There are two Route 66s: one that most Americans think they know, and another that’s really there . . .

The first of these two Route 66s is very much alive and well, but only in American hearts and minds. It is a nostalgic vision of America’s yester-years, reinforced in countless books conjuring a remembered past through carefully framed and curated imagery. These books present readers with images of neon motel signs aglow in blue-skied dusk, fifties themed diners, and vintage cars, or they show “ghost town” remains, faded roadside attractions, and near-past archaeology. To the extent that these books portray people – something they do remarkably rarely – they show an array of thematically dressed waitresses in the aforementioned diners, or an array of gift shop, motel, and museum owners and employees. Missing from these books is any true exploration of the current, complete and real, Route 66.

This book takes aim at the second of the two Route 66s, the one that's really there. It seeks to show the here-and-now reality of the Route, the true what-is. There are no sepia toned “ghost town” images, no shot-at-dusk neon motel signs, no vintage cars. Abandoned lots and out-of-business store fronts have not been cropped from the record. Impoverished “we’re-still-here” communities along the Route are not ignored. There are no portraits of costumed staff in them-park recreations of 1950s diners. No old-west shoot-outs. Instead, there is the truth: images of the place and people as they exist in and around the former Route 66, America and Americans today, “uncropped” and devoid of nostalgia.

You can read more about the two views of Route 66 here.

Where the Photos were Taken