In the American psyche, there's nothing more romantic than the cross-country road trip—that westward odyssey honored by Steinbeck, Kerouac, and Dylan. But in the summer of 1973, with the dustbowl blown over, the beat moved on, and the sun having set on Aquarius, photographer Stephen Shore took his place behind the wheel. He meticulously documented this journey, saving receipts and itemizing pictures taken, TV watched, and mileage logged. Stephen Shore: A Road Trip Journal (Phaidon, $250)—a limited edition book, individually numbered and signed—re-creates this sprawling collection and includes every photo taken along the way (about 90 percent of which have never been seen). This was a pivotal moment in Shore's career, between the early snapshots that became American Surfaces and his more monumental, large-format series, Uncommon Places. These images, among the first to bring the two-lane blacktop into color, revel in Americana, no matter how raw or banal.

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