Automobiles Books

After reading Karen Novak's first novel, Five Mile House, I was extremely excited to start her second. I was not disappointed. Ordinary Monsters captured me instantly and weaved a tale of loss and finding yourself in the most unlikely of places.

The story is about a woman searching across the country for her junkie son who ran away with his equally junkie girlfriend. Her search finds her in Lagrimas, a small out of the way and quiet California town. In Lagrimas, the locals like their anonymity, and some would prefer that Joyce never had settled in and bought their local bar. The story revolves around a few central characters that you'll grow to love and wish the novel could go on for hundreds of more pages.

I loved this book, I only wish she could write faster and give us more amazing novels.

Novak will seduce you with her masterful and engaging retelling of Shakespeare's tale. Her characters, sharply drawn and all too human, will endear themselves to you right off the bat. Like me, you will find yourself only too willing to follow them down every dark and narrow passage they travel. I indulged myself with Ordinary Monsters -- I started reading on a Saturday afternoon and didn't put down the book until I was done. You'll want to do the same.

The characters in Karen Novak's latest novel are not soft and cuddly. This is not a book for readers who want their endings tied up in neat little packages nor their characters prototypical. But, if a reader is willing to spend some time with characters who come across as real, flawed, self-aware and struggling, then I can't recommend this book highly enough.

Joyce is on a mission to find her drug-addicted son. She is also trying to control the uncontrollable--the "ordinary monsters" that stalk us in daily life. Her quest brings her to the middle of nowhere--a bar in the desert. The bar serves as the sink trap for those struggling to avoid being sucked down the drain, a collection of characters with their own secrets and monsters.

Novak skillfully shows us how each of these characters wound up in Lagrimas. This is not a novel about pathetic victims, nor is it a novel about Oprah-type heroines who overcome their pasts. Rather, it is about the spider web of relationships that support us--but may also trap us--when we've flown blindly into the night.

Having traveled many of these places, this book makes me want to get out and see more. Good history, good recommendations, great photos!!

This book provides, in stunning pictures, as well as words, a picture of Oregon that most people don't know exists. It is a travel guide that covers small towns and natural areas in good detail. Most people don't know that these places exist, an a vacation or weekend trip to these areas will get you away from the crowds (unless you choose to attend a local festival, where the crowds are still not exceedingly large).

St John gives listings of wildflowers and wildlife you might see along the route or at your destination and when the best chances of sightings occur. These helpful hints prove to be very useful. Being a desert rat, I find it easy to see the beauty in the remote areas St John describes.

The varied wonderlands of Oregon East of the Cascades are largely unknown, even to many Oregonians, who think of it as "the desert". This book finally offers glimpse after glimpse of the diversity of scenery, ecosystems, and satisfying landscapes that exist here.
The photography is absolutely outstanding, and the images are accompanied by accurate captions. The choices of human history photographs and quotes are great. The natural history sections are readable, unlike a field guide, and there is an excellent balance of "charismatic species" coverage. As one of those who prefers places to people, I found the balance between obsession with our own species and appreciation for the others to be perfect.
As far as I can tell, it is extraordinarily accurate - and I learned a few things even after Skylar and I have been exploring the subtleties of these places for over 20 years. There are some excellent perspectives; for example, St. John probably wins the prize for the best way to frame the Columbia River dam "controversy" (see page 177). He is unafraid of "deep time" to explain modern ecosystems and weaves the fossil record throughout the text.
My only concern is purely selfish = he describes some of our favorite haunts so eloquently, readers are going to flock to them and the desert solitaire he praises will change. Oh, well. Maybe those readers will be moved to protect these special places as a result. I just hope the editors of Outside never get a copy...
I plan to buy a few dozen as gifts for friends who wonder "Why are you guys living out there in the frontier instead of in _____ (insert city, bay, whatever)?"

This is on the top of my list of "Books that Work".

Ted Fremd
Paleontologist
John Day Basin

VERY EASY HELPFUL INFORMATION!(GREAT GIFE ANYONE WILL LOVE IT!)

WOW. Used this book to as photo reference source for unusual options and paint reference on my Challenger. Professionalism and true love of material covered evident in Author's writing. Recommend over other books on Challenger.

Great hardcover book with tons of huge full color pictures of cars, interiors, engines and more. Any E-body enthusiast NEEDS this book in their collection!

This is a great book on the whole TR series, although more detailed books on TR2/3/3A and the TR4 etc were written later. Great pictures, excellent information - the classic book for TRs.

If you are interested in the Triumph TR series, from sidescreens to the TR-6, this is the book for you. It is packed with a wealth of photos of original cars and cars restored to original specifications. Also included, lists of options, colors codes for both interior and exterior, and descriptions of each major automotive area: engine, chassis, interior, body, etc. A must for restoration.

