Blue Highways Revisited

by Edgar I. Ailor III, William Least Heat-Moon (Foreword)

In 1978, William Least Heat-Moon made a 14,000-mile journey on the back roads of America, visiting 38 states along the way. In 1982, the popular Blue Highways, which chronicled his adventures, was published. Three decades later, Edgar Ailor III and his son, Edgar IV, retraced and photographed Heat-Moon’s route, culminating in Blue Highways Revisited, released for publication on the thirtieth anniversary of Blue Highways. A foreword by Heat-Moon notes, "The photographs, often with amazing accuracy, capture my verbal images and the spirit of the book. Taking the journey again through these pictures, I have been intrigued and even somewhat reassured that America is changing not quite so fast as we often believe. The photographs, happily, reveal a recognizable continuity – but for how much longer who can say – and I'm glad the Ailors have recorded so many places and people from Blue Highways while they are yet with us."

Through illustrative photography and text, Ailor and his son capture once more the local color and beauty of the back roads, cafes, taverns, and people of Heat-Moon’s original trek. Almost every photograph in Blue Highways Revisited is referenced to a page in the original work. With side-by-side photographic comparisons of eleven of Heat-Moon’s characters, this new volume reflects upon and develops the memoir of Heat-Moon’s cross-country study of American culture and spirit. Photographs of Heat-Moon’s logbook entries, original manuscript pages, Olympia typewriter, Ford van, and other artifacts also give readers insight into Heat-Moon’s approach to his trip. Discussions with Heat-Moon about these archival images provide the reader insight into the travels and the writing of Blue Highways that only the perspective of the author could provide.


Blue Highways Revisited reaffirms that the "blue highway" serves as a romantic symbol of the free and restless American spirit, as the Ailors lose themselves to the open road as Heat-Moon did thirty years previously. This book reminds readers of the insatiable attraction of the “blue highway”—“But in those brevities just before dawn and a little after dusk—times neither day or night—the old roads return to the sky some of its color. Then, in truth, they carry a mysterious cast of blue, and it's that time when the pull of the blue highway is strongest, when the open road is a beckoning, a strangeness, a place where a man can lose himself” (Introduction to Blue Highways).

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction, Photography, History

336 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2012

Reviews

[Sandra Porter · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was written 30 years after "Blue Highways" (BH) which was published in 1982. This book is not written by the original author-Least-Moon, but has the endorsement of the original author. The book revisited the same route as BH, but this time instead of painting a picture with words, this author takes pictures of the sites and people that the original author visited. It is almost gratifying that this author could find some of the most iconic characters from the first book and revisit them and update us on their lives. The was very interesting that the author, who is a photographer, could find the original sites by Least-Moons' descriptions. Amazingly enough some places had changed very little, and as it will be some did not exist anymore.
I don't think there would be any reason to read this book unless you read BH.

[James Aura · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would recommend this only for hardcore 'Blue Highways' fans. It might even be helpful to re-read the original book before you start this one, so some of the connection are more clear. Lots of nice photographs and some interesting updates on people who were featured in the original book. I did not find it particularly inspiring but it was pleasant. I'll be traveling some of the same blue highways in the mid-South soon, and I may re-trace a bit of the route, myself.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a good book! After I read Blue Highways, I was very interested in finding out where some of these people mentioned in the book ended up. Were the bars and 3 calendar restaurants still out there somewhere? This book photographs William Least Heat-Moon's travels about 30 years later so I could see for myself what was still there and in some case, what Least Heat-Moon actually saw. The authors tracked down many of the people mentioned in Blue Highways and that was interesting. Beautiful photography, well worth checking out.

[Marni · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautiful book that I bought for my husband. He has a very early edition of Blue Highways. I note in the introduction that Least Heat-Moon loaned his original negatives to be digitalized so the colors would be what he had seen on his journey. You can pick up the book and turn to any page and enjoy the pictures and story (from the original BH and what these authors discovered on their journey).

[Monica Joseph · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book. I enjoyed discovering all those places with strange names like Dime box and Nameless. This author took the reader to obscure places off the beaten track and engaged with the folk he met. He captured the essence of the different states and I knew when I was in Tennessee and the different feel of being in New Mexico. This is wonderful travel writing and enduring over thirty years later. I highly recommend it and valuable if one is planning a trip around the USA.

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

The authors of this book present a beautiful collection of photographs along the original path of William Least Heat-Moons' journey in "Blue Highways" (30 years later). Quotes and page numbers from "Blue Highways" are included to tie the photos to the original book, in many cases including original black and white photos for comparison. In addition to visiting the places, the authors track down many of the people interviewed in the original book. It is both interesting and inspiring to see the paths these lives have taken as time has changed their circumstances, their work, and the places they call home. This book is a great tribute to Blue Highways, and a perfect follow-on volume. I'm still looking forward to the remaining books in Mr. Heat-Moons' travel "trilogy".

[Ida · Rating 5 out of 5]

For anyone who wondered what became of the places and people mentioned in Blue Highways, this book catches you up. Beautiful photography, and amazing diligence in tracking down the details.

[Kayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book takes the best quotes and phrases of an iconic American classic and matches them with photos so that we the readers can more accurately experience the places that Heat-Moon visited. The author's text flows just as beautifully as Heat-Moons, and it was nice to dive into this after reading the original Blue Highways.

[Marc · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a coffee table book: glossy photos with some narrative and conversations with original characters. If you enjoyed BH by WLH-Moon, then you will enjoy these glorious colour images of the places Moon went.

[Vicki]

Ailor and his son Edgar IV retraced William Least Heat-Moon's road trip around the U.S. 30 years after the original book was published, photographing (beautifully!) what had changed and what had not and tracking down some of the people interviewed it.

[Bad Cookie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. It was cool seeing pictures of the places visited by the author of Blue Highways and to revisit the people he had spoken with and find out what's gone on in their lives.

[wildct2003 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good pictures.

[Quentin Nie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Neither the stories nor the writing style resonate with me.

[Esther Pierce · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a nice photographic tribute to a wonderful roadtrip book from the late '70's. It was fun to
revisit some of the places in the original book.

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice photo book for the nostalgia enthusiast who read the original Blue Highways. But not exceptional.

[Randall E Hopkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you enjoyed Blue Highways and it's virtual cornucopia of text based visuals, then you will also likely appreciate an update on the changes to those scenes and the people that appear in them.

This book recreates (in pieces) the original journey that William Least Heat-Moon undertook in 1978 as told through photographs and text observations by author Edgar Ailor III in and around 2006. He worked in close communication with Least Heat-Moon and there are several additional comments provided by our original author about the journey and his evolving thoughts since taking the trip.

I was fascinated with Blue Highway's snapshot of the past so much that seeing the changes since was almost required.

[Glenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a great companion piece for William Least Heat-Moon's book, "Blue Highways." This is a visual take on the places, roads and people that William saw and met. I applaud the author for his efforts to locate the people as well as to tell the story of what has happened in the interval between the two books.

[Tami · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful pictures of some hidden gems in our country. Makes me want to go on a road trip.

[Lloyd Fassett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Highly recommended to read along with Blue Highways.

[Steve Gross · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely photographs and text for William Least Heat-Moon's book Blue Highways. Only read this after you have read Heat-Moon's book.

[Stephen Heiner · Rating 4 out of 5]

video book review: https://youtu.be/9kqYMUzTHCQ

This is a lovely photo companion book to Blue Highways. I am not sure it would be appreciated or coherent without reference to the original text, which you should have read before picking this up, or perhaps have it at hand as you read the text for the first time. A lovely slice of Americana.