Road Trips Through History

Author Dwight Young presents a collection of his essays from Preservation Magazine in his work Road Trips Through History. This unique book highlights the importance of the historic preservation movement. Young seamlessly connects the physical side of preservation with the emotional impact of preservationist work. We do not preserve historical sites only because they look pretty. We preserve these sites because of our emotional attachment to them and the history they represent. Young conveys this sentiment by emphasizing the human element in the movement; special people with a passion for the past have made historic preservation possible.

Young shows many aspects of the movement throughout the book. He writes about important individuals and their impact on preservation. Telling about small grassroots movements, Young illustrates that they have affected change in their areas by preserving local history. Larger, well organized movements and nation wide groups have also played an integral role in preservation through the entire history of the movement. Young also addresses preservation law in many of the articles, and how preservation is helped and hindered by these laws.

The first section of the book focuses on national trends and by calling attention to local examples. Young draws upon specific issues like downtown restoration, battlefield preservation, preservation guidelines, and even quirkier examples such as the Slow Food movement. The point of this section is to show that if it can be done in one community, it can be done in any community. It is up to individuals to come together as a community to make a change and lead the movement in their area. The most unconventional preservation example of community action resulting in a national trend is night sky preservation. This shows us that for something to become a national trend, it only has to start in one community.

Young approaches the second section of the book from a different angle, shifting to concentrate on individual preservationists. This approach underscores the necessity of strong individual leaders to invigorate a movement, specifically the historic preservation movement. He tells about Barbara Capitman restoring Miami Beach and Ann Pamela Cunningham as "the mother of the American preservation movement." While community participation is the core of the preservation movement, individual leaders are invaluable.

The final section of Young's work is about specific architecture and the emotional connections made with these structures. Emotional connections are made because of appreciation for the physical beauty of these buildings, which is intensified by their historical context. This is the reason that drives preservationists. They are people who understand the importance of the physical and emotional beauty of preservation, and are in the field to because of their love to share this with others. Details are also important to Young, and he conveys the message that unique architectural details are what make preserving many historic sites paramount. Young argues that the appreciation for historical architecture may be more important to the movement than any cultural or socioeconomic benefits. He brings examples from his travels around the world to make this point, citing Russia, the American South, U.S. cemeteries, and several U.S. cities.

Young skillfully weaves all of these individuals essays into a narrative about the bigger picture of
historic preservation. While addressing specific issues, he shows overarching themes that are present in the movement. His writing is humorous and easy to connect with, while at the same time challenges the reader to think about the impact of preservation. His arguments about emotional connections to preservation hit the nail on the head, because being a preservationist is not an easy job. It is done because of a passion and love for individual places that unite us in the movement of historic preservation.