Route 66 Still Kicks

Driving America's Main Street

By: Rick Antonson

Narrated by: Brian Troxell

Length: 9 hrs and 33 mins

Publisher's summary

A wild ride through America’s heartlands.“You’ll never understand America until you’ve driven Route 66—that’s old Route 66—all the way,” a truck driver in California once said to author Rick Antonson. “It’s the most famous highway in the world.” With some determination, grit, and a good sense of direction, one can still find and drive on 90 percent of the original Route 66 today.

This travelogue follows Rick and his travel companion Peter along 2,400 miles through eight states from Chicago to Los Angeles as they discover the old Route 66. With surprising and obscure stories about Route 66 personalities like Woody Guthrie, John Steinbeck, Al Capone, Salvador Dali, Dorothea Lange, Cyrus Avery (the Father of Route 66), the Harvey Girls, Mickey Mantle, and Bobby Troup (songwriter of “(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66”), Antonson’s fresh perspective reads like an easy drive down a forgotten road: winding, stopping now and then to mingle with the locals and reminisce about times gone by, and then getting stuck in the mud, sucked into its charms. Rick mixes hilarious anecdotes of happenstance travel with the route’s difficult history, its rise and fall in popularity, and above all, its place in legend. The author has committed part of his book’s proceeds to the preservation work of the National Route 66 Federation.

©2012 Rick Antonson (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

“One of the best books of the bunch.” (The New York Times Roundup of Holiday Travel Books)

“A must for Route 66 aficionados.” (Chicago Tribune)

“The most impressive account of a road trip I have ever read.” (Paul Taylor, publisher of Route 66 Magazine)

“A middle-age Woodstock in motion, an encounter with an America that isn’t as lost as we think...in the end Antonson proves that Route 66 indeed still kicks - as does America.” (Keith Bellows, editor in chief, National Geographic Traveler)

Fun Trip

I first had my curiosity piqued about Route 66 years ago when I helped my daughter and her family move from South Carolina to Arizona. This was a fun and very informative book that made me feel I was finally taking the journey myself. It was a delight to read and experience.

Good listen with a bit of history

Good listen with a bit of history to tie it all together. Not a traveler guide but a romance with the road trip to inspire travel.

Best Account of the Old Route

I have listened to a lot of audio books about traveling Route 66. I have interviewed many experts on Route 66. But there is something about this book that plops you right in the middle of it all. You really get to feel what the route was all about. You get close with the people they encountered along the way and feel the sadness that it is no more.

Mr. Antonson and his traveling companion Pete, certainly had their moments on this trip. At times you will feel like pummeling Pete for his cranky demeanor and other times you will praise him for his practicality. I applaud Mr. Antonson for his patience through the whole trip and managing to maintain a friendship with Pete..... and not pummeling him.

The Narrator, Brian Troxell, did a wonderful job of bringing us along on the trip in that Mustang. His voice was smooth and his diction was perfect. His tonality didn't bore me or make me wish it was over, in fact, I was sort of sad when the book came to an end.

I love audio books like this. A great adventure and a great story of the Mother Road with two friends, in a totally inappropriate vehicle for the job. Look for an interview with Rick Antonson on my podcast. www.motorcyclemen.us

I will not invoke the 10 second rule however.

so much variation

The book alternates scenes to keep it interesting. They describe a place, then they get into the friendship quirks of our 2 travelers. Then they talk history of the road. Then they meet a random person on the road who seems to be symbolic of some American trait. Then repeat.

Definitely a Kick!

Having recently completed a 6,100 mile road-loop of our West and Mid-west US acreage, over 2,000 miles of it being on Old Route 66, this fabulous journalistic approach of story telling leaves me wanting to relive our journey. Fabulous! Friend Pete is the perfect traveling foil. Bravo to a story well told!

Great way to vicariously travel Route 66

Enjoyable listen as Rick Antonson takes us from Chicago to L.A. on America's Main Road. So much of the main road is no longer as it was, and the author helps us understand the history of this road, as well as set expectations in the event you want to make your own journey.

Route 66 Still Kicks

I loved listening to this book. Listening to a little bit of American history. Well told.

What a Ride!

I felt like I was on the road with the guys! Great adventure, packed with hidden gems of Route 66. A "must listen" indeed!!!

Dreaming of a road trip

I am in the process of planning a road trip on Route 66 and this book has made me even more excited. It gives many ideas of places to stop and the history that goes along with the mother road.

Fun if you’ve driven parts

I like narratives about travel. They take me places I might never go. This one covers almost all of the route in easy to handle chapters that glide along at a smooth pace. You won’t be wowed but you won’t be bored. There’s a nice mix of travelogue and history, personality and scenery. Don’t worry about the material seeming dated by it’s 2012 publication - this is intended to be nostalgia at its best.