The Great American Retro Road Trip
A Celebration of Roadside Americana
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3.0 • 1 Rating
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- $16.99
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- $16.99
Publisher Description
Celebrate the nostalgic pleasures of America's vintage signs, quirky roadside attractions, and offbeat fast food relics in this irresistible retro road trip across the country.
The Great American Retro Road Trip is a coast-to-coast journey chronicling retro roadside America. Discover classic giant roadside attractions, from The Coffee Pot and The Big Duck to the World’s Largest Paint Can and the Haines Shoe House. Or iconic signage, like the dazzling Yoken’s neon sign, and the classic Moon Motel sign. Still-standing vintage locations of America’s favorite chain restaurants, from Pizza Hut to McDonald’s to Taco Bell. Through author Rolando Pujol’s anecdotes and clever narrative, readers will come away with a sweeping sense of roadside charm that still exists, as well as a desire to see it all for themselves.
These lingering traces of America’s past are an archive of disappearing roadside signage and architecture, and they tell a story of American ingenuity, creativity, and community. Whether you pick up this book for the nostalgia-inducing photos, the heartwarming stories, or as a reference for planning your own trip, you’ll be encouraged to, as Pujol says, “Let your curiosity guide you.”
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Pujol, author of the Retrologist newsletter, offers a lovely and comprehensive guide to America's roadside signs and attractions. Obsessed since childhood with the "eye candy" of eccentric signposts buzzing by on the highway, Pujol began a "determined journey to document them" and the attractions they advertise. He divides the book into geographical regions, then further subdivides it into categories ("Roadside Quirks," "Sweet Spots," and "The Inn Crowd"). While there is an appealing obsessiveness to this cataloging, other trends emerge organically from the fantastic photographs—for instance, the trend of oversize objects dotting the American landscape (oversize burgers, boots, clowns, and, in one case, an oversize Matthew McConaughey). The text is no less fascinating, with its smorgasbord of stories, from a history of the American diner to shout-outs to notable stops, like the Greyhound bus museum in Minnesota or the Tinkertown Museum (dedicated to one man's tinkering) in New Mexico. Pujol reflects nostalgically on the disappearance of such attractions in recent years, but this is no mere elegy; it's a hopeful look at a version of America that existed once and can perhaps exist again. As Pujol puts it, "the many chain establishments" that have sprouted up to replace quirky local businesses are nonetheless still "operated by your neighbors trying to make an honest living." Pujol is a warm and witty tour guide, and there's enough room in his car for everyone.
