THE ROADS THAT BUILD AMERICA: The Incredible Story of the U.S. Interstate System

by Dan McNichol

Book Overview

The year 2006 celebrates the 50th anniversary of the U.S. Interstate System, the most incredible road system in the world. Created by Dwight D. Eisenhower, whose WW II experiences taught him the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0760733708
• ISBN13: 9780760733707
• Release Date: January 2003
• Publisher: Barnes & Noble
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 2.44 lbs.

Customer Reviews

nice coffee table book

My husband got this book from our library and enjoyed it so much I purchased it for our 36 year-old son for his birthday, and he also really enjoyed it. If you remember car travel before the interstates and the Eisenhower years, you'll like this one. Has an interesting section on old bridges, too.

Miles and Miles of Great Reading

This is by far the finest book written on the Interstate System in it's fifty- year existance! I just can't put it down. It's written in a way that you can choose - the earlier pre-interstate era, or just the tunnel chapter, or whatever! There are several very intresting "sidebars" on related subjects like a parcel company that thrived because of the Interstate, and how the sign design process evolved. Author Dan McNichol is a respected authority on transportation journalism, and this has to be his greatest career milepost! In as much as the Interstate has had an impact on American society, this fine book provides miles of intresting reading!

I was going to write this book (really), but McNichol's is so good I moved along to something else!

This is a very attractive book, and lots of fun to read. In fact, this book is very elegant, and utterly fascinating to pick up. Speaking of that, you will find it hard to put down. Between the photographs and the various histories and stories, you will find this easy to either read straight through, or skip around. Every topic will be more interesting than the previous one (whichever one you just finished reading). Yes, writing a book on this topic could be done with any, some, or all of the topics which cross the mind. But what topics, and what pictures! This book could be put by the bedside for reading, or plopped onto the coffee table for showing. OK, you would read it also! A weakness with "Roads"? Well, the book was printed on more expensive media than usual for a book, and it is harder to read lying down. It is also harder to read with one hand, leaving the other free for a cup of coffee, or a carafe of your finest wine. In other words, not much ugly to say about this one!

Great review of the history of American roadway system

Anyone interested in transportation would love all of the history presented in this book. It begins by talking about roads that were dirt paths and progresses all the way to the 'Big Dig' project in Boston. Great stories, great writing, great pics! Recommended!!

Great History on Transportation

I loved this book. Read the whole thing in 2-1/2 days.I'm a transportation engineer, so I am probably biased. This book does a fantastic job of showing the history of the American transportation system. It starts in the revolutionary war days and continues to modern times. There are hundreds of fantastic pictures to compliment the text. This is the best overall book of the American highway transportation system that I've read. Well worth the money.