Review: Delaware from Freeways to E-ways by Dave Tabler

A wide-ranging and captivating review of the twentieth century in America’s first state, Delaware from Freeways to E-ways: First State, Solid-State by Dave Tabler is an accessible and entertaining piece of coffee table history, and the informative third book in the Delaware History Overview series. For a citizen of Delaware or any lover of US history, this book neatly sews Delaware’s contributions into the broader fabric of the American story.

Divided into four distinct sections – early century ambitions, the varied impacts of wartime, Delaware’s response to broader societal changes, and pioneering steps towards a digital future – this format organizes one hundred busy years into more digestible sections and themes. One can easily trace the growth and development of the state through the twentieth century in these pages, beginning with the wartime boom of weapons manufacturing into the open-minded attitudes of the state, as well as Delaware’s dedication to strict law and order, its significant artistic legacy, and its perennial role as a leader in technological breakthroughs.

As the book’s title suggests, Delaware’s early role in the nation’s highway system is a key element of the opening section, along with the influence and ongoing impact of the du Pont family and nationwide industrial operations. The shifting industries and focal points of the states through both World Wars act as a framework for the evolution of the state, but Tabler doesn’t overlook the state’s smaller influences and achievements, from its role in the Civil Rights movement and ecological conservation to the impact of the University of Delaware on the evolution of the internet.

In such a broad review of a state’s history, it seems difficult to authentically encapsulate the soul and spirit of a region’s people, yet Tabler does so with the ease and confidence of a local. Whether delivering a sharp analysis of industrious policymaking by state leaders or waxing poetic about the state’s dedication to art, culture, and natural beauty, the author’s admiration and understanding of the state are on full display. Still, the text doesn’t shy away from hard truths and darker legacies of the state, such as racist redlining policies. Leaving no demographic, industry, region, or philosophy untouched by its gaze, this book is surprisingly comprehensive in its range of subject matter for a relatively small state that doesn’t always get mainstream attention, but the juxtaposition of topics page after page keeps the pace engaging without ever losing readers in the weeds of nuance.

As with earlier installments of Tabler’s series, the facts and tales are accompanied by vivid illustrations, historical photographs, engineering diagrams, and candid shots of everyday people participating in the state’s multifaceted society. The majority of these visual accompaniments are well-curated, but some of the most striking images appear to be made by AI (e.g. the distressed farmer and his wife, generated by “Dali-E”), which feels somewhat out of place in such a richly researched and fact-based book.

That is a small critique, and the balance of well-researched history and endearing local tales makes this reading experience both illuminating and entertaining, boasting prose filled with inherent pride and passion, and proving this is a state that should never be overlooked.