Bill covers Triumph models TR2 through TR6 in this book. He found cars that are as close to original as posible for his photographic layouts. He has included many unusual shots of interiors and engine compartmnets to show details that are not normally covered in "Coffee Table" books.

Bill is very knowledgeable on all TR models and conveys this information in a most interesting manner.

If you are restoring a "Basket Case" this book is a must.

Mike O'Leary's OUTLAW SPRINTS puts the reader so close to the track you start sneezing. The small cars with big wings that are built from start to finish in a week, tear up the track when they come close to flying. If you have a dirt track near and its a Saturday, then you know they sometimes do fly.
These cars and their drivers are what make motor sport racing an intimate personal event for the owners, the drivers, the fans, the pit crews and the neighbors who live near the track.
A must for every shelf of a true race fan.
Nash Black, author of QUALIFYING LAPS and TRAVELERS.

Mike O'Leary's book is outstanding. A person who has no background in American racing can easily understand the sport after reading this. Great photos and solid information. This book is a pleasure.

Husband loves his Christmas present. There was some delay to get it by Dec 25th, but not a problem. Receiving after the 25th just stretched the holiday out further. I had ordered other books too so it wasn't like he had no books.
The item was as it is described. Reasonable wait time to get it. Great customer service from Amazon.
No problems.

Excellent picturs, and data on the cars. I reccommend this book, although amazon packing was not the best.

As a fan of prototype race cars especially the Porsche 956/962 it's nice to finally see a book on this. Haynes publshing and Peter Morgan do it again with another detailed, thoroughly researched book on Porsches. Great photos with coverage of the IMSA series, Group C and races in Japan. A chassis record and race results are included. I highly recommend this book!!

Peter Morgan has done an excellent job of taking what could be a dry and technical subject and making it an easy and enjoyable read. If you like the Porsche 956/962 series of race cars, this book is a must-have, with outstanding pictures and text that helps explain the origins of the cars as well as the fascinating technical background - and all in such a way that even a novice to the world of sports car racing would understand and enjoy. And did I mention that the pictures in this book are outstanding?

"Project 928" is the ultimate book for the "shark" 928 owner. This book is full of interesting facts and photos that only can not be found elsewhere. The author doesn't just cover the beginnings of the Porsche 928 in stories and investigative stories...the author was present during much of the project and reveals many secrets that most other automotive makers won't reveal. I found the book the "Prize" of my collection and it will never leave my personal book shelves.
The first pages cover the idea behind the Porsche 928 and it's beginnings. Full coverage is told as the Type 928 is designed, built, tested and refined. Design photos, body style drawings, engine test beds...and more. It wraps up with testing from artic-desert conditions and ends with the 928's debut in late 1977.
Warning: This book is only for the hardcore Porsche "Shark" 928 lover...but it shows the tradition, honor and dedication that only Porsche puts into its automotive line.

This is a remarkable book, too bad it is so hard to find. If you have any serious interest in the 928 you need a copy of this book. It captures a remarkable time when Porsche turned their best engineers lose to design their only Grand Touring vehicle without any constaints on past designs - a true "clean sheet" of paper was used. The book captures and documents this create design process particularly well and has fantastic photos that go along with the text. This is an incredible book about an incredible car. Too bad the 928 came out at the wrong time and was never never fully accepted in the hearts of the "rear-engine air-cooled only" faction of the Porsche afficanados - but then again that is why the 928 is the most overlooked and as a result, is the best value in a used super car you can find.

After reading this book you'll understand why we will never see its kind again. If you own a 928, you need this book and if you are thinking of buying a 928, you need this book. If you don't know what makes a 928 the exotic super car that it is, you REALLY need this book.

This is it, the ultimate Porsche 928 book if you can find one for your reference library. Two versions available I believe, German and English. Since purchasing my first 928S and later a 928GT the book has provided me hours of reading and browsing enjoyment. It has even turned into a yearbook of sorts as I collected other 928 owner's signatures and notes inside when attending various 928 events and gatherings. See how the first water cooled production Porsche was designed and built. It's all in Project 928! Best of Luck Shark Fans ...

I read a lot of books for research on starting a Race team, this is one of the best books I chose!! This book takes you though the in's and out's and up's and down's of starting Stewart Ford. A lot of books give WAY too much detail, this one is just right, it gives the reader (race fan) just the right amount of content and excitement in the text followed by wonderful color and black and white photos. If you were not a Stewart Ford fan before, this book will at least make you have a little pull for them come race day. If you are interested in how it all started this is a great book, I couldn't put it down, it kept me going from front cover to back... I'll be looking for them this race year!

