Rating: 
Summary: Epic Journey
Review: "The American Road" is a fascinating historical work that chronicles an event that was of monumental importance that has been most forgotten in the public consciousness. In the summer of 1919, a U.S. Army convoy left Washington, D.C., bound for San Francisco. Two months later it arrived at its destination having fought incredible obstacles and hardships along the way. In doing so, the convoy dramatically pointed out to a nation just emrging from the first World War and entering the automobile age the need for good roads.Author Pete Davies does a decent job of resurrecting the memory of The First Transcontinental Motor Train. He describes the trip in detail and recounts the contribution of its most colorful participants, including a young lieutenant colonel named Dwight D. Eisenhower. The event was a spectacle all along the route, and even generated controversy between communities either included or left off the right of way. For most of the journey, the convoy followed the "Lincoln Highway," a privately funded project that was the first bicoastal road, but in 1919 in many places was actually little more than a line on the map. As a work of history, "American Road" completes its mission well enough. Author Davies is a decent storyteller and he does a good job of setting the historical context and showing how the event was crucial to the development of America's national road system. The book's main drawback is that Davies chose to focus much of his attention on the relatively unintersting local political controversies along the route and not enough on the stories of individual soldiers in the convoy. Even the colorful "Ike" gets only a scant few pages of coverage in total. Also underutilized is the author's accounts of what the route looks like today, which are sprinkled in here and there without much rhyme or reason. On the plus side, the book contains a generous helping of photographs and a helpful route map on the inside covers. Overall, a decent historical work that serves to rekindle the memory of the dawn of the American motor age.
Rating:
Summary: Epic Journey
Review: "The American Road" is a fascinating historical work that chronicles an event that was of monumental importance that has been most forgotten in the public consciousness. In the summer of 1919, a U.S. Army convoy left Washington, D.C., bound for San Francisco. Two months later it arrived at its destination having fought incredible obstacles and hardships along the way. In doing so, the convoy dramatically pointed out to a nation just emrging from the first World War and entering the automobile age the need for good roads. Author Pete Davies does a decent job of resurrecting the memory of The First Transcontinental Motor Train. He describes the trip in detail and recounts the contribution of its most colorful participants, including a young lieutenant colonel named Dwight D. Eisenhower. The event was a spectacle all along the route, and even generated controversy between communities either included or left off the right of way. For most of the journey, the convoy followed the "Lincoln Highway," a privately funded project that was the first bicoastal road, but in 1919 in many places was actually little more than a line on the map. As a work of history, "American Road" completes its mission well enough. Author Davies is a decent storyteller and he does a good job of setting the historical context and showing how the event was crucial to the development of America's national road system. The book's main drawback is that Davies chose to focus much of his attention on the relatively unintersting local political controversies along the route and not enough on the stories of individual soldiers in the convoy. Even the colorful "Ike" gets only a scant few pages of coverage in total. Also underutilized is the author's accounts of what the route looks like today, which are sprinkled in here and there without much rhyme or reason. On the plus side, the book contains a generous helping of photographs and a helpful route map on the inside covers. Overall, a decent historical work that serves to rekindle the memory of the dawn of the American motor age.
Rating: 
Summary: Ike's Excellent Adventure
Review: American Road by Pete Davies is the story of the first large group road trip ever taken in the United States. Between July and August 1919, the Army sent a truck convoy from Washington, D.C. to San Francisco along the then largely unpaved Lincoln Highway. Ike was there as a young officer. The truck and tire companies were there assuring good product placement. The Good Roads Movement was there. American citzens were cheering [and booing] and Congress was watching. This was the point in history where highways became a Federal concern. Try to imagine the United States without Route 66 or I-80 and you'll know why this period was a pivotal point in road trip history. American Road is history woven around the travelogue format. As the truck convoy progresses across the country, we learn about the Army's switch to truck transport, the Good Roads Movement, the early history of the auto and tire industries, how the different states were handling their highways, about life in small American towns, and that Ike was a prankster among other things. Even though the transitions aren't always seemless, American Roads is a smooth and comfortable read. I enjoyed American Roads a lot. My biggest complaint [and it's a small, whiny complaint] is that the book skips from McKeesport, Pennsylvania to Wilkinsburg, Pennsyvania and fails to mention the towns in between. I lived ON US 30 [the old Lincoln Highway] between 1976 and 1981 in Forest Hills, Pennsylvania and still have family there, and I wouldn't characterize the area as a place that has the "look of a place whose future has been and gone already." I remember the Lincoln statue in Wilkinsburg. I recommend this book to anyone interested in history, especially the history of US highways, and anyone who enjoys a good travelogue and a good road trip.
