Booknotes

American Road

Mr. Davies talked about his book, American Road: The Story of an Epic Transcontinental Journey at the Dawn of the Motor Age, published by He… read more

Mr. Davies talked about his book, American Road: The Story of an Epic Transcontinental Journey at the Dawn of the Motor Age, published by Henry Holt and Company. It is the story of the First Transcontinental Motor Train, a military caravan that traveled from the White House to California in the summer of 1919. It took the group of sixty-nine military vehicles sixty-two days to reach San Francisco, and they traveled at an average speed of five miles per hour. Along the way, the caravan encountered extreme weather, uncooperative equipment, and poorly-made roads. Ironically one of the participants was a young soldier named Dwight Eisenhower, who, four decades later as President, launched the building of the interstate highway system. Davies also provides a colorful history of transcontinental car travel in this country, including the first cross-country trips and the building of the Lincoln Highway. close

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American Road

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Program ID:
171603-1
Category:
Booknotes
Format:
Booknotes
Location:
Washington, District of Columbia, United States
First Aired:
Sep 29, 2002 | 7:59pm EDT | C-SPAN 1
Last Aired:
Aug 29, 2004 | 5:05pm EDT | C-SPAN 3

Airing Details

  • Sep 29, 2002 | 7:59pm EDT | C-SPAN 1
  • Sep 29, 2002 | 11:01pm EDT | C-SPAN 1
  • Sep 30, 2002 | 5:58am EDT | C-SPAN 1
  • Mar 23, 2004 | 1:00am EST | C-SPAN 3
  • Mar 23, 2004 | 5:00am EST | C-SPAN 3
  • Aug 25, 2004 | 1:00am EDT | C-SPAN 3
  • Aug 25, 2004 | 5:05am EDT | C-SPAN 3
  • Aug 29, 2004 | 1:00pm EDT | C-SPAN 3
  • Aug 29, 2004 | 5:05pm EDT | C-SPAN 3
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