Another Kind of Old Guidebook

Saturday, I was in our local Borders store looking at the books of local interest and came across an interesting one. It was titled "Chicago to Lake Geneva: a 100-Year Road Trip: Retracing the Route of H. Sargent Michaels' 1905 Photographic Guide for Tourists." It is put out by the Chicago Map Society and Robert W. Karrow, Wilbert Stroeve, and James Acherman worked on it. It is published by the Newberry Library.

I looked at it very closely and it came down to that and an Arcadia book on McHenry, Illinois. I went the latter. My 40% off coupon was good for only one book and you had to spend $20. This one lists for $17.95. But, I'll have to get a copy as a lot of the area they went through was right in my area. What I really liked were the before and after pictures. I ALWAYS like before and after pictures.

The blurb for the book reads that in 1905, Homer Sargent Michaels, a Chicago automobile agent developed an unusual solution for the problems early motorists faced along the poorly marked roads of the era. Other guidebooks had written directions. Why not have written directions and photographs of every major intersection along the way.

The new book has every single page of the 1905 original as well as pictures of the same spots today (well, 2005). There are brief explanations as well.

Amazon had it listed for $12.21.

Definitely Worth Looking Into. When's My Next Borders' Coupon? --RoadDog