U.S. 40: Cross Section of the United States of America

Stewart spent a lifetime wandering through the American landscape, wondering about its geography and history, and writing books about it. He loved to travel, by foot or road. In 1919, barely recovered from pneumonia, he hitchhiked west on the National Old Trails Road (later U. S. 40 and Route 66). He never forgot his experiences on this trip.

Stewart’s U.S. 40 is a fine example of his work. It uses the highway as a self-guiding interpretive trail to the geography of a “cross-section of the United States.” The book has already produced two outstanding “descendant” works: Tom and Geraldine Vale’s U.S. 40 Today, and German film director Hartmut Bitomsky’s film “U.S. 40 West.” The book (and its current apostle, Frank Brusca) also found its way into William Least Heat Moon’s Roads to Quoz.

And George R.Stewart’s U.S. 40 inspired Brusca to produce these excellent U.S.40/National Road web pages, in which he carried on and expanded Stewart’s work.

All uncredited or unattributed material on this website © Donald M. Scott. Don Scott wrote the standard biography of George R. Stewart.

Update history: This page created 15 March 2011. Latest update 20 July 2024

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