DRIVING ACROSS KANSAS

In his introduction to Dan Dancer’s The Four Seasons of Kansas, bestselling author William Least Heat-Moon reflects upon the Great Kansas Passage of those who race their cars westward across Interstate 70 without trying to understand the truth of the place. Ted Cable and Wayne Maley come to the rescue of those travelers with a new guide that will expand and enrich their understanding of a state whose history, in Heat-Moon’s words, is “a tumbling of guns, torches, hatchets, and knives.”

Guided by Cable and Maley, the historical landscapes of I-70 come back to life, recalling landmarks and legacies relating to pioneer movements and Indian dispossession, army outposts and great bison hunts, cowboys and cattle trails, the struggles over slavery and women’s rights, and the emergence of major wheat, beef, oil, and water industries.

Their guide parcels out information, mile-marker by mile-marker (in boldface), in a way that’s equally accessible to westbound and eastbound users alike.

In this second edition the authors have updated the information throughout, including new sites and new stories. Driving across Kansas, 2nd edition will reward the observant traveler with a treasure trove of details sure to increase his or her appreciation for the great Sunflower State.

Ted T. Cable is a professor of Park Management and Conservation at Kansas State University and a fellow of the National Association for Interpretation. A designer of several nature parks and preserves, he has published widely on natural resource management and environmental interpretation. He is the coauthor of Driving Across Missouri (Kansas).

Wayne Maley is the retired director of special projects for the American Society of Agricultural Engineers and the author of A Companion’s Guide for Travelling I-80: Iowa Really Isn't Boring.