Automotive Books

Geez, the management folks at VW are a bunch of arrogant bastards - much like the folks at Ford, GM and Daimler Chrysler. This book is a great history and a really interesting and enjoyable read.

I'm an avid VW driver, and when I saw this book I had to read it. It's great! The VW story is incredible, I never would have guessed that there was so much interesting history there.

The references to the advertising brought back some good memories. I remember each ad and how great they were.

A dfinite must read!

J.

I'm a die hard VW loyalist now. So when I saw this book I had to see what it was all about. Incredible story! Very well written!

It was incredible to read about all the things that went on within and without the company, it helps to understand the car a lot better :) If you're at all interested in VW's or car company history in general, this is a must read.

This is a top of the line book. It takes the reader through the history of Volkswagon in America. It speaks of the successes and failures and takes the reader behind the scenes to see how the company was/is run. Due to the history of Volkswagon, the book is entertaining and hard to put down. Kiley does a wonderful job of telling the facts in an interesting way. At times though, it does focus a lot on advertising which is both interesting and tedious. Although it can be hard to keep all the dates and people straight throughout the book, the experience of reading the book is fantastic. This is a great book for those who know a lot about cars and for those who are just merely curious.

This is a top of the line book. It takes the reader through the history of Volkswagon in America. It speaks of the successes and failures and takes the reader behind the scenes to see how the company was/is run. Due to the history of Volkswagon, the book is entertaining and hard to put down. Kiley does a wonderful job of telling the facts in an interesting way. At times though, it does focus a lot on advertising which is both interesting and tedious. Although it can be hard to keep all the dates and people straight throughout the book, the experience of reading the book is fantastic. This is a great book for those who know a lot about cars and for those who are just merely curious.

There is no story it's equal. When I think of a man truly loving a woman, this book comes to mind. It's the most deeply intimate telling of one man's heart, mind and soul. Is it possible love like this is possible by a man or a woman for the other? The story is to be nestled and protected for its lofty ideology. I view the Harvesters love for the woman as many saintly priests and nuns have loved God...deeply beyond what most of us can grasps with our worldliness. I might buy this book for my teenage nieces--they should read this story. Why? I wonder if they could, in their wildest fantasies, imagine a young man loving them similarily. Perhaps they may be more choosy in whom they date.

Gene Stratton-Porter is an excellent author. His books hold your interest and take you to a time where stress is far less an issue. His characters are fully developed and richly represented. An excellen book for peaceful reading.

I loved this book, although it definitely did not compare to The Girl of the Limberlost which is my all-time favorite.

I first read this book 37 years ago. It was the original book published in 1911 and belonged to my 1st husbands grandmother. It was written of a quieter time, the slower paced, clean living and was very inspirational. I loved all the information about the nature and plants. I started out trying to recreate the "Yellow Garden" several years ago. I now have a gorgeous garden with many of the same perennials and herbs listed in the book. The garden has certainly evolved from just yellow to every color in nature. I have passed down the love of gardening to my daughters by sharing the flowers and herbs from my own garden. I have thoroughly enjoyed this book.

I can't count the number of times I've read and re-read this book. Pretty sentimental by today's standards, but the basic story tells of a country man of character who falls deeply in love with a city girl who has issues. That description doesn't do justice to Gene Stratton-Porter's touching romance, but if I had to pare my library down to just 20 books, this one would be in the "keepers."

Although I have never been to Charlotte Motor Speedway, after reading this book I felt as if I had.

and now I feel like I could drive it. This is the book that lays it all out in a logical order, explains the terms, the rules and the strategies while taking you on an emotional rollercoaster ride. Will the car qualify for the race? You can feel the tension because for that week Huler lived it. This isn't a book full of old stories that drivers told a writer - this is an observation, full of detail - it's good old particaptory journalism like Plimpton wrote, talking to (and about) everyone from the owners and spnsors to the fans and the scalpers. What a great book!

I'd never heard of NASCAR, never wanted to know anything about it. But when I heard a short reading by Huler (the writer) from this book, I had to buy/read it. His writing could be on any topic: ice, dirt, race cars... it's just facinating in an accessable, fun, fast read. I'll read anything he writes now, and gain an appreciation of worlds I never knew. Great read. I just may join the 200,000 on site NASCAR fans next year because of it!

If you want to read one book about NASCAR, I recommend this one. Not because it's a hand-holding introduction, but because it's the best. It just does such a great job describing so many aspects of NASCAR. The organizing principle of the book is to examine a week in the life of Kenny Wallace's Square D Racing Team, but along the way, the author looks at NASCAR's personalities, history, technology, tracks, and fans. Huler has a real flair for description, and a genuine but not fawning affection for the sport.

