Route 66 Companion

David King Dunaway has written about American culture for publications ranging from the New York Times to the Virginia Quarterly. He is the author of nine volumes of history and biography, including How Can I Keep from Singing?, a biography of American folk singer Pete Seeger, which won the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers' Deems Taylor Award for excellence in writing about American music. Dunaway is currently a professor at the University of New Mexico, Distinguished Professor of Broadcasting at San Francisco State University, and a DJ for KUNM-FM radio in Albuquerque.

Route 66 has a long and interesting history, and Dunaway...has done a fantastic job selecting works of literature about "America's Main Street" to tell its dynamic story, supplemented by the editor's own invaluable commentary. (Publishers Weekly) A Route 66 Companion is a great read and should find its way to the hands of any armchair traveler or lover of the history of the American West. (Oral History Review)

• IntroductionI. Railroads and the Prehistory of Route 66 Dave Edmunds, Buffalo Hunting on Route 66Washington Irving, A Tour on the PrairiesCount de PourtalÈs, On the Western Tour with Washington IrvingEdward F. Beale, The Journals of the Superintendent of the Wagon WorldMichael Amundson, Railroaders' Route 66Hal G. Evarts, Jr., One Night in the Red Dog SaloonZane Grey, The U.P. TrailMan Susanyatame, Recalling Route 66's Trail of TearsA Bioregional Approach to Route 66: An IntroductionII. Prairie 66: Illinois, Missouri, and Kansas Vachel Lindsay, The Santa Fe TrailCarolyn Wheat, Too Many MidnightsThomas Wolfe, The Lost BoyJay Smith, The Boy: Okie Passage on Route 66David August, Blind CornerJames H. Cobb, West on 66III. Plains 66: Oklahoma and Texas Greg Malak, Working with WillWill Rogers, The Autobiography of Will RogersLance Henson, Back Road 66Karen Hesse, Wild Boy of the RoadVictor H. Green, The Negro Motorist Green BookGary Phillips, '53 BuickEdmond Threatt, Black on 66Michael Wallis, Mr. Route 66Robert M. Davis, Kicking 66Delbert Trew, On Route 66 in TexasStanley Marsh III, Cadillac RanchIV. Mountain 66: New Mexico and Arizona Raymond Wierth and Joe Miller, Mining Along 66Harvey Fergusson, Hot SaturdayPaul Horgan, The Thin Mountain AirMary Toya, Laguna ExileJohn Steinbeck, The Grapes of WrathLeslie Marmon Silko, CeremonyLucille Fletcher, The Hitch-HikerHenry Miller, The Air-Conditioned NightmareRudolfo Anaya, Hispanic on Route 66V. Desert and Coastal 66: California Ed Gorman, GunslingerRaymond Chandler, The High WindowLouis Owens, Indian Farm-workers on 66Ry Cooder, The Music of 66Robert Ervin, Soul in the DesertEarlene Fowler, Blue TimeSylvia Plath, Sleep in the Mojave DesertJoan Didion, Some Dreamers of the Golden DreamRoss MacDonald, Sleeping BeautyVI. The Future of 66 Peter Friedman, A Rocket Scientist Looks at Route 66's FutureFredric Brown, Rogue in SpaceAldous Huxley, Brave New WorldA Select Route 66 BibliographyCreditsAcknowledgmentsAbout the Author