{"product_id":"the-american-open-road-narrative-and-popular-imagination-paperback-softback-9780817362126","title":"The American Open Road; Narrative and Popular Imagination (Paperback \/ softback) 9780817362126","description":"\u003cfont face=\"Georgia\"\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"6\"\u003eThe American Open Road\u003c\/font\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cfont size=\"5\"\u003eNarrative and Popular Imagination\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"4\"\u003eJeffrey Alan Melton (Author)\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e9780817362126\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003ePaperback \/ softback, published 15 August 2025\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e260 pages, 48\u003cbr\u003e22.9 x 15.2 x 2 cm, 0.399 kg\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\"Melton takes readers on the American road to show why car culture is a dominant aspect of American life. He analyzes car advertisements, vintage road guides, movies, novels, songs to express both the boundless freedom and the socially imposed limitations of the road from a wide range of cultural perspectives.\"—Matt Theado, author of \u003ci\u003eUnderstanding Jack Kerouac\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eWINNER OF THE ELIZABETH AGEE PRIZE IN AMERICAN LITERATURE \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe rearview mirror perspective of a road trip across the American \"open road.\"\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe American Open Road: Narrative and Popular Imagination\u003c\/i\u003e offers a rich exploration of how the mythos of the open road has shaped, and been shaped by, American culture. Beginning with the post–World War II boom that solidified car culture as central to American life, Melton reflects on how roads, automobiles, and landscapes have been represented in literature, film, and other cultural texts, highlighting the interplay between mobility and narrative.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDrawing on a wide range of cultural texts, from traditional classic road novels and cinematic presentations, to advertisements, poetry, and prose, Melton examines how the open road functions as a symbol of autonomy, reinvention, and resistance. He highlights how road narratives have also exposed deeper tensions in American life—especially around race, gender, and power—and how historically marginalized voices have used the road to reclaim space and tell new stories.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrom the romanticism of Route 66 to the political edge of modern road films, \u003ci\u003eThe American Open Road\u003c\/i\u003e offers a thoughtful, engaging analysis of the narratives that continue to define American identity and longing. For readers interested in cultural history, travel literature, or the enduring pull of the highway, this book offers a compelling view from the passenger seat of America's most iconic journeys.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e List of Illustrations \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e Acknowledgments \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e Introduction: A View of the Road \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e Part I. The American Open Road and Popular Culture \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e 1. Imagining the Road: Mobility and Narrative \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e 2. Mapping Mobility: Roads, Automobiles, and Landscapes \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e Part II. Conventions of Road Narrative \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e 3. Seeing the Horizon: The Liminal Road \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e 4. Building the Journey: The Emotional Road \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e 5: Finding the Heroic Self: The Epic Road \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e Part III. Blurred Lines along Divided Roads \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e 6: Claiming Mobility: African Americans and Civil Rights \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e 7. Grabbing the Wheel: Women and Power \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e 8. Releasing the Wheel: Men and Power \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e Conclusion: The Road Ahead \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e Notes \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e Selected Bibliography \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e Index \u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003c\/font\u003e","brand":"The University of Alabama Press","offers":[{"title":"Brand New","offer_id":52574448025880,"sku":"9780817362126","price":24.37,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/products\/the-american-open-road-narrative-and-popular-imagination-paperback-softback-9780817362126","provider":"Freshly Printed Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}