Route 66: EZ66 GUIDE For Travelers - 4TH EDITION

Extremely helpful. We got lost a few times. This was very helpful

This guide has a lot to recommend it, and McClanahan deserves our thanks for chronicling easy-to-overlook delights along the path of the Mother Road, but let's not confuse "EZ" with "Small." The same information displayed on pages large enough to permit juxtaposing it with the strip maps would be much more user friendly. It's very EZ to lose your point of reference on any given page, which requires forward and backward thumbing through the text to retrieve the corresponding map, and the celebrated spiral binding actually contributes to this.It's interesting to note that several of the reviewers rated it five stars without actually having used it, which speaks more to the cuteness of its appearance than its practicality. McClanahan's syntax and terms of art also can be fairly frustrating. The route instruction "Stay Ahead" not only lacks any intuitive meaning, it's also misleading because whereas "staying ahead" implies going straight ahead, it doesn't rule out the need to watch carefully for required turns. In the intro, he says "Stay Ahead" means "do not turn off the road you are traveling," but is that the street name, the route number or the pavement? Rally nomenclature is much more instructive, e.g. "Turn onto Jones Road and follow," where "follow" is the operative term meaning "stay on the road marked Jones Road until instructed to leave it." Based on last week's real-world experiences using the guide from Oklahoma through Arizona, I would strongly recommend studying each section thorougly before entering it, and using color-coded highlighters, Post-Its or other such devices to facilitate quick cross referencing.I wish I could gush over this work as other reviewers have because I truly appreciate the work McClanahan has done to improve awareness and appreciation of this once-lost natural treasure. Good info? Absolutely. EZ? Not so much.The following was added to my review after a second experience with the book:My wife, who is a seasoned navigator, had a heck of a time using the EZ Guide last week. We enjoy taking motor trips together, do so frequently, and have excellent navigator-driver communication. I can't recall the last time we lost our bearings when she was using conventional maps or even AAA Triptiks. Instructions for navigating Amarillo are especially poor. And even having run much of the same route with my son last summer, I wasn't much help.By way of practical advice, I strongly urge anyone planning to use the EZ Guide to take Mr. McClanahan up on his offer and obtain updates before setting out. We found several motels he mentions in the book out of business. In this regard, the user should take special care to avoid using the Guide to project an evening's final destination -- in our case there was nowhere to stay when we did, and had to press on for a larger city.Finally, I would also suggest taking McClanahan's caveats about restaurants and motels he mentions in the Guide seriously. Even in the context of the faded and funky world of Old 66, his comments on some of the places he more-or-less recommends are somewhat optimistic. Unfortunately, this may have more to do with the declining health of commerce along the route than a divergence of opinion on what constitutes a good meal or a nice place to crash for the night.

If you are worried to take your choice at the moment to decide which guide is best for the job I tell you my opinion.I am planing to go for my trip on route 66 in one month. for instance I am planing based on this book. I bought a brand new just because the difference for a used one was too short.Its a kind of different idea placed on around 200 pages. You need to start from the first chapter to understand how the author wants to take you. he explain his concepts and make you able to read acording your directions (LA-CHI or CHI-LA). If you are going in the directions of LA, you must start reading from the end of this book. Sometimes is complicated because you have to read also the paragraphs on the opposite order (not really a BIG issue). give a hint!!!!I liked pretty much the maps, they are objective and creative at the same time. They show exactly where the R66 goes, the exits and side options. Also the author opinion about how safe those roads are. there are great drawing job on the maps...doing more fun, without mess your expectation (theres no pictures, This is great).I am 32, want to go by motorcycle with my friend and we are planing exactly what is inside...for sure taking some different decisions...because you have to create more...but this book makes decisions easy. the book addresses to curiosities and tell a bit of history about the places and people...each page have the detailed direction for East and West bounders...its helpful but the main structure is made for people leaving from CHI to LA. as I told this demands more attention when you are going on different direction.the cons??? yes for sure there are: 1)there are no GPS coordinates to plan better the trajectory (as the maps are not in scale makes complicated to find exactly point, but planing with google maps make easier) 2) Sometimes pages are to crowded and you do not know if you are still reading about certain city...but is not a main concern. 3) there s no address for the main attraction...would be helpful if he puts the address to plan the GPS cordinate.If I have to buy again...I would buy the same book!After my trip I will leave more reviews!Go ahead and buy it!

Nous avons pu préparer notre road trip avec cet ouvrage.Très détaillé et à jour !super

We did R66 2 years ago over 17 days and out trip would have been only half the experience if it had not been for this book.First day we found the book a bit tricky to follow (stick with it!) but we soon got into the mindset and thereafter it was invaluable. Plenty of tips on what to see and look out for as well as R66 route variations to follow if desired.We also called in on Jerry and his wife to secure his more than willing autograph as well as him give us a few swift route updates to the book !This book combined with google maps on our phone enabled us to successfully and faithfully navigate the original route of the Mother Road. Don’t leave home without it.

We are not travelling yet but dream about it. It’s a really nice guide. Easy to use.

I bought this book as I heard good reviews on it. I am British and planning to do sections of Route 66 over a few years. I have already driven the Black Mountains section through Barstow, Amboy, Oatman and Seligman as far as the Grand Canyon junction. Next month I am driving the LA section right through to Oklahoma City. As I plan to travel West - East, I was having difficulty finding guidebooks and anyone who has travelled sections of R66 will know how difficult it can be to find in some places! Although better for travellers going from East - West, this has a guide for those, like me driving in the "wrong" direction too. It is in a great ring binder fastening so it will be easy to use whilst travelling, appears to have great maps and additional places to visit if you have extra time. I have briefly looked through it and it looks like it will be a great help. I will see if it is as good as it looks and update my review on my return from the Mother Road.

Ok, wer diesen Reiseführer überhaupt findet, der hat sich bereits auf einschlägigen US-Seiten über die "Mother Road" ausführlich informiert und alle deutschen Reiseführer eh schon durch. Dann wird es Zeit, eine Stufe höher zu steigen und in eine Welt in schwarz-weiß mit einfachen aber sehr schönen Zeichnungen und viel Text abzutauchen. Der Autor, Jerry McClanahan kennt nicht nur jeden Stein an der EZ-66, er lebt diese Straße und das erfährt der Leser mit jeder Zeile in diesem Reiseführer. Der Clou, der Autor datet das Buch regelmäßig auf seiner Webseite [...] up. So kann man sicher gehen, nicht plötzlich vor einem zu großen Schlagloch oder einer Straßensperre mitten im Nirgendwo zu stehen. Und wer mit dem Kolumnisten der 66 selbst sprechen möchte, der besucht Jerry einfach in seiner Galerie in Chandler, OK. Fazit, das Buch ist sicher kein Schnäppchen und wer eben nur auf ein Selfie mit einem Route 66 Schild aus ist, kann getrost auf einen der Hochglanzführer zurückgreifen, die sonst angeboten werden. Wer aber ein authentisches Stück amerikanischer Reiseliteratur sucht, das da anfängt wo die EZ66 aufhört, der ist hier genau richtig!Mir fehlt nur der "Road-Test" aber den bestreite ich dann auch noch in nächster Zukunft!