I've also read Shaun Assael's "Wide Open" and Paul Hemphill's "Wheels," which are similar in many ways but to my mind are both inferior. Assael's book seemed flat compared to Huler's, though fans of Dave Marcis and Bobby Hamilton may enjoy the coverage that those drivers receive in "Wide Open." Hemphill's book spent a lot of time on a thesis that I soon found repetitively handled: NASCAR was once the province of the Southern working man but is now corporate entertainment. Both Assael and Hemphill follow NASCAR for a whole season and seem to get bored with it. Huler stays focused on a shorter timespan to much better effect.

I've read some more technical approaches to NASCAR as well, and found that Huler almost always snuck the information in those books into "A Little Bit Sideways."

Although I find this the best introduction to NASCAR because it's so engaging to read and so comprehensive in the bargain, those who are interested in learning more about NASCAR might also try "NASCAR for Dummies" by Mark "Awesome!" Martin and Juliet Macur. That book lacks Huler's style and story-line, but it does have a lot of interesting information about NASCAR, including some tidbits on strategy and technology that I haven't seen elsewhere.

I lived in the South all my life, always aware of NASCAR, watching races every now and then. Even so, I haven't tuned into to a NASCAR race in probably 25 years. Because of this book, I will when the next season starts.

One can truly begin to understand the mystique of NASCAR after reading A Little Bit Sideways. Scott Huler's obvious love for the material really shines through. His writing transforms what, in lesser hands, could have been a dry and boring recitation of minute details into an interesting and compelling human interest story.

Read it. You won't be disappointed.

Absolutely outstanding and well structured. Gives a proper understanding of the fundamental theories and equation formulations, which are the building blocks for any concept to start with. Highly recommendable!

Good luck finding this much information about vehicle dynamics in any other book, that is as well put together and easy to comprehend as this one. Well suited to those with engineering/math/science related backgrounds but not all of the information is beyond grasp of most people.

A very informative book on the engineering fundementals, it would be good if a second edition with more mordern race vehicles was in the works.

I think i've bought this book a bit too early in my learning curve!
This is a book intended for the Professional Race Engineer, or an extremely motivated amateur.
It contains a wealth of mathematics for vehicle dynamics.
Very exciting, i expect to have years of fun with the various chapters in this book.

Milliken lays down the fundamentals and advanced topic of vehicle dynamics as applied to racecars. The text is not for beginning or nontechnical readers in the slightest manner. Milliken points out many subtle and difficult areas to understand, which take hours of studying to fully grasp. For those seriously considering a career in this field or to the extremely interested reader, this text is the source of information.

If cars, rock-n-roll,and the birth of those two cultures even slightly interests you, this is the book for you! The author, who also put out another great book, art of modern rock, really shows just how much rock-n-roll and the car culture have been intertwined since the birth of rock-n-roll to the present time.

I'm not a huge fan of coffeetable books. They always seem to have an air of pretension about them (or I do ha ha), but "Rockin Down The Highway" does NOT come across that way. It's packed full of cool photos and info that draws you in and doesn't leave you feeling like an outsider. Even you're not a fan of rock music and hot rod cars, this is a great book to while away the time with...and maybe have a cup of coffee while you're at it.

Awesome book. It's about time that someone wrote about the marriage between music and cars and the people that drove them. This author really did his homework. I've done my share of reading about cars but there are photos in there that I've never seen.
Worth every dime.

Rock `n' roll is cool music, of that we can have no doubt. From Chuck Berry and Elvis, to the newest stars of 2006, rock n roll does, in fact, appear to be "here to stay." And cars have been a big part of rock since the early days. Whether you were revving up your Little Deuce Coupe, if you were Born to Run, or Born to Be Wild, or just roaring down the road in your Little Red Corvette, the cars have been there all along.

Paul Grushkin's book, Rockin Down the Highway celebrates this marriage of cool with photos, stories, cartoons, art and much more, bringing cars and rock together in a big, very attractive package. The book is as fun to read as it is to look at, with all varieties of entertaining anecdotes and tidbits from Mr. Grushkin and other contributors, ranging from well-known rockers and rock writers to ordinary rock fans recounting the pleasure of the open road, stereo blasting out their favorite tunes.

This is a big, lovely style book, lavishly illustrated and beautifully composed. It would go beautifully on the coffee table of any rock fan!

There are plenty of books on automobile history and culture and plenty on music history, but what makes Rockin' Down the Highway: The Cars and People That Made Rock Roll an impressive study is not just an oversized format which packs in color photos on every page - some 1,000 of them - but an attention to surveying the connections between cars and rock music. It's the first illustrated, book-length history of the topic and includes many photos not previously seen in print, coming from a notable rock historian who uses posters, photos, ads, album covers and more in the process of analyzing the attraction of fast cars and fast music to a teen audience. An outstanding, sweeping presentation which will prove a 'must' for any comprehensive rock library collection.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

The information in this book does not apply to the present.

