Initiated in the president's office of Southern Illinois University as a state bicentennial project, this book is best understood as a celebration of the many Illinois(s) within our state, with an understandable emphasis on southern Illinois. The book's framework is found in the observation that our roads and highways, which get us hither, thither, and yon, can serve as a kind of touchstone of our history. Starting with paleo-era hunters and gatherers crossing into what we call Illinois and finishing with the Great Migration of the post–World War II era into Chicago, the book covers more than ten thousand years of Illinois history, albeit somewhat sketchily.

Organizing their insights into ten chapters, the authors provide overviews of historic eras by presenting evidence of our human presence as found in places of habitation and gathering. These are linked by the era's paths, trails, roads, rails, and highways. They note that some...

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