Not a meet, but Earl Swift (author of The Big Roads) is giving a talk in MD

[Laura]

Sorry for the ultra last minute notice, but I figured that anyone who was in the Mid-Atlantic regional area might be interested to know...

Earl Swift, the author of The Big Roads: The Untold Story of the Engineers, Visionaries, and Trailblazers Who Created the American Superhighways, is having a "fireside chat" at the Jarrettsville branch of the Harford County Public Library this Friday the 13th. Tickets are $30 (which seems expensive, but this is my local library's big author event of the year) and there's beer, wine, and lite fare. Talk goes from 7-9pm.

Address: 3722 Norrisville Road Jarrettsville, MD 21084
More info: http://hcplonline.org/support/foundation/specialevents/

Mike Pruett and I are going, and I'll try my best to ask intelligent questions and not be a fangirl! If anyone can make it, let me know (we could do dinner or some sort of activity afterwards), but since I posted this (two days before), even if you have questions for him, I can do my best to ask him your questions.

[froggie]

I might try to make it up, though that'd be a bit of a haul during the Friday evening rush.

[Hot Rod Hootenanny]

Just ask him how is book is different from the previous books written about US highway evolution.

[jpi]

If Steph and I were in the area visiting family we would, she loves the library and we go to our local one here in TN often.  Sounds interesting.

[Laura]

Just ask him how is book is different from the previous books written about US highway evolution.

Good question!

Just curious - what "previous books" are you referencing? (I ask because I would like to read them if I haven't already!) Just from my experience, I've found Swift's writing style to be lively and engaging. (Because I'm biased and live in Maryland) I appreciate the detail he goes into with the Baltimore Highway Wars. Culturally speaking, I'm glad he went into detail about the West Baltimore neighborhoods and how they were impacted. Almost always you hear about Leakin and Gwynn Falls parks and about Sen. Mikulski saving Fells Point, but never about the long battle that Joe Wiles, Rosemont, and the Franklin/Mulberry corridor lost.

JPI: I hear ya! I was hoping there was a small glimmer of chance that you were in town and I didn't know about it, but I figured I'd know if you were.

Froggie: Yay! It would be awesome if you could make it, although I'd understand if the traffic held you up. I wish I had decent hidden tricks and tips for the Baltimore area, but since I work in the middle of the city (north of downtown), I miss a lot of the tricky spots. The good news is that Rt. 146 is the best part of my commute (if you happen to end up on the north side).

[akotchi]

If I did not have another commitment that evening, I would definitely make the trip!  It is a part of my field I do not get to hear enough about . . .

[Hot Rod Hootenanny]

Just ask him how is book is different from the previous books written about US highway evolution.

Good question!

Just curious - what "previous books" are you referencing? (I ask because I would like to read them if I haven't already!) Just from my experience, I've found Swift's writing style to be lively and engaging. (Because I'm biased and live in Maryland) I appreciate the detail he goes into with the Baltimore Highway Wars. Culturally speaking, I'm glad he went into detail about the West Baltimore neighborhoods and how they were impacted. Almost always you hear about Leakin and Gwynn Falls parks and about Sen. Mikulski saving Fells Point, but never about the long battle that Joe Wiles, Rosemont, and the Franklin/Mulberry corridor lost.

See http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/infrastructure/biblio.cfm
And https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=6428.0

[Laura]

Just to follow up with you guys...Earl's presentation was awesome. I really hope you get to see and meet him at some point. He gave a summary of his book and how he focused on the five key figures that shaped roads (Carl Fisher, Thomas MacDonald, Frank Turner, Lewis Mumford, and Joe Wiles). He also talked about how FDR had a greater impact on the creation of interstates than Eisenhower. Also, he talked about Baltimore a lot (since we were outside of Baltimore, after all). Amusingly, Senator Mikulski's "role" (or lack thereof) in the highway wars was discussed.

It was a fantastic time. The floor was opened to questions, and I naturally asked the first one (wondering his opinion on should be done with the Highway to Nowhere and with the recent trend of removing interstates and converting them to boulevards). Earl's answer? Keep the Highway to Nowhere (since its such a strange relic) and that there really aren't any interstates that could be removed without a huge impact. He also told a fun story about his trip to visit and film an interview on 170

Anyway, lots of other questions (and fired up opinions on both sides) and we met at least one other serious roadgeek (if not more).

So we met Earl afterwards, and he is super friendly. He was pretty stoked to meet fellow road and map geeks, and asked if we ever came here on aaroads (with, of course, we answered very excited yeses!)