American road

the long version

This book is a fascinating account of the greatest road trip in American history. On July 7, 1919, an extraordinary cavalcade of military motor vehicles set off from the White House on an epic journey. Their goal was California, and ahead of them lay 3,250 miles of dirt, mud, rock, and sand. Stretching more than two miles long, the convoy included trucks, cars, motorcycles, ambulances, machine shops, and mobile kitchens. All told, there were eighty-one vehicles and nearly three hundred men. Two months later they arrived in San Francisco, having averaged just five miles an hour. Known as the First Transcontinental Motor Train, this trip was an adventure, a circus, a public-relations coup, and a war game all rolled into one. As road conditions worsened, it also became a daily battle of sweat and labor, guts and determination. - Jacket flap.