UnStuck: Rebirth of an American Icon

Book Reviews

UnStuck: Rebirth of an American Icon
By Stephanie Stuckey
Dallas: Matt Holt Books, 2024
Hardcover, 240 $28

Reviewed by Ralph S. Wilcox

As a child whose family made numerous road trips during the 1970s and 1980s, we likely stopped at Stuckey’s during our stays at Holiday Inn and our meals at Howard Johnson’s. I didn’t, however, then take much notice of Stuckey’s and its distinctive buildings. However, that changed while working on listing a Stuckey’s building in the National Register of Historic Places in 2022. I accomplished this with Stephanie Stuckey’s generous assistance, along with documenting the chain’s remaining buildings in Arkansas.

Full Review

Who Knew? Roadside Revelations in Western Massachusetts

Book Reviews

Who Knew? Roadside Revelations in Western MassachusettsWho Knew? Roadside Revelations in Western Massachusetts)
By Robert E. Weir
Amherst, MA: Levellers Press, 2021
Softcover, 266, $18.95

Reviewed by Frank Brusca

At first glance, Who Knew? appears to be a guide to roadside oddities found in western Massachusetts. The cover shows a gigantic roadside Tin Man statue from The Wizard of Oz, and the following few pages include photographs of a teepee structure, a giant milk bottle, and a large, politically incorrect statue of a Native American. Readers interested in roadside attractions may find the book’s lure hard to resist. However, a deeper dive into the book reveals a much broader range of points of interest for the region. The book is a nice record of the region’s landmarks, including dinosaur fossils, geologic wonders, historic sites, unique cultural sites, covered bridges, scenic views, statues, and museums.

Meet Me by the Fountain: An Inside History of the Mall

Book Reviews

Meet Me by the Fountain: An Inside History of the MallMeet Me by the Fountain: An Inside
History of the Mall
By Alexandra Lange
New York: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2022
Hardcover, 310, $28.00

Reviewed by Harold Aurand, Jr.

Before World War II, most Americans shopped downtown or along the commercial strips that had grown up along the major access roads into cities. When places like Levittown started to appear, further out than the traditional suburbs, few thought this would change. Instead, the suburbs gave birth to shopping centers and malls. These were islands of retail development, surrounded by parking lots and cut off from residential and industrial areas. For years, they dominated the commercial landscape. Now, they seem to be going away. In 2017, Credit Suisse predicted that a quarter of American malls would close in the next five years, and that was before COVID-19.