Because it runs almost 2,500 miles across the United States, there's wisdom in traveling U.S. Route 66 in bites. Such a strategy not only makes it easier to fit into the typical one- or two-week vacation, but it allows you to take a slower pace to enjoy more of the landscape both directly alongside, and nearby, this iconic highway. If your focus is the Land of Enchantment, a good guide for such a trip is New Mexico Kicks On Route 66.

Written by Martin Link and richly photographed by Larry Lindahl, this not-quite 100-page title takes you east to west across New Mexico, entering the state near Tucumcari and exiting just west of Gallup. In between the highway traverses nearly 400 miles across the state's midsection. 

What caught my eye in particular, before I spent much time within the covers, was the map on the page facing the table of contents. Of specific interest was the fact that Route 66, prior to 1937, meandered much more back then than it does today. Before 1937 the road veered north just past Santa Rosa, motoring up towards Romeroville and Las Vegas before turning back west to Pecos and Santa Fe. From there, it hooked back south, following the route of today's I-25, to Albuquerque, where it turned left and continued on west to Grants and Gallup.

Known by a small handful of names -- Main Street of America, the Mother Road, and Will Rogers Highway -- Route 66 preceded the high speeds of today's interstate highway system. As a result, motorists heading west spent a little more time inspecting and enjoying the towns and cities the road passed through, and justified many more roadside cafes than you might find today.

They also possibly enjoyed the passage much more than today's motorists enjoy interstate travel. You see, when it came time to choose a route number for the highway, Cyrus Avery, hired by the U.S. Bureau of Public Roads in 1924 to help create a national road system, thought "66" was the right number, as he "recognized that the double sixes was considered to be a master number in numerology, known to bring material pleasures and success," writes Mr. Link.

Along with tracing the administrative history of Route 66, the author takes us down Route 66, breaking the highway down in chapters that cover specific segments of the route as it heads west across New Mexico. National park fans will appreciate the book for the sidetrips it offers to Pecos National Historical Park, Chaco Culture National Historical Park, and El Morro National Monument. (Though not mentioned in the text, anyone planning a trip along Route 66 in New Mexico might want to consider their own sidetrips to Valles Caldera National Preserve and El Malpais National Monument.)

Beautifully illustrating this book are the photographs of Mr. Lindahl, who treats us to numerous colorful shots befitting the state's heritage (lots of turquoise, shiny 1950s sedans and hot rods, brilliant neon signs, Indian feathered headdresses, and, of course, red-rock).

If you need a primer to help you navigate, understand, and appreciate the wonders of Route 66 as it winds through the Land of Enchantment, this book is up to the task.