel out who the adventurer is in your family...the book is left on our coffee table and has been picked up and perused by friends, neighbors, and even the babysitter....will definitely have to visit some of the places and check out his other books..
Book Description
A new departure for this concept, Open Road has refashioned our old America's Cheap Sleeps guide (which was large format and listed virtually every cheap roadside lodging) by making it much more selective and featuring only the best motels and other inexpensive lodgings across America - and it still contains more than 2000 entries! Every state is covered. Each listing tells readers whether there's a TV, pool, restaurant, if pets are accepted, and any amenities or special features. Arranged alphabetically by state and location for easy access.
Customer Reviews:
Great Travel Resource.......2004-10-09
I have found this book to be very helpful in road travel, especially in small out of the way places that you find when you get off the interstate. While some prices are higher in the large cities (to be expected), the book helped in finding clean, safe motels in small cities for a resonable price. Even the listings for large cities offer alternatives to overpriced mega hotels. The details around things like whether pets are allowed or not was extremely helpful. Whitcombe obviously knows his stuff, and I for one am grateful that he's shared it in this book. If you like road travel on a budget, this book is a must!
This book is not really that useful.......2004-07-07
I sat down with this book at the bookstore for about 20 minutes and decided not to buy it. The book supposedly contains lists of cheap places to stay in all 50 states, which it delivers on. However, a lot of the places listed are Motel 6 and Super 8 type places, which you could very easily find on your own. What I was hoping to find was a book that listed independently owned motels that were clean and quiet, maybe with a very short review by the author of why it was the perfect place to stay in that town. These types of motels are difficult to find in advance, since they don't have the advertising budget that large chains have. I was really let down, as the author usually only listed the address and phone number and a few other minor details of each property. I realize that the author can't stay in every budget motel across America, but I would have hoped that she would have a local person that could find and rate these motels. I looked at the list of motels in cities where I have lived before and didn't find anything that was out of the ordinary. Certainly you could find the same information using other budget travel guides that would also include other travel information.
Average customer rating:
- America's Favorite Inns, B&Bs & Small Hotels: USA & Canada 1
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America's Favorite Inns, B&Bs & Small Hotels: USA & Canada 1999
Sandra W. Soule
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Griffin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0312194358 |
Book Description
The perfect inn or bed-and-breakfast experience is different for every individual. A rustic cabin along a quiet river may be one person's idea of romantic bliss, while others may prefer an antique-filled room in a Colonial mansion, or a lively chat with other guests over peaches-and-cream French toast and freshly squeezed orange juice. Whatever your preference, the 1,000-plus listings in America's Favorite Inns, B&Bs And Small Hotels: U.S.A. and Canada will help you find the best place for that romantic getaway, activity-filled summer trip with the kids, or quiet week amid autumn leaves.
Each entry combines honest and reliable comments from recent guests with expert reviews and symbols highlighting restaurants, low-cost accommodations, handicapped access, kid-friendly places, sports facilities, and more--all the information necessary for the perfect tailor-made vacation.
Customer Reviews:
America's Favorite Inns, B&Bs & Small Hotels: USA & Canada 1.......2000-04-01
I've been reading Sandra Soule's B&B and Inn books for years; they've all been a delight! I have a large library of B&B books and Sandra's are always my favorite, and this one is now on the top of my list. What makes her books exceptional, to me, are the honest descriptions and comments from people like you and me who have actually stayed at each inn/B&B, and in their own words. My husband and I have been avid inngoers for over 25 years, and this, her latest, will once again be the source we use to choose where to stay .. we travel all over the U.S., for business as well as pleasure, and this book is invaluable, especially in unfamiliar places we venture to. The book also lists addresses, tel numbers, innkeeper's names, any restrictions, and of course very good descriptions of each inn and B&B. It's laid out in an easy to use format. Even if we never make it to all of the places she has in her book, it makes for wonderful "dreamtime" reading. Here's a brief example: "Breakfast was served in the formal dining room at a table beautifully set with crystal, silver, candles and fresh flowers. Shirley is a gourmet cook." Here's another: "The terry robes were a nice touch, as was the brandy, chocolate, and fresh towels at bedtime." This book (like all of Sandra Soule's books) is simply the best!
Average customer rating:
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America's Favorite Inns, B&Bs & Small Hotels: New England
Sandra W. Soule
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Griffin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0312195613 |
Books:
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- The Writings of Florence Scovel Shinn: The Game of Life and How to Play It, Your Word Is Your Wand,the Secret Door to Success, the Power of the Spok
- Thinking with Type: A Critical Guide for Designers, Writers, Editors, & Students (Design Briefs)
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- Total Construction Project Management
- Twentieth-Century Russian and East European Painting: The Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection
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Motel America: A State-By-State Tour Guide to Nostalgic Stopovers
