America's Greatest Road Trip!: Key West to Deadhorse: 9000 Miles Across Backroad USA

by Tom Cotter, Michael Alan Ross (Photographer)

Overview

Ride along with author Tom Cotter and photographer Michael Alan Ross as they pilot their Ford Bronco/Airstream Basecamp combination 8,881 miles along the lower 48’s back roads and byways.

Tom Cotter has spent decades ferreting out lost “barn find” collector cars. The process has made him an ardent road tripper, logging thousands of miles every year on America’s back roads. Previous journeys have traced Route 66 in his 1939 Ford Woody wagon and followed the Lincoln highway coast to coast behind the wheel of a 1926 Model T. 

Cotter’s journeys led him to wonder: What could be the most epic American road trip? The answer: Key West, Florida, to Deadhorse, Alaska, its thousands of miles recounted in America’s Greatest Road Trip. Cotter and Ross drove across the country, through British Columbia and the Yukon, and finally through Alaska to the literal end of the road. Ross documented their road time in thousands of photographs.

Along the way, the pair met fellow road trippers, adventurers, small-town Americans, world travelers, and rolled through an ever-changing geography from the Gulf of Mexico to the Mississippi Delta to the Great Plains and Mountain states through the Northwest Passage and finally several hundred miles of Alaska’s challenging ALCAN Highway.

Cotter’s observations of Two-Lane America are complemented by Ross’s beautiful photography capturing both the sweep and the detail of life off the beaten path.

Join them on their once-in-a-lifetime journey—you’ll be glad you came along for the ride.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780760381076
Publisher:	Motorbooks
Publication date:	09/19/2023
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	192
File size:	37 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Tom Cotter had long been involved in nearly every facet of the automotive and racing industries before writing his first book. From mechanic and auto salesman to heading the public relations department at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Cotter formed his own racing and automotive PR and marketing agency, Cotter Group. The agency represented some of the largest clients in NASCAR, IndyCar/CART, drag racing, and road racing. He has written biographies of the legendary Holman-Moody race team, Tommy Ivo and Dean Jeffries, but is best known for his series of barn find books, such as Cobra in the Barn, 50 Shades of Rust and Barn Find Road Trip. Cotter appears in the Barn Find Hunter video series, which is distributed by Hagerty. He teaches public relations at Belmont Abbey College, sits on the advisory board of McPherson College’s Auto Restoration program, and is a member of the Road Racing Driver’s Club (RRDC.) He lives in Davidson, North Carolina.

Michael Alan Ross has carved out a career photographing the studied nuances, latest models, adrenaline-rushed raceways, and proud owners of the car world. His love of automotive design includes an encyclopedic knowledge of sculptural engineering details with a parallel appreciation for the evolution of componentry. Michael's photography is featured in Motorbooks' Barn Find Road Trip and Rockin' Garages, as well as in a wide range of editorial and advertising in the US and Europe. He lives in San Rafael, California.

Tom Cotter had long been involved in nearly every facet of the automotive and racing industries before writing his first book. From mechanic and auto salesman to heading the public relations department at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Cotter formed his own racing and automotive PR and marketing agency, Cotter Group. The agency represented some of the largest clients in NASCAR, IndyCar/CART, drag racing, and road racing. He has written biographies of the legendary Holman-Moody race team, Tommy Ivo and Dean Jeffries, but is best known for his series of barn find books, such as Cobra in the Barn, 50 Shades of Rust and Barn Find Road Trip. Cotter appears in the Barn Find Hunter video series, which is distributed by Hagerty. He teaches public relations at Belmont Abbey College, sits on the advisory board of McPherson College's Auto Restoration program, and is a member of the Road Racing Driver's Club (RRDC.) He lives in Davidson, North Carolina.
Michael Alan Ross has carved out a career photographing the studied nuances, latest models, adrenaline-rushed raceways, and proud owners of the car world. His love of automotive design includes an encyclopedic knowledge of sculptural engineering details with a parallel appreciation for the evolution of componentry. Michael's photography is featured in Motorbooks' Barn Find Road Trip and Rockin' Garages, as well as in a wide range of editorial and advertising in the US and Europe. He lives in San Rafael, California.

Table of Contents

Introduction
Part One: The Lower
1. The Gulf States
2. Definitely the Midwest
3. The Northern Swing
4. Crossing and Crossing and Crossing Montana
5. The Northwest Passage
Part Two: North to Alaska
6. Into the Great White North
7. Welcome to the Yukon Territory
8. Finally, Alaska
Part Three: Fairbanks to Deadhorse
9. The Final Stretch
10. Life at the End of the Road
11. Back to the World
Index
 

Editorial Reviews

"(Cotter) spins an entertaining yarn about people met, places seen, and roads driven....all wonderfully illustrated by Ross’ superb photography. Settle into your favorite chair and enjoy as they take you along, too."—Speedreaders.info

“a gem of a book…Cotter and Ross have the right approach: an epic path, the ideal vehicle, choosing to enjoy the trip, and, most of all, interacting with the people and places along the way…a fun read, and Lord knows it might inspire some to head for the horizon just to see what they can see.” 
 
 —Tony Borroz, Automoblog

"If you want to read about the ultimate bucket list road trip or get to know the U.S. and Canada and its people, then this book is a great read. We have driven much of the same journey and found his findings and reactions to what he experienced to be spot on."—Classic Motorsports

"This engaging, epic, well-documented trip will appeal to car aficionados, road trippers, and readers interested in travel memoirs, small towns, farming, or Americana."—Sue O’Brien, Library Journal

"If you want to read about the ultimate bucket list road trip or get to know the U.S. and Canada and its people, then this book is a great read. We have driven much of the same journey and found his findings and reactions to what he experienced to be spot on."
 
 —Classic Motorsports

 "Great for armchair-travel, but their storytelling and photos just might be the kick-start you need to get out there on America’s roads."—Coast News

From the Publisher

10/01/2023

Automotive/racing expert Cotter and photographer Ross, coauthors of Route 66 Barn Find Road Trip, partner again to chronicle their nearly 9,000-mile trip from Key West, FL, to Deadhorse, AK. Traveling in a Ford Bronco that pulls an Airstream trailer, the two stick as much as possible to two-lane roads. They visit small towns, local businesses, attractions such as the World's Largest Ball of Twine in Cawker City, KS, and museums. They stop whenever an antique auto, tractor, or unusual machine catches their eye; the book is understandably heavy on vehicle facts. They're also consistently on the lookout for a good cup of coffee. Along the way, they view spectacular scenery, from the wide-open plains to the mountains and the tundra. They believe that everyone they meet has an interesting story, so they collect tales from business owners, waitresses, farmers, race-car drivers, oil-rig workers, fellow travelers, and more. Cotter's text is enhanced by Ross's beautiful color photographs of the places they visit and the people they interview. The combination sweeps readers into their adventures. VERDICT This engaging, epic, well-documented trip will appeal to car aficionados, road trippers, and readers interested in travel memoirs, small towns, farming, or Americana.—Sue O'Brien

Library Journal