Hollywood Signs: The Golden Age of Glittering Graphics and Glowing Neon

Book Reviews

Hollywood Signs: The Golden Age of Glittering Graphics and Glowing NeonHollywood Signs: The Golden Age of Glittering Graphics
and Glowing Neon
By Kathy Kikkert
Santa Monica: Angel City Press, 2023
Hardcover, 176, $40

Reviewed by Paul Sherman

Movie stars aren’t the only names up in lights in Hollywood. Kathy Kikkert’s delightful Hollywood Signs: The Golden Age of Glittering Graphics and Glowing Neon stylishly salutes the ballyhoo afforded to such customer-craving attractions as greasy spoons, cocktail lounges, coffee shops, motels, bowling alleys, and, yes, movie palaces.

The structure is simple. After an overview of sign making and neon as both industry and art—specifically in southern California—Kikkert focuses on a succession of signs/businesses at a particular location (think Hollywood & Vine) or a specific business type. Each sign gets a portion of a page or a whole page with a photo and a paragraph about the sign and the business. Neither solely historical nor merely a current accounting, Hollywood Signs mingles the long gone with the still active.

The Maine Roadshow: A Roadside Tour of the State’s History, Culture, Food, Funk, and Oddities

Book Reviews

The Maine RoadshowThe Maine Roadshow: A Roadside Tour of the State’s History, Culture, Food, Funk, and Oddities
By Tim O’Brien
Nashville: Casa Flamingo Literary Arts, 2023
Softcover, 120, $29.99

Reviewed by Joel Floyd

This new book should inspire anyone to make a first-time road trip to the beautifully attractive state of Maine or depart on a revisit to seek out a wealth of previously missed roadside attractions. The book divides the state into eight geographical regions, making navigation easy to find over 400 intriguing roadside places, each with a creative photograph and description, along with addresses, websites, and phone numbers.

Full Review

Your Sheep Are All Counted: A Roadside Archeology of South of the Border Billboards

Book Reviews

Your Sheep Are All Counted: A Roadside Archeology of South of the Border Billboards, by P.J. CapelottiYour Sheep Are All Counted: A Roadside Archeology of South of the Border Billboards
By 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.

Full Review