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Michael Karl Witzel's articles and photographs
have appeared in numerous periodicals, including American
Heritage of Invention & Technology, Motorhome,
Volkswagen World, Texas
Highways, Rider Magazine, New
World Outlook, Mobilia, Check
the Oil!, Chickadee,
Horseman, Texas
Co-Op Power, the Fort
Worth Star-Telegram, and Route
66.
The first edition of his non-fiction best-seller, The
American Gas Station: History and Folklore of the Gas Station In American
Car Culture was published by Motorbooks
International of Osceola, Wisconsin in 1992. Witzel's homage to roadside
America was awarded the Antique Automobile
Club of America's Thomas McKean Memorial Cup and the Society
of Automotive Historians Nichlas-Joseph Cugnot Award of Distinction
for 1993. With sales topping 100,000 copies, this best-seller
was later released in a soft-cover edition and French language translation
(ETAI Publishing).
Witzel continued to chronicle American car culture with Gas
Station Memories (1994) and The American
Drive-In: History and Folklore of the Drive-in Restaurant in American
Car Culture (1994). An eclectic history of the "Mother Road," Route
66 Remembered (1996) came next, followed by the MBI Enthusiast
Color Series Drive-in Deluxe (1997).
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As burgers
sizzled, Cruisin': Car
Culture In America (1997) raced off the presses, winning
the prestigious International Automotive Media Awards (IAMA) Silver
Medallion for 1998 (this title features specially commissioned
artwork by "cruise culture" artist and co-author Kent
Bash). Witzel took the "pause that refreshes" in 1998
and penned Soda
Pop: From Miracle Medicine to Pop Culture, a picture-packed
history of carbonated beverages. This nostalgic title was
co-authored with
his wife, Gyvel Young-Witzel (both are members of the American
Society of Journalists and Authors).
In 1999, MBI Publishing released Witzel's next historical title,
a retrospective ofthe classic filling stations of yesteryear entitled Gas
Stations Coast to Coast (1999). At the same time, The
American Diner (1999) hit the bookstore shelves, showcasing
the streamlined history of stainless-steel clad eateries. This tribute
to roadside food garnered a 1999 Book Achievement Award in the "Merit
Award" category for an Art-Photo-Coffee Table (style) book, presented
by the Midwest Independent Publishers
Association.
Witzel followed up both culinary titles with The
American Motel (1999), a nostalgic time-trip recalling the
days of roadside cabins and tourist courts. Later that year, Witzel
once teamed up again with co-author Young-Witzel to release a picture-packed
nostalgia beverage book, The Sparkling Story
of Coca-Cola: An Entertaining History Including Collectibles, Coke
Lore, and Calendar Girls (1999).
Additional books followed, including Witzel's chronicle of classic farming
structures entitled Barns:
Styles & Structures (2003). The author returned to the Mother
Road in 2007 with the publication of Legendary Route 66: A Journey
Through Time Along America's Mother Road (2007), also co-authored
with wife Young-Witzel.
His most recent title, Barbecue
Road Trip: Recipes, Restaurants, & Pitmasters
from America's Great Barbecue Regions is due for publication in
October of 2008.
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