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Lapping America A Man, a Corvette, and Interstates Claude Clayton Smith 2006 marks the 50th anniversary of the Federal Interstate Highway System, proposed by President Eisenhower as a security measure in case the United States needed to move large quantities of military supplies through the country. The result has been the Interstates, which most motorists take for granted to get us many miles at high speeds. Lapping America is Smith’s tale of celebrating the Interstate system by driving the perimeter of the United States: from Ohio to Maine, down to Florida, across to California, north to Washington, then back eastward to his Ohio home—all in a fire-red ‘96 Corvette. Along the way he meets a cross-section of the American people and talks with them about the Interstates and what makes the system so much a part of the American fabric. This is a funny, perceptive, beautifully crafted account of a journey many of us may dream of making, but never do. Bud Smith is there to take us along for the ride. Claude Clayton Smith is Professor of English at Ohio Northern University in Ada, Ohio. $16.95 Travel Essay Paperback 320 pages 6 x 9 ISBN: 1-58080-139-0