The Motel in America

This is the best book in the series on the impact of the road and automobile on American culture. It clearly and concisely assesses how the Motel impacted Americans from the traveling family stopping in motor courts to the modern business traveler staying in Holiday Inn Express or Marriott's. The book focuses less on the package placement academic babble that permeates the rest of the series and more on the historical and cultural aspects of the motel. It traces the evolution from roadside tents, to cabins to motor courts and up to the modern hotel/motel. It has a fascinating chapter on the development of the hotel room and what amenities should be included or not included through historical analysis. For those who really want to understand the history behind hotels this is an excellent place to start and a valuable contribution to urban history.

This book is not a big coffee table picture book. It is not a book to take to the beach. But I could see taking this book on vacation - that is if you were driving the old state highways that may still have some of the kewl vintage motels and stuff. This book covers a lot of ground and it would be of interest to those who enjoy funky motels and stuff. The writing style is not a fun as I would like - perhaps this book started out as a college thesis. But the info and pictures make it a good buy for the money.

Upon completion of this book, the reader will have a complete history of the growth of today's hotel industry from the days of tourist camps, through motor courts, motels, and now motor inns. It is well researched, very quick reading, and gives an excellent history of this major form of commerce during the earlier part of the 20th century. The only thing missing might be a pictoral diagram showing the evolution of early chains into today's major lodging chains. I would also suggest a little more detail on the circumstances of some of the chain's that went out of business. Either way, a great piece for anyone interested in travel history and highway evolution.