commentary by Michael L. Bromley
copyright 2005

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Roadside America: 365 Days
by Lucinda Lewis (2003)

First up is a nice little Xmas gift that came my way from a nice little girl who owns a big and very fast 2003 Lexus. This was the consolation prize... but a nice one, indeed!  All the other cars that I can't have aside from the Lexus are here, pictured 365 times, in fact, from a 1902 Curved Dash Oldsmobile to a 1998 Cadillac "Evoq" concept car, and in and out of it all, including one car I actually can afford, a 1988 Ford Festiva. Most but not all photographs are in color, so we're talking survivors here. But there come now and then period shots, even some black and whites which are all of wonderful quality and a joy, such as the blurry Fifties shot of a pickup, entitled, "Truckin', Two Guns, Arizona." From that period and the following decade there's a heavy load, especially of diners and muscle cars, so I'm thinking Baby Boomers were a marketing goal.

The theme is roads, not just cars, thus the diners and motels and such. I enjoy the plain shots, of which there's a special treat of just a broken road and another, a black and white of a lone Route 66 through the windshield.

Every page has a caption, and most with a good, easy bit of information on the car or the shot, although too often not enough information. The introduction gives us a quick overview of the Automobile Century, and, best of all, there's an index. I will, of course, argue with the introduction, but not here. It's a lovely, fun book, just over 365 pages.

Motor heads will know Lucinda Lewis, a legend in automotive photography.

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