The Last American Highway: A Journey Through Time Down U.S. Route 83 in Texas

Descending 897 miles from the top of the Texas Panhandle to the state’s southernmost point at Brownsville is U.S. 83, one of the longest federal highways that hasn’t been replaced by an Interstate. Award-winning author Stew Magnuson takes readers on a trip through the Lone Star State’s sparsely populated ranchlands, its scenic Hill Country and the historically rich Lower Rio Grande Valley. Every town has a story to tell, says Magnuson. A massacre in Menard marked the beginning of the end for the Spanish Empire in America. Wellington is where the notorious criminals Bonnie and Clyde sent their car careening into the Red River. On a ranch just east of Brownsville, Ranger Rip Ford led the charge at the final battle of the Civil War. Magnuson uncovers the stories of the famous, the infamous and the forgotten as he explores a road like no other in America. From the top of the Texas Panhandle through Red River country, from rolling farm and ranchlands to the Mexican border, Stew Magnuson shares a journey that is as much personal as historical. His tales of roads and rails, struggles epic and small, heroes and criminals and everyday folks past and present, paint a portrait that compels us to gas up the car and go, and find these places for ourselves. - Barbara Brannon Executive director of the Texas Plains Trail Region