I think it may have been great when it was first written but it will not help you get a good deal on a used car right now.

This book details the steps and provides the reader with the knowledge required to make an educated purchase of a new vehicle. It breaks down the barriers between the dealer and the buyer. No one should step foot into a dealership without reading the information set forth in this book. You will learn how to buy a car below dealer invoice, how to handle the sales tactics used by dealers and the ins and outs of the business. The most important thing you will take from this book is the confidence that you will not fall victim to a savvy dealer because you don't have the right tools to negotiate a fair price. Why? Because this book gives you those tools. I am a young, confident female and I completely feel comfortable walking into a dealership after reading this book. Prior to this, I was hesitant and thought car buying to be a big hassle. Not anymore. Give this book to anyone you know that is purchasing a new car. It will make a perfect college/high school grad. gift.

The Hassle Free Car Buying book is a great book for the women of this world. It gives us the knowledge of haggling with the car dealers when trying to buy a car for yourself and not letting the car dealers take advantage of the females.

Wow! This book was very helpful to me. I have 2 strikes against me when buying a car: 1) female 2.) black. It is true that car salesmen think women are push overs. I bought my first new car in 1989. Yes, I was taking advantage of. I feel I paid way to much for the car and the salesman did not work with me to lower the price. I bought another new car in 1992. I took a man with me, but I still feel we did not get the best deal. This book has enlightned me on how to negotiate, what to negotiate, and what not to say. I bought another new car and was able to use what I read from hassle free car buying. Thanks Jake!

Just as Location, Location, Location is the most important thing in real estate, Knowledge, Knowledge, Knowledge is most important when making a competent purchase. The more expensive the item being purchased, the more important the knowledge.

A car is a very big item to purchase. The more you know, the better. Jake has made it possible to know more than ever the next time I, or you, go to buy a new car. I will have this book in my hip pocket and it will be well thumbed...unless, that is, I just let him do all the work for me on his new web site...oops, I maybe should not have let the cat out of the bag. It will be a great boost for us "marks" the next time we sit down across from the "super-shark" salesman.

Thanks, Jake.

If you are like me and have an interest in going racing someday, this book really shows you what you have to do to get into the sport on a decent budget. I read the book in a day (which is a HUGE feat for me - I never liked books very much). It is very informative and sometimes humorous. It's laid back, but provides the advice and teachings that would prove very helpful when the time comes. Gran, the author, even goes into explaining how to prep a car... Anyway, I really liked this book. I'd definitely recommend it to anyone interested in Autocross, SCCA Club racing, or just interested in racing.

THIS BOOK IS WORTH IT'S WEIGHT IN GOLD. IF YOU HAVE EVERY CONSIDERED RACING, THEN BUY THIS BOOK. IT WILL SAVE YOU ALOT OF TIME AND MONEY.

this book is incredible. For anybody remotely interested in car racing of any type they should read this book. It is the best source of information for getting started in racing with any budget even if if's a five hundred car. Must read !!!

I ordered this book expecting a great book, and I got one. When getting started in the club racing scene, whether it be SCCA or NASA, it's difficult to know where to go, what to get, and how much to spend. Dave's book is an awesome and straightforward read about exactly what you need to get started. He tells you flat out where you need to go and what you need to do. I loved this book!

THIS BOOK IS ABSOLUTLEY FANTASTIC!!

I have a good friend that's been racing SCCA for the past 8-9 years and for the past couple years he's been on my case to give SCCA racing a shot. I've ALWAYS been a car guy and have always been big in to drag racing and American muscle cars. Well, this past August I finally gave in and took part in a PDX at Mid-Ohio in my daily driver SRT4. MAN-O-MAN what a blast!!!

SOON thereafter I started seriously thinking about picking up a full-fledged SCCA race car, but I initially resisted. That's around the time I purchased/read Dave's book and that was the "clincher", I was HOOKED!! Soon therefter I was on the lookout for a SSB/SSC/ITA/ITC race car and within a month bought an SSC Focus. I'm looking forward to driver's school this April. THANKS DAVE for a great book!!!!!!

Muscle Car Confidential was just a GREAT book... If you were around during this time, you HAVE to get this book... Enjoy !!!!

If you like Muscle Cars or even interested in American automobiles, please buy this book. You can tell Oldham has fully lived the Muscle Car era and he tells it like it is. This book is well worth the money.

