{"product_id":"9780760354179","title":"Strange 66: Myth, Mystery, Mayhem, and Other Weirdness on Route 66","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eWhen you open \u003ci\u003eStrange 66 \u003c\/i\u003eyou will take a look beyond the all-American sheen and to the seedy, creepy, and just plain weird stories behind America's Mother Road.\u003c\/b\u003e Route 66 conjures images of an \u003cb\u003einnocent golden age of car travel\u003c\/b\u003e—shiny V8s powering down hot two-lane blacktop, sucking 20-cent-a-gallon gasoline and periodically depositing their occupants at mom-n-pop greasy spoons, neon-lit motels, and tourist traps. But America’s Mother Road wasn’t all about ruddy-cheeked, summer vacationers. Route 66 and the regions it traverses have a more seldom seen side \u003cb\u003erich with weird tales\u003c\/b\u003e (mimetic architecture, paranormal phenomena, and even cryptozoology) to the \u003cb\u003edownright sordid and seedy\u003c\/b\u003e (murder, mistreatment, and other assorted mayhem). In \u003ci\u003eStrange 66\u003c\/i\u003e, bestselling Route 66 authority Michael Witzel explores the flip side of Route 66 to offer details on infamous Route 66 locations that once served as hideouts for the James Gang (Meramec Caverns), Bonnie and Clyde (Baxter Springs, Kansas), and Al Capone (Cicero, Illinois). There are the \u003cb\u003estories of unspeakable crimes\u003c\/b\u003e committed along 66, such as the Stafflebeck “murder bordello” in Galena, Kansas, and Ariziona’s “Orphan Maker of Route 66.” Witzel also explores the people that passed through the region, including the \u003cb\u003eDust Bowl exodus\u003c\/b\u003e and the \u003cb\u003eTrail of Tears tribute\u003c\/b\u003e in Jerome, Missouri.              Then there are the lighter, though still strange stories, such as the Route 66 Great Transcontinental Footrace and the origins of various roadside colossi, like the Blue Whale of Catoosa, and Giganticus Headicus in Walapai, Arizona. And speaking of heads, what about steak? Eat one as big as your head at the Big Texan in Amarillo, and it’s free! It all culminates in a look at Route 66 not quite like any other,\u003cb\u003e completely illustrated with modern and archival photography\u003c\/b\u003e and written by an acknowledged authority on the Mother Road.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Voyageur Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47010603237616,"sku":"9780760354179","price":25.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9780760354179_p0.jpg?v=1763655454","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9780760354179","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}