NOTE: Book reviews featured here are “reprints” from the SCA Journal, both recently published and from our archives. Not all titles may still be in print, or if in print, offered at the price or in the format listed.
Bowlarama: The Architecture of Mid-Century Bowling
Bowlarama: The Architecture of Mid-Century BowlingBy Chris Nichols with Adriene Biondo
Angel City Press, 2024
Hardcover, 176 pages, $40
Reviewed by Ronald Ladouceur
A chatty and charming companion to Thomas Hine’s Populuxe (1986) and Alan Hess’s Googie: Fifties Coffee Shop Architecture (1986). Bowlarama, a handsome, fact-filled book chronicles the entire history of bowling, but focuses the half half-decade between 1957 and 1962, when separate streams of technology, suburbanization, and entertainment culture combined to fuel the development of fantastic and monumental architectural confections throughout the west and across the country.
Mapping Historical Las Vegas: A Cartographic Journey
Mapping Historical Las Vegas: A Cartographic JourneyBy Joe Weber
Reno: University of Nevada Press, 2022
Softcover, 344 pages, $36
Reviewed by Ralph S. Wilcox
The book is liberally illustrated with more than 135 maps and photographs. I was pleasantly surprised that a book illustrated with so many maps wasn’t overly technical. Although Weber is currently a professor of geography at the University of Alabama, he grew up near Las Vegas. As a result, his intimate knowledge of Las Vegas and its surrounding area, including Boulder City, Hoover Dam, and Henderson, is apparent. Weber’s book begins with the natural setting in which Las Vegas developed, including the area’s allimportant water resources, which were vital in the initial settling of the region by the area’s indigenous groups and later by Mexicans and Mormons and the routing of the Old Spanish Trail. Initially, Las Vegas was a Mormon fort and rancho, but that changed in the early 20th century when surveyors for the railroad arrived.
Signs of the Signs: The Literary Lights of Incandescence and Neon
Signs of the Signs: The Literary Lights of Incandescence and NeonBy William Brevda
Lewisburg, Pa.: Bucknell University Press, 2011
Hardcover, 405 pages, $129
Reviewed by Paul Sherman
Brevda’s book is primarily a compilation of journal articles that the Central Michigan University English professor (now emeritus) wrote in the 1990s and 2000s, supplemented with a few more recent chapters. F. Scott Fitzgerald, John Dos Passos, William Faulkner, Raymond Chandler, Nelson Algren, and Jack Kerouac are among the authors Brevda tackles.
Your Sheep Are All Counted: A Roadside Archeology of South of the Border Billboards
Your Sheep Are All Counted: A Roadside Archeology of South of the Border BillboardsBy P.J. Capelotti
Whitman Publishing, 2022
Hardcover, 272 pages, $29.95
Reviewed by Frank Brusca
Your Sheep Are All Counted is a retrospective of one of the most spectacular and successful outdoor advertising campaigns ever staged. Over the past 75 years, SoB’s clever and orthodox advertising campaign by founder Alan Schafer transformed a tiny beer stand into a significant tourist attraction. Capelotti’s richly-illustrated tome draws upon hundreds of black and white and full-color photographs from SoB’s advertising archive and roadside photographers such as John Margolies.
Consuming Landscapes: What We See When We Drive and Why It Matters
Consuming Landscapes: What We See When We Drive and Why It MattersBy Thomas Zeller
Johns Hopkins University Press, 2022
Hardcover, 239 pages, $53.23
Reviewed by Brian Gallaugher
Central to Zeller’s thesis is the concept of “Roadmindedness,” that is, the belief, current in the early 20th century, that roads would elevate society and contribute to progress; and, even more, that “roads are worthy in and of themselves.”
Isaly’s: Chipped Ham, Klondikes, and Other Tales
Isaly’s: Chipped Ham, Klondikes, and Other TalesBy Brian Butko
Pittsburgh: Senator John Heinz History Center, 2021
Softcover, 148 pages, $19.95
Available at https://visithei.nz/isalys-book
Reviewed by Harold Aurand Jr.
Brian Butko’s new book, Isaly’s: Chipped Ham, Klondikes, and Other Tales from Behind the Counter is aimed at people who remember Isaly’s glory days. Isaly’s (rhymes with “fries, please”) dairy business started in eastern Ohio, established a chain of stores in the surrounding area and quickly rose to become the world’s largest chain of dairy/deli stores.
GOOGIE MODERN: Architectural Drawings of Armet Davis Newlove
GOOGIE MODERN: Architectural Drawings of ArmetBy Michael Murphy With Text by Alan Hess and Photography by Jens Lucking
Angel City Press, 2022
Hardcover, 206 pages, Retail: $50
Reviewed by Heather David
GOOGIE MODERN is a celebration of both art and the built environment. But perhaps, more importantly, the book is a tribute to a highly innovative architectural firm that helped define a period in U.S. history. The architecture of Armet, Davis, and Newlove brought the seemingly impossible to life. The firm’s innovative designs were created for mass consumption and captured an optimism for a future that seemed limitless.
The American Highway: The History and Culture of Roads
The American Highway: The History and Culture of RoadsBy William Kaszynski
Jeferson, NC: McFarland & Company, 2000
Softcover, 237 pages
Reviewed by Ralph S. Wilcox
William Kaszynski’s book is a must-have for anyone interested in the history of American roads or its businesses, providing readers with a scenic ride along American roads, including side trips exploring roadside establishments.
