Automobiles Books

If you are a Metro fan this is a must-have book. Great pictures along with an informative text. I would recommend this book to anyone who is a Metro owner or a wanna-be Metro owner.

I bought this book as a gift for my father's 49th birthday. He had a Metro in high school and recently got it back to begin renovations to make it like new again. He has always loved the car but didn't know much of the history of it. This book was perfect! It gave historical information as well as color pictures and tips for renovating the classic car. I was very pleased and he was very grateful for such a thoughtful gift.

After owning an MG for over 15 years, and reading what I thought was everything I could find, this new version of the book is everything I expected. The writing is very informative, and the pics in the book are most enjoyable. I think this book is a must have for the MG enthusiast.

F. Wilson McComb's book is probably the best single work on the MG Car Company, Ltd. He covers in exhaustive but very readable detail the history of MGs, from Old Number One to nearly the last MGBs. McComb covers the racing efforts, from British hillclimbs to perhaps MG's greatest outright win at the Nurburgring in 1967. Copious photographs illustrate the work and the appendix provides a wealth of technical detail on each MG ever produced. A tremendous effort and a very rewarding book.

Following on his excellent work, 'MG The Untold Story', David Knowles adds a great deal of new material to events with which MGB aficionados are already familiar. In particular, the interviews with those involved with the factory and various companies are most enlightening. Even more of these personal insights would have been welcome. Extensive use of sidebars provides the opportunity to present statistics and detailed discussion of special topics, for example, a list of suppliers of MGB components, or the disagreement on the fate of the MGB GT prototype, without interrupting the main narrative.

The book also makes use of numerous black and white and colour photos, many of which have not been published previously. The only disappointment in this area is that some of the early colour photographs, including the cover shot are reproduced with a magenta cast, suggesting deterioration of the negatives, which I would have expected to be better corrected.

Chapters include development and production of the MGB, various stages in its life, as well as the GT, MGC, and V8 versions and the politics and corporate history pertinent to the MGB. I found the period of transition from chrome bumpers to "Sabrina" bumpers to rubber bumpers particularly well documented. The death of the MGB and the Abingdon works, and the attempts to rescue them, are also thoroughly covered. In addition, Knowles lends chapters to racing activities during the production period, and touches upon the brochures and advertising material. Separate chapters are devoted to the assembly of MGB's in Australia and the production of the Heritage bodyshell.

It should be noted that the author suggests that this book should be considered a complimentary publication to Anders Clausager's 'Original MG', which concentrates more on the precise production history of the MGB. Meanwhile Knowles has done an excellent job of presenting the why's, how's and who's of the saga.

My copy of the book was on order months in advance of publication. It was well worth the wait. I highly recommend it.

I bought this book based on the above reviews and was thoroughly impressed. Wonderfully researched if you want the details, and with great pictures if you want to browse. I couldn't imagine a better book on the subject.

We got this book as a gift when my son was born. We have been reading it to him ever since. He has always enjoyed the book but it wasn't until recently after his 1 year birthday did he really enjoy the "Magic" of the cars turning colors. We will be getting more from the series.

Feel that this book is the most clever of the series. Has lots of colors. The book on Dinosaurs is our second favorite (and not scary). Series is great for both boys and girls.

OUTSTANDING book, probably the BEST that I have in my collection, this is a MUST own for your MINI library...GET IT NOW, you will NOT be sorry.

I have been a Mini Fan since the mid-sixties when they were racing at many "club" venues in Southern California. I actually became a "Fanatic" in 1986 when I actually purchased a Mini and have read many, many books on the Mini since. This book contains lots of pictures (along with many facts) that I have not seen before in any other publication. The book is very well laid out and the pictures are really well done. I enjoyed it immensely and wholeