As long as we have needed to get from Point A to Point B, by trading routes or trails or paved interstate, there have been directions given, maps drawn and roads traveled.
When we think about our great American roads, the Oregon Trail comes to mind. A path pounded by feet and hooves heading west. Another, later in history, is Route 66, winding west as well from Chicago to the West Coast. These lines on a map are an evocative part of our history, part of our identity.
James Dodson of Greensboro sets out on a soulful journey in his new book, “The Road that Made America,” tracing the old Great Wagon Road — an 800-mile thread of history running through six states, from Philadelphia down to Augusta, Georgia…