Hello again.

As always, thanks for joining us here on Inside the Cover.

2026 is the 100th anniversary of Route 66, America's legendary Mother Road, an historic 2448 mile highway running from Chicago to LA that was opened on November 11th, 1926.

It crosses Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California.

It is famous for its role in western migration.

Think about the Dust Bowl, World War Two, linking small towns and symbolizing the Great American Road trip.

Route 66 was officially removed from the U.S.

Highway System in 1985, after it was replaced by segments of the Interstate Highway System.

However, Route 66 lives on as it was the inspiration for multiple songs, movies, a TV show, and books.

I have spent joyous tim selecting and curating a reading list to honor this histori and celebrated American Byway.

It is now time to go inside the cover.

Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck one of my all time favorite reads, On the Road by Jack Kerouac.

The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah.

Arrowsmith by Sinclair Lewis, was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for literature in 1926.

Calvin Coolidg was the United States president, and here I could happily refer you to book written by a famous Kansan.

William Allen White's A Puritan in Babylon was a classic.

The TV show of the same name followed two young men traversing the U.S.

in a Chevrolet Corvette convertible.

Here I have to recommend chapter two of Engines of Change by Paul Ingrassia.

He writes that the Corvette debuted in December of 1953, and that 1953 was a year of transition in America.

One unfortunate aspect of Route 66 was that many of the towns alon the highway were sundown towns, where African Americans had to be out of town by sundown.

In this regard, see Candacy Taylor's book Overground Railroad, detailing how black families could travel safely.

See also.

The Warmth of Other Suns, by Isabel Wilkerson.

One of the most important books that I have ever read.

Ironically, it was jazz pianist and vocalist Nat King Cole who had the most famous song about the highway.

In this regard, see Nat King Cole by Daniel Mark Epstein, the first major biography of Cole that was written with the full cooperation of the family.

Cole died in 1965 at the age of 45.

What about the cities and towns along the way?

Chicago makes me think of many things, including architecture, here.

I recommend The Fellowship by Roger Freedland and Harold Zellman.

It tells the story of Frank Lloyd Wright.

I remember touring Wright's home and studio in Oak Park, the suburb of Chicago, where he lived and worked from 1889 to 1909.

How about St Louis?

Here I will recommen David Halberstams October 1964, another of my all time favorites.

Joplin, see 5:41 Stories from the Joplin Tornad by Randy Turner and John Hacker.

Oklahoma City, see American Terroris by Dan Herbeck and Lou Michel.

Tulsa, of course, see Tulsa 1921 by Randy Krehbiel.

Route 66 runs directly through Flagstaff, Arizona.

Here see The King of Torts by John Grisham.

There are, of course, multiple books involving Los Angeles.

Let me refer to Raymond Chandler's detective novels, such as The Big Sleep.

I know I have only scratched th surface of this rich book mine.

However, I have had fun assisting us get our kicks on Route 66, and I hope you have enjoyed this initial journey with me.

That's our show.

We have taken a literary journey on Route 66, 100 years old in 2026.

Good night and drive safely.