If you are wanting an encyclopedia regurgitating facts and stats, this isn't where you will find it. If however, you want an entertaining read chronicaling what it was like to experience these cars in their heyday, this book is a must have. It was hard to put down, and it was honest. Most books tell you how wonderful every car between the covers is. This book gives the good and the bad, and debunks a lot of myths (the history of these cars is usually remembered through rose colored glasses).

Being a former muscle car owner, and a current enthusiast, I appreciated the frankness of the author, and enjoyed the tales. The only downside of the book is a dearth of color photography. There are some color pics, but not many. In defense of the author, most of the pics used were probably black and white since they were of the cars during their heyday, not modern restorations.

Worth every penny. This book is a must have.

I bought this book as a gift for a friend that is really into the old muscle cars. I knew that I had made the right choice by the way his eyes popped as he started reading. Now nearly everytime I see him, he is telling me something different that he has read in this book. In the United States, we are seeing the growth of interest in these older cars. Our "baby-boomers" are at the age when we can afford to relive our youth. Automobiles were such a large part of our lives they dominated our culture. So now, we are flooded with books by writers who really should not. Muscle Car Confidential is an exception. This well written motor-memour hits our "button" like a ice-cold beer on a hot day in the driveway. We are taken back to the days when the old U.S.A. automobile was the baddest dog on the block. However this writer does not gloss over the faults he found. So that our own memories and feelings about our cars are sharpened, either by being validated or confronted. What better way to spend our few resting hours than by a combination of affermations and challenges. Bottom line, buy the book!

This is a great book, full of interesting insights and funny stories. The inside scoop about some highly overrated or uderrated muscle cars. The author tells it like it was, and some legends get knocked off their pedestals in the process. Lots of good stories told by the guy who had the job we all wanted!

Review by Sherry North, Author, Because You Are My Baby

When my son was 2, he could not get enough of this book - he asked for it every day and even carried it with him in the car. Of the many truck books for young boys, this one is especially appealing for a few reasons:
-Simple, bold illustrations are easy to look at.
-Just one sentence per page makes the book great for short attention spans.
-In very simple language, the book introduces different kinds of trucks and their purpose. (Oil truck, bucket truck, cement mixer, etc.)

Besides appealing to toddlers, I think this would be an excellent choice for boys who are beginning to read on their own.

We like this one... story is pretty cute, great drawings. Good book for toddler boys... my son enjoyed it from 18 months on.

Love this book for a 1, 2, or even 3 yo. Both my boys love(d) it. We just bought it as a gift.

We have about a half dozen Byron Barton board books, including this one, and they're tops in our house. I started buying them for my not-quite-4-year-old when he was about 9 month old. Then he loved to look at the pictures with me. Now, he and his little brother (18 months) both love them still. We have shelves and shelves of books, but these come out regularly for story time, particularly this one, Trains, Boats, and Planes. Highly recommended!

This little book is sturdy and uses vibrant colors to catch your little ones attention. The text is very simple, but there is a truck on every page! My two year old wants this one read over and over!!

Very well written story on the life of Gilles and full of tons of facts on his races and the way he lived his life . I still can't believe he lived that long while reading this book . Check out Curtis Turners book " Full Throttle " for a perfectly written story that's imposible to put down , with an emotional ending on probably the first " Intimidator " . You won't be disappointed .

The sad fact is that, despite the popularity of F1 now, nobody since has demonstrated Gilles' control.

This book is a good representation of him- it doesn't fawn on him, he's not without his flaws and I think it does a pretty balanced job of showing all sides of the man. If you're into Villeneuve's style, and want to know more about him, you will not do better.

In Montréal on GP weekend, they've a display of Gilles' suit on Crescent Street. The guy looks all of 5 feet all...a tiny giant among drivers...

This book is impossible to put down, if you are or are not a
Gilles fan this is a must. The book is very well written with
tons of insite to his years of racing as well as lots of
liitle known information about him and his family. I found myself
making time to get a few more pages in before I would have to
put it down. I was at six of the races mentioned in the book,
Watkins Glen and Canada, not only did it bring back great
memories, but I learned more about those races than I knew then
when I was there live. Buy it and god bless Gilles

I've read a lot of racing books, but never one better than this. It is at the same time gripping, compelling and very well written.

Donaldson's masterpiece is recommend without hesitation.

Let me be clear: this is simply the best racing driver biography ever written. It's complete, well written, touching and objective at the same time, respectful to the dead. It's an amazing book. No doubt the writer is a big Villeneuve fan, but he managed to avoid being totally partial.
It's full oof data, anecdotes, funny parts, tragic parts, competition, brief technical analysys of the cars, a lot of famous drivers in diverse categories... Well, this is the book.