U.S. 40: A Roadscape of the American Experience by Thomas J. Schlereth

Abstract

170 Book Reviews TECHNOLOGY AND CULTURE (St. Clair’s argument is from economic efficiency). The core issue in all urban transportation problems may be traffic segregation and con­ trol. If this is so, the motorization of surface transit in Los Angeles does not mean the same thing as does the motorization of surface transit in subway-oriented New York City. Such objections must not obscure the fact that The Motorization of American Cities makes a first-rate case for the author’s contention that “ . . . the marriage of entrepreneurship and public policy is a po­ tentially dangerous union” (p. 177). It shows as well how technologi­ cal change can be a function of political economy. This important, well-written book deserves an affordable paperback edition. Paul Barrett Dr. Barrett is associate professor of history at Illinois Institute of Technology. He has published a book on Chicago’s transition from mass to private transportation and is currently at work on the roles of public policy, corporate interests, and techno­ logical change in urban commercial airport planning and location. U.S. 40: A Roadscape of the American Experience. By Thomas J. Schlereth. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1985. Pp. viii-T 150; illustrations, bibliography. $27.50 (cloth); $13.95 (paper). This slim, well-written, lavishly illustrated volume is an excellent in­ troduction to the history of automobile road development in Amer­ ica, as well as a case study of Highway 40 in Indiana. Thomas Schlereth first develops his ideas on “above-ground archeology” as applied to the roadscape. He concentrates on all available material ob­ jects and physical sites as his data, extensive fieldwork as his re­ search strategy, and the application of cultural geographic and anthropological theory. Schlereth’s main concern is the “New Road” of the automobile. He contrasts the early activities of the New Road—exercise, sport, and recreation—with the economic, legal, or military uses of the “Old Road.” He identifies the bicycle as a vital first stage for the New Road, a stage quickly obscured by the automobile. He traces the history of the automobile road from the private trail association highway of the first two decades of this century, through the num­ bered federal highway system of the second two decades, to the largely post—World War II complex of limited-access parkways, free­ ways, and expressways. Regrettably, the first serious use of govern­ ment funds for roads in the state-funded “Good Roads” period of roughly 1904 to 1916 is omitted. As this was heavily concentrated in New York, Massachusetts, and California, Schlereth’s attempt at a national focus may mislead him. The particular strength of the first halfof the book is Schlereth’s ac­ count of the roadscape itself. He analyzes bridges, urban streets, the commercial strip, and the numerous artifacts that line our roads: shelters for the traveler, shops, services, and shopping cen­ TECHNOLOGY AND CULTURE Book Reviews 171 ters. Schlereth gives a brief, lively history of all of these. He draws heavily on the analytic work of geographer John Jakle, and he cov­ ers and ties together well a complex and extensive literature. He does not consider the coevolution of the automobile with the road— an omission, but not a serious one. The second part of the book covers the history and roadscape of U.S. 40 in Indiana. In the early republican history of America, no road was more important than the National Road, of which U.S. 40 in Indiana was a vital part of the third section. Decaying under the im­ pact of the railroad, much of the National Road was kept going by pri­ vate turnpike authorities. It was revitalized by the automobile into U.S. 40, then largely replaced by Interstate 70. During the 1940s, U.S. 40 was the epitome of American highway architecture. Schlereth’s identification of “epitome districts” that preserve particu­ lar periods almost intact is most useful to the roads scholar. His analy­ sis of the differential effect of various highway periods is im­ pressive, as are his comparative illustrations. Aerial photographs show U.S. 40 as an organic part of the settlement landscape, where Interstate 70 is a gash across the terrain. Peter J...