Rating:
Summary: Ike's Excellent Adventure
Review: American Road by Pete Davies is the story of the first large group road trip ever taken in the United States. Between July and August 1919, the Army sent a truck convoy from Washington, D.C. to San Francisco along the then largely unpaved Lincoln Highway. Ike was there as a young officer. The truck and tire companies were there assuring good product placement. The Good Roads Movement was there. American citzens were cheering [and booing] and Congress was watching. This was the point in history where highways became a Federal concern. Try to imagine the United States without Route 66 or I-80 and you'll know why this period was a pivotal point in road trip history. American Road is history woven around the travelogue format. As the truck convoy progresses across the country, we learn about the Army's switch to truck transport, the Good Roads Movement, the early history of the auto and tire industries, how the different states were handling their highways, about life in small American towns, and that Ike was a prankster among other things. Even though the transitions aren't always seemless, American Roads is a smooth and comfortable read. I enjoyed American Roads a lot. My biggest complaint [and it's a small, whiny complaint] is that the book skips from McKeesport, Pennsylvania to Wilkinsburg, Pennsyvania and fails to mention the towns in between. I lived ON US 30 [the old Lincoln Highway] between 1976 and 1981 in Forest Hills, Pennsylvania and still have family there, and I wouldn't characterize the area as a place that has the "look of a place whose future has been and gone already." I remember the Lincoln statue in Wilkinsburg. I recommend this book to anyone interested in history, especially the history of US highways, and anyone who enjoys a good travelogue and a good road trip.
Rating:
Summary: Enlisted personnel
Review: First heard of the Lincoln Highway while attending an Elderhostel in Truckee, CA. Main subject was the Donner Party, however The Transcontinental Railroad and Lincoln Highway were briefly covered. Covered enough to arouse my interest and hence my purchase of "American Road". My critisizm of American Road has to do mainly with the minimal coverage of the main participants, the enlisted men. How were they dressed What food other than cheese sandwiches did they have? Was the food carried moslly canned? Did they walk or ride in the trucks? No mention is made of the convoy passing beneath the Transcontinental Railroad at China Wall, etc.
Rating: 
Summary: So boring I couldn't finish it
Review: I joined Book Of The Month Club and ordered several of their recommended books, including this one. The others were fine so far, but this one is so terribly boring to me. It is rare that I will put down a book before finishing it, but in this case I had to. It is about a car trip across country. No, there are no interesting anecdotes in it. No there are no interesting people to meet. The most interesting thing here is that yet another car or truck broke down and had to be towed by the Militor. Reading the other reviews on this site I see that others enjoyed the book very much. To me it was painfully boring.
Rating:
Summary: It Feels like you are with them
Review: I saw the author on C-span talking about his book and having driven parts of the Lincoln Highway in Pennsylvania it sparked my interest. This book is a good mix of the early auto and rubber industry involvement in the Lincoln Highway Association as well as the adventures of future president Eisenhower. It takes a look at what started our Federal Highway system. Another interesting fact is that 80 years later Utah still hasn't paved all of their part of the Lincoln Highway. Even if you don't like history, you'll like the adventures of the convoy crossing the country. Every truck on today's interstates can trace its roots to this convoy.
Rating:
Summary: American optimism and patronage
Review: It's strange to think that America's massive national highway system was brought about by a loose conglomerate of aligned and interlocking companies, including Ford and Firestone--a vast publically funded project built to the specifications of a handful of private enterpreneurs. The background to the quest Davies outlines remains startling, even though it has later analogues (such as NASA). Davies does a lot with his story but can't overcome its basic inertia. I thought that Dwight Eisenhower would enliven this story, but he's just a minor player, and the major players are only shadowy figures in a tale of big business and government laissez-faire. You do get a good feeling about small-town America in the years directly following World War I, when American optimism went hand in hand with a patronage system that has no real equivalence today. It's a world in which "conservative" and "liberal" are stood on their heads, and mean something very different than they do today. One thing's for sure, you'll never look at a road map in the same way after reading this charming, unnecessary book.
Rating:
Summary: The Automobile Drives the Future
Review: Pete Davies has done a spectacular job of capturing the enormity of this history-making undertaking. When you consider that less than 100 years ago there were less than 10 miles of paved road in the whole country and contrast that with today, it's mind-boggling what has been accomplished in such a short time. And it's all because the automobile came along and people needed passable roads on which to drive them. The Trans-Continental Convoy held up an unavoidable magnifying glass for the citizens (and politicians) of the US so they would not need to ask, "What's wrong with our roads?" It became crystal clear. If you wanted your town and state to develop, you'd better get on the Good Roads bandwagon. This book was particularly interesting to me because my father drove these trucks during World War One from the automotive centers in Ohio, Michigan and Indiana to Baltimore, using the Lincoln Highway. From Baltimore they were shipped overseas. In one of his letters, he remarked that it had been raining for three days straight, but they got by fairly well because most roads were gravel. Although I'm sure the eastern most portions of the Lincoln Highway were probably in better repair than the western parts, The American Road gave me a good picture of what my father was up against. The next time you drive down the Interstate, you can thank the foresight of some people in Detroit, the keen observation of a young Lt. Col. Dwight Eisenhower, and the sheer grit of the Convoy drivers, for showing the nation what had to be done.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting take on modern American history
Review: Pete Davies has provided us with an interesting view on American history with his book American Road. I found the book interesting and engrossing, though Davies had a tendancy at times to divert off to a tangent that does not seem to be related to the topic at hand. Most of the topics he includes in the book give the reader a better understanding of how critical this transcontinental journey really was in forming modern America. Davies' research is top-notch; he relies on primary sources including journals and newspaper accounts written at the time of the events. The book is a great chronicle of early 20th Century Americana from a social perspective, including the trials and tribulations faced by the individuals during the cross-country journey. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the formation of modern America's motor age, but if you're only interested in understanding the Army's piece in this, you should consider skipping this book, because it doesn't do much with the military piece, despite the fact that the U.S. Army was responsible for the motorcade.
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