A History of Howard Johnson's: How a Massachusetts Soda Fountain Became an American Icon (American Palate) Paperback – 13 Aug. 2013

I read this entire book on a flight back from France. It was so interesting I could not put it down. Howard Johnson was quite the businessman. I am sill a huge fan of the restaurants, and drive up to Lake Placid every year just to have fried clams at one of the last remaining Hojo restaurants. It tastes as good as you remember!

Lots of interesting material on this very popular restaurant chain of my youth. HoJo's and Dunkin' Donuts both originated in Quincy, MA, my home town, and, now in California, I miss both of them. I hadn't realized that HoJo's was the originator of the "franchise" model of chain restaurants.I especially enjoyed the pictures and the recipes, as well as the ancillary historical material, such as the part that Eugene O'Neill's play, "Strange Interlude", played in the early success of Howard Johnson's enterprise. That being said, the book could have been more carefully written. It is quite repetitious. I also discovered that much of the material about Eugene O'Neill's play moving from Boston, where it was banned, to Quincy was repeated word for word from a Boston Globe article, without attribution, a bad practice if one wants to be taken as a serious historian.

Thought it was quite good and a journey down memory lane. Never understood why the franchise value was not maintained and now I have a better idea. Sad only memories are left...

I grew up next to a Howard Johnson's in Fort Lee NJ 1950's. Great memories.. the best thing about this book-- it has all the recipes!!!! Miss the chicken croquettes & clam strips! Best pistachio & maple walnut ice cream in the world!!

This book is packed with information about the history of Howard Johnsons. I only wish that it had more photos.