The Last American Highway: A Journey Through Time Down U.S. Route 83: The Dakotas (The Highway 83 Chronicles)

Descending 1,885 miles straight down the center of the United States from Westhope, North Dakota, to Brownsville, Texas, is U.S. 83, one of the oldest and longest of the federal highways that hasn't been replaced by an Interstate. Award-winning author Stew Magnuson takes readers on a trip down the road and through the history of the Northern Great Plains. The famous and the forgotten are found in stories he discovers in the Dakotas. Explorers Pierre de la Vérendrye, Lewis & Clark, Jedediah Smith, are all encountered along with Chief Spotted Tail of the Brulé Lakotas, TV sensation Lawrence Welk and rodeo superstar Casey Tibbs. The murderers, settlers, ballplayers and rail barons from yesteryear meet today's truckers, oil rig workers and ghost towns inhabitants as Magnuson launches his own Voyage of Discovery in a beat-up 1999 Mazda Protégé. Published on the 125th anniversary of the year North Dakota and South Dakota became states, The Last American Highway: A Journey Through Time Down U.S. Route 83: The Dakotas, is a love poem to the natural beauty of the prairie and the fascinating people--both past and present--found along the road.

Praise for The Highway 83 Chronicles:

"In his first volume profiling what is perhaps America's most unique thoroughfare, Magnuson manages to capture the essence of the history of the Dakotas, as well as their past and present culture.  His very personal and witty storytelling keeps the reader fully engaged."
-- Michael L. Lawson,
author of Dammed Indians Revisited

"The Last American Highway" embodies the best of road trips - sweeping scenery, quirky companions, riveting history and best of all, in Stew Magnuson, an appreciative and amusing guide to a part of the country too often ignored. Reading it isn't enough. When you get to the last page, you'll want to drive Highway 83 yourself.
-- Gwen Florio,
author of Montana and Dakota

Part of what makes the Great Plains so "great" are the people who love, travel and celebrate this country. Stew Magnuson, besides being a son of the Great Plains, truly gets what it is all about. Where many see a stark, flat speedway to get from one destination to another, Magnuson sees it for what it is: a beautiful, haunting land of constantly changing horizons, loaded with hidden stories of the famous and not-so-famous. To travel the Great Plains takes a guide, and Magnuson's Highway 83 series is the perfect company.

-- Jeff Barnes, author, The Great Plains Guide to Custer and The Great Plains Guide to Buffalo Bill

• The Last American Highway: A Journey Through Time Down U.S Route 83: Nebraska Kansas Oklahoma (The Highway 83 Chronicles) (Volume 2)
• The Last American Highway: A Journey Through Time Down U.S. Route 83 in Texas (The Highway 83 Chronicles) (Volume 3)
• Slow Road to Brownsville: A Journey Through the Heart of the Old West