Divided Highways: Building the Interstate Highways, Transforming American Life

Rating:
Summary: Very interesting.
Review: A great overview of the politics and logistics behind the world's largest public works project. A lively story.

Rating:
Summary: Very interesting.
Review: A great overview of the politics and logistics behind the world's largest public works project. A lively story.

Rating:
Summary: A "lobby" without the name
Review: For me, one of the interesting things in this very interesting book is how Lewis describes the development of the "highway lobby," under the aegis of the Federal Bureau of Roads, without ever (I believe) calling it a lobby. This is certainly not the main focus of the book, but Lewis makes it clear that the highway system would not have been developed without the efforts of the highway lobby.

Rating:
Summary: A "lobby" without the name
Review: For me, one of the interesting things in this very interesting book is how Lewis describes the development of the "highway lobby," under the aegis of the Federal Bureau of Roads, without ever (I believe) calling it a lobby. This is certainly not the main focus of the book, but Lewis makes it clear that the highway system would not have been developed without the efforts of the highway lobby.

Rating:
Summary: Watch out for factual errors
Review: I found this book to be a fast read and an informative history of the Interstate system, but I was disappointed by some of the factual errors in the book. For example, on the same page Lewis writes that Interstate 15 and California State Route 1 intersect in Victorville and that I-10 and I-15 meet in Mira Loma, CA. Neither are true and it's disappointing that someone writing a book on the highway system (or his editor) didn't do the minimal fact checking involved (with a map!). If such basic errors were allowed to slip by, I wonder what other "facts" in the book are questionable.

Rating:
Summary: Watch out for factual errors
Review: I found this book to be a fast read and an informative history of the Interstate system, but I was disappointed by some of the factual errors in the book. For example, on the same page Lewis writes that Interstate 15 and California State Route 1 intersect in Victorville and that I-10 and I-15 meet in Mira Loma, CA. Neither are true and it's disappointing that someone writing a book on the highway system (or his editor) didn't do the minimal fact checking involved (with a map!). If such basic errors were allowed to slip by, I wonder what other "facts" in the book are questionable.

Rating:
Summary: Never mind Kirkus Reviews--here's a five star author!
Review: I would like to note that while Kirkus Reviews claims "Lewis is not always careful with his facts (e.g., the first enclosed shopping mall was built in 1956, not in 1947...)," they themselves begin their review with a blatant falsehood: "Similar to his Empire of the Air: The Men Who Made Radio, Lewis has written a tie-in to a PBS documentary." Neither Empire of the Air nor Divided Highways are "tie-in" books. The films are based on the books, not vice-versa, and Kirkus Reviews should know better. Interestingly enough, the first enclosed shopping mall was actually built in 1947, as Lewis wrote. Two strikes for Kirkus! Buy this book!

Rating:
Summary: Informative, with too much opinion
Review: Mr. Lewis offers an insightful view to the history of the interstate system in the United States. While the first half of the book is a wonderfully interesting read, I think that the second half of the book becomes bogged down with too much of Lewis's opinion. I agree with his point that the interstate has changed the state of America for the worse; however, his argument would be better served by a factual analysis from which the reader could draw his or her own conclusions, rather than trying to lead us down the path to highway hatred.

Rating:
Summary: Never mind Kirkus Reviews--here's a five star author!
Review: Mr. Lewis' book is an interesting narrative of the building of the interstate highway system. His depictions of the stories leading to the building of the system are interesting and informative, although he spends quite a bit of time (almost too much) background on some of the early players. More examples such as the New Orleans narrative, would have been interesting, such as an in-depth history of the battle for the DC inner beltway. Overall, the book is very good, but a bit slow and heavy in person narratives at times.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting history of the highways
Review: Mr. Lewis' book is an interesting narrative of the building of the interstate highway system. His depictions of the stories leading to the building of the system are interesting and informative, although he spends quite a bit of time (almost too much) background on some of the early players. More examples such as the New Orleans narrative, would have been interesting, such as an in-depth history of the battle for the DC inner beltway. Overall, the book is very good, but a bit slow and heavy in person narratives at times.