Books for the Car Guy in Your Life

Name: Route 66 in Tulsa
Brand: Steve Clem
SKU: 9781467162197
Price: 24.99 USD
Availability: InStock

The Tinkerer. The Race Fan. The Classic Car Buff. The Mechanic. There are many kinds of car lovers, and we have books for them all. For example, Lost Car Companies of Detroit features fascinating tales from many of the more than 200 car companies that tried their hand at making cars in Motor City. Explore the histories of classic names like Packard and Mustang. Thrill to the action-packed stories from the iconic oval of Charlotte Motor Speedway, to the hairpin turns of Watkins Glen, and the high-banked curves of Dover Downs in Delaware. Or, inspire your gearhead with San Diego’s fascinating Lowriders--intricately painted, low-to-the-ground cars with tricks up their sleeves. This year, give the gift of gears.

5 products

Sort

Route 66 in Tulsa

$24.99

Staten Island and the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge

$24.99

Indiana's Lost Michigan Road

$24.99

Wilmington before Interstate 95

$24.99

313

$24.99

Route 66 in Tulsa

9781467162197

$24.99

Tulsa has always been vital to Route 66. In 1920, as the automobile was altering American life, good roads were nonexistent. Tulsa businessman and civic leader Cyrus Avery led the charge to transform the patchwork of dirt and mud trails that linked cities into a national system of paved highways, culminating in the creation of Route 66 in 1926.

For this, Avery is known as the “Father of Route 66.” Through the Great Depression, World War II, and the country’s postwar prosperity, the “Main Street of America” permeated culture through song, literature, movies, and even a television show. All the while, Tulsa—the “Magic City” with a petroleum pedigree—hosted travelers with big-city services and shopping in an Art Deco setting. And then, the road was gone. It was replaced by the faster, straighter interstate highway system in 1985. The signs came down and the double sixes disappeared until another Tulsan, Michael Wallis, brought them back. In 2024, Tulsa officially became the “Capital of Route 66.” Travelers from around the globe get their kicks at exciting attractions from Buck Atom Space Cowboy to Meadow Gold Mack and Mother Road Market to Cyrus Avery Centennial Plaza. Again, neon dances in the Capital of Route 66.

Steve Clem is a Route 66 “roadie” (aficionado) and a trustee at Sand Springs Cultural and Historical Museum. Becky Hatchett is president of the Southwest Tulsa Historical Society and volunteers at the Route 66 Historical Village. Rhys Martin serves on Tulsa’s Route 66 Commission and is president of the Oklahoma Route 66 Association.

Staten Island and the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge

9781467170321

$24.99

With the opening of the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge in 1964, Staten Island was changed forever.

Sewers, schools, roadways, and even the politicians of New York City were not prepared for the onslaught of relocating Brooklyn residents who sought a rural lifestyle. Houses were bought as quickly as they were built. Schools were scrambling to find seats for thousands of newly arriving students. The antiquated sewer system of Staten Island could not handle the overload and there simply wasn't enough room for all of the septic tanks needed.

Who were the allies or adversaries of development? Who sought to make a meaningful plan for Staten Island's future?

Author Patricia Salmon examines the preparation, design, and opening of "The Bridge," as well as how it impacted the citizens of Staten Island during the next decade.

Indiana's Lost Michigan Road

9781467162852

$24.99

Discover the history of Indiana's lost Michigan Road through this collection of stunning photographs.

Indiana became a state in 1816, and soon after, roads were considered for the state to help bring in settlers. The first south-to-north road in the state, going from the Ohio River to Lake Michigan, was proposed in 1818 by Rep. William Hendricks. Deciding on where the road would begin on the Ohio River resulted in some discussions before Madison was finally selected. Michigan City was easily chosen as the northern end of the road. From Indianapolis north, South Bend was picked to avoid the Kankakee River’s swamps and marshes. It was called Michigan Road because it went to Lake Michigan. Construction on the road began in 1830 and was completed in 1837, and it covered 260 miles. Since 1837, the road has undergone many changes, but in the 21st century, most of the road is lost to history. The Historic Michigan Road Byway was created in 2011 to showcase the original route.

W.C. Madden has published many titles for Arcadia Publishing, but Indiana’s Lost Michigan Road is his first statewide publication. Madden traveled to county historical societies around the state for historic photographs, postcards, and information about Michigan Road.

313

9781609494902

$24.99

Since 2007, John Carlisle has fascinated readers with his untold stories of Detroit in his "Detroitblogger John" column for the Metro Times. His words and photographs shed light on the overlooked and forgotten while bringing life to neglected, far-flung neighborhoods. The Detroit chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists named Carlisle the 2011 Journalist of the Year for his work on the city. This collection features dozens of his previously unpublished photographs and forty-two of his most unforgettable stories, including a man who has a strip club in his living room, a bar in a ghost town, a coffee shop for the city's homeless, an art gallery in a mattress store and an old-fashioned debutante ball in the unlikeliest of places.