Some five hundred miles of superhighway run between the Rio 
Grande and the Red River—present-day Interstate 35. This 
towering achievement of modern transportation engineering links 
7.7 million people, yet it all evolved from a series of humble 
little trails.

    The I-35 Corridor that runs north-south through Texas connects 
Dallas and Fort Worth with Austin, San Antonio, and Laredo en 
route to ancient towns in Mexico. In this fascinating popular 
history, based on extensive primary and secondary research, 
Howard J. Erlichman asks how and why the Camino del Norte (the 
Northern Road) developed as it did.

    His chronicle focuses less on the physical placement of I-35 than 
on the reasons it was created: the founding of posts and villages 
and the early development of towns. Along the way, he explores 
pre-Columbian cultures, Mexican silver mining, road and bridge 
building techniques, Indian tribes, railroad developments, military 
affairs, car culture, and pavement technology.

    Those interested in the economic development of the state of 
Texas, in NAFTA links and their precursors, and in touring the 
Interstate itself will find this book informative and useful.

_________________________________________________________

HOWARD J. ERLICHMAN is a business consultant in Austin, 
Texas. He holds master's degrees from Harvard University and 
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.


Number 105: Centennial Series of the Association of Former 
Students, Texas A&M University


What people are saying about this book

"The book's copious detail is astonishing and quite brilliant. . . . The 
book's subtitle, How a Series of Watering Holes, Fords, and Dirt 
Trails Evolved into Interstate 35 in Texas, is a promise well kept."
—Texas Books in Review, September 2006

"Metaphorically, this book blazes a trail in its own right. It's a major
expanison of the relatively sparse bibliography of Texas 
transportation history . . . Camino del Norte is a must-read."
—American-Statesman, April 2006

". . . compelling. Erlichman has done a nice job of luring readers 
into his story about the movement of human beings and their 
societies along the traces, paths, trails, rail tracks, and roads that 
in time would evolve into I-35. The concept is intriguing. . . ."—Char 
Miller, Trinity University

". . . demonstrates this interstate highway's importance while not 
shying away from its controversial nature."—Richard Francaviglia, 
University of Texas at Arlington