As fan of the Stewart Grand prix team, this book was the number one book on my christmas list last year. Here, a grand prix team opens it's doors to you, and shows you around. The whole book charts the first year of the Stewart Team in the world of F1. Described to you are the problems, barriers and hinderances in the way of setting up a grand prix team from next to nothing. It also re-accounts the moments of joy and great acheivement the team had in it's first year. "The" book for any supporter of the new guys in F1.

I've been a fan of the wee Scott for many years following his career first as a driver and now as an entrant. One cannot imagine the problems faced by someone wanting to enter the competitive world of Formula One motor racing until you read this book.

A very informative account of the conception, launch and first year of a brand new Grand Prix race team. The book is extremely well written and supplemented by beautiful photography in both b&w and colour.

Now that Stewart Grand Prix has been bought out by Jaguar, this book is a must for any Formula One fan and provides a much valued documentary of this era of Grand Prix history.

This is the best kind of academic writing: direct, technically accurate and concise, yet intriguing, lively and infomative. Segal clearly has affection for his subject, yet does not hedge on Ford's notoriously disagreeable qualities. A clear-eyed look at a complex man and his ideals.

This book is fabulous! It captures this topic better than any I've ever read. It's very interesting to me, and I'm not in the least way associated with Ford. Great book and enjoyable read!!

Henry Ford is famous for setting up the basic concepts of mass production. And some of his factories Highland Park, River Rouge and Willow Run to name three were truly huge facilities producing huge numbers of vehicles, even aircraft. Yet at the same time he was concerned about the social aspects of the businesses.

In the early 1920's he was instrumental in Ford setting up nineteen smaller 'village industries.' Each of these industries were set up to provide some kind of easily specified component that would be used in Ford vehicles or manufacturing. These included things like voltage regulators, twist drills, manufacturing test equipment, etc.

After his death, in the late 1940's and early 1950's these nineteen was shut down, usually merged into a large factory in the newly formed parts division. This effort cannot be considered a failure. All in all, the nineteen plants were too small, too hard to manage.

Now similar outside suppliers provide such sub component manufacturing, but they are larger, and independently owned. This same concept is also followed closely in Japan where smaller independent suppliers make components for automobiles and other products.

Great book. My husband is a history junkie and he thinks it is a wonderful book!

Roadside History of Nevada is part of a growing series of books on roadside history published by Mountain Press. To date there are roadside histories available for sixteen states and Yellowstone Park. These books will make valuable traveling companions any time you take a trip and have time to enjoy the historical or geological sites along the way.

The Roadside History of Nevada is a well-written and interesting book. Moreno spends the first chapter reviewing the history of Nevada from its geologic and human prehistory through recorded history to the present time. He then uses the rest of the book to discuss the various roadways and the Nevada towns that were and are inhabited. The book is organized, logically, along the roadways and is divided into six chapters: Interstate 80 (The Emigrant Trail), Reno and the Lake Tahoe Area, US 50 (The Loneliest Road in America), US 95 and US 6 (The Silver Trails), US 93 (The Mormon Trail), and The Las Vegas Area. Within each section, discussion proceeds along the lines of the main highways and the other highways and byways that connect with them. A map of the roads precedes each chapter, but be careful of the Highway 50 map (page 118). It has the highway going into Idaho, not Utah! The book includes 140 photographs which include buildings still standing, ruins of buildings, and pictographs from the earliest humans in the area. There is also a selected bibliography and an excellent index which includes areas, events and people.

If you ever wanted to know how a place got its name or why it was settled, then this is the book for you. This book isn't just about places; it is also about the people who populated them. As I read this book, I found myself wishing that I had had it along on the many trips I have taken through Nevada. As I finished each section of the book, I was ready to get into the car and go exploring the places that Moreno discusses.

Who should read this book? Anyone who has an interest in Nevada and/or western history in general. And anyone who enjoys seeing where history was made. Academic and public librarians will find this book, as well as the series, a good addition to their collections, either as historical information or for description and travel information.

If you find this book interesting, I would recommend other books Richard Moreno has written on outings a person can take throughout Nevada: The Backyard Traveler and The Backyard Traveler Returns. Also consider other books in the Roadside History... and Roadside Geology... series, depending on where your travels take you. The geology series includes twenty-three titles. Unfortunately at the present time Nevada doesn't have the companion roadside geology book, but since Nevada has mining as a major part of its history, it is possible that Roadside History of Nevada and the book Geology Underfoot in Central Nevada can fill the gap for now.

Rich Moreno is one of the most talented travel writers in the West. His knowledge of Nevada's farthest reaches and the unusual history of each place may be unmatched. In "Roadside History of Nevada," Moreno captures what's best of Nevada, and shows his talents off in a remarkable way.