Brouws seems to have acquired a photographer's eye that can look behind and around and through the grime and the dust of the highway's edge, and find an unheralded harmony in the play of concrete, neon, and metal. Looking at the photographs one can recognise what was always there, but always overlooked. These are the backdrops to our highway dreams, and so it makes good sense to see these without putting people into the foreground. The essays are cogent and work well as an introduction to the photos. Buy the book, and you'll be seeing the highway in a different light from then on.

I was given this book by my children recently after I had told them how much I enjoyed travelling the great roads we have in our country. I'm glad they chose this particular book because it's been one of the most enjoyable I've ever read. Not only is it historically relevant in describing how we developed from pastoral backwoods areas to a system of large cities and suburbs, but it sheds light on many unknown facts of that 200 year journey. For instance, I did not know that our present day Interstate Highway system-something we take for granted when we drive to see grandma a few states away at Christmas time-was originally proposed by President Roosevelt in 1937. He envisioned it as a pattern of roads which would facilitate the movement of men and equipment during the World War which he knew was imminent. Neither did I know the extent to which Huey Long, the populist governor of Louisiana in the '30's, used the construction of roads throughout his state to enlist support from the common people. ("Every Man A King" was his slogan.) So successful was Long that historians say he might have seriously challenged Roosevelt in 1936 had he not been assasinated. Patton points out the fusion of good highways, recently invented air-conditioning and reliable vehicles enabled the entire southern portion of the United States to prosper during the last half of the 20th Century. It was a combination of these three factors which moved us from a predominantly backwards area stretching from Atlanta to Los Angeles into becoming the nation's prosperous Sun Belt. It is this region that has attracted so many new residents and has "driven" the emerging high tech commercial engine which is fueling the unparalled prosperity of our country. From the opening of the first road in America, the Natchez Trace, dedicated in 1803 by Thomas Jefferson, to the 99.9% completed Federal Interstate Highway system, Patton takes us on a journey at once both informative and nostalgic, winding down the roads where the orange-topped Howard Johnsons sat, and out past all the Burma Shave signs lining the roads splitting the wheat fields of Nebraska. I urge all who are interested in learning how the American road evolved to read this book. As a 1951 Ford ad in the book pointed out: "Today the American Road has no end; the road that went nowhere now goes everywhere....on that road, the nation is travelling beyond the troubles of this century, constantly heading towards a finer tomorrow." True then, truer now.

Although we know they "made it", their story is riveting and full of knuckle-busting suspense. Their dedication and work is both inspiring and awesome. This is much more than just flying around the world non-stop. Dick and Jeana worked very long and hard and their success is due largely to them.

If you feel that the Cold War years were some sort of bad dream, and you catch yourself wondering what it was all about, this is a great book for waking up. Patton uses Area 51 as an entry into the psychology of the era. The skunk works, strange lights in the sky, the secrecy and paranoia all come together in a sane and down to earth commentary on those times.

I especially enjoyed the history of Area 51, the workings of the Lockhead SkunkWorks, and the story of the U2 and other spy planes. I was distrubed by the book's portrait of Curtis Lemay (of Dr. Strangelove fame)and his nightly bombing raids on American cities. Strange things indeed were happening in the skies. They may still be going on.

Patton's style is on the level and humorous at times, a delight to read. Highly recommended.

This book provides lots of insight as to why people find Area 51 so fascinating, but doesn' really draw any conclusions.

Phil Patton interviews every type of person interested in the workings of the Air Force's facility at Groom Lake, from aviation buffs to "youfers," all the while maintaining objectivity. He doesn't seek to judge the conspiracty theorists, but rather gives a basic history of black projects in general and Area 51 in particular.

I found it an easy and fun read. If you're at all interested in the United States' most secret military facility, black projects or secret aircraft, this is a good read.

This very easy to read book is full of factual (did you hear that - factual) information about the history of Dreamland and a LOT more. It puts the whole UFO/Alien base/secret aircraft/etc. topic in a rational perspective. Even for those not interested in the topic, there is a lot of interesting history in this quick read...enjoy.

1 star for proceeding from the most egregiously faulty and revisionary premise: that the concept and design of the "bug" was the brainchild of Adolf Hitler.

Ferdinand Porsche had been working on a "People's Car" for more than 20 years before Hitler was even in power. Porsche was frequently forced to backburner the project because his employers (like Daimler-Benz) wanted his design talents focused on the luxury saloons, not an inexpensive 'everyman' car. Porsche eventually quit his job and formed his own design bureau and did piece work for his former employers to fund his passion: the volks-wagen.

Many prototypes had already been built and 90% of the design completed before Hitler appeared quite late in the development process. Adolf's ideas (as referenced in this book) were already part Porsche's pre-KdF design or were the marketing meddlings of a politician anxious to make populist hay of the German Auto industry's refusal to produce an affordable, maintainable car.

Phil Patton has robbed Ferdinand Porsche of the credit he deserves for the selfless pursuit of a people's car and places the laurels, unmerited, on the brow of a madman. Porsche was the visionary; Hitler was only the financial means. You could say that Porsche allowed his life-long goal to see the car produced cloud his judgement in choosing a business partner.

Crediting Hitler with the design of the Volkswagen is sensationalistic historical revisionism at it worst.

For a historically responsible evaluation see "Volkswagen - Nine Lives Later" by Dan R. Post.

Whether or not Phil Patton's latest is factually accurate or merely revisionist sensationalism, the first half of this overly long "history" of the VW Beetle makes for an entertaining enough read. But past World War Two and Hitler's interest in developing the ultimate people's car, the narrative loses focus and seems to lose its way amid references to Charles Manson, Mickey Mouse, Nike Town, and a host of other pop culture items. I almost got the feeling that the author wasn't quite sure which direction to take and that his editor was MIA. I found myself also losing focus the more I read and by the time the author discusses the Autostadt, I'd lost any semblance of interest. I'd have stopped reading, but I had less than twenty pages to go.

My hat goes off to the dust jacket's designer. It's exceptionally eye-catching.