If I maintained a list of questions I frequently ask myself, “Why another Route 66 book?”, would be high on the list. I have never arrived at a reason that another one is actually needed; only justifications for ones at hand. Those justifications generally take the form of answers to two questions. They are, “What makes this book different from all others?”, and “Why should I buy it?”  In practice, I ask them in the reverse order which means that, if I don’t have a good reason to buy a book, I’ll probably never get around to discovering what, if anything, makes it different.

For the last several years, it seems that the only reason I’ve had for buying another Route 66 book is a connection with the author and that is again the case this time. I have never actually met Blue Miller, but am familiar with some of her online activity, and have been impressed with her sleuthing ability. In addition, several people that I do know seemed happy with this book or at least eager to see it. I decided to take a look myself, and I don’t regret it a bit.

Although not of the coffee table variety, this is first and foremost a photo book. It contains upward of a hundred photographs, in color, printed on good quality semi-gloss paper. They are primarily documentary photos. That does not mean that they are boring, but it does mean that properly recording each subject is the main goal. The book is certainly not without its share of creative composition, but there are no abstract-light-patterns-on-pavement style pictures. There are usually two or more photos on a page for a max size somewhere around 5.5 by 3.5 inches. That might keep you from displaying it on your coffee table, but it is plenty big enough to show off bridges, buildings, and signs.

As for what makes it different, I guess I could point to it being exclusively (with one exception) concerned with abandoned things and to those things being limited to Arizona. Let’s be honest, though, abandoned things are a mainstay of Route 66 publications. Concentrating on them entirely may technically be different, but, if that merely led to a subset of what is featured in all those other books, it would not be particularly impressive. It’s the abandoned stuff that hasn’t been photographed over and over —   like Ash Fork buildings that aren’t DeSoto’s and the emptiness of Yucca — that moves this book a bit away from the pack.

Yes, the pictures are cool and those of some fairly obscure places enlightening, but it is the words that made me happy with my purchase. The histories of most of the pictured buildings are told. Some are reasonably well known and available elsewhere, but Miller’s telling is both complete and concise. Others are not so well known, and I’ve little doubt that Miller’s aforementioned sleuthing ability brought out some details and possibly some entire stories. Maybe others knew all those details about the schools of Valentine, but I sure didn’t, and the story of the Ostermans and Peach Springs was all new to me. There are other examples of what I take to be sleuthing in the book, and all of them add to my appreciation of it.

As I’ve said about other books on the Mother Road, this should probably not be the first one on your Route 66 shelf, but it is certainly a worthwhile addition.

Abandoned Route 66 Arizona, Blue Miller, America Through Time (March 29, 2021), 6.5 x 9.25 inches, 96 pages, ISBN 978-1634993043
Available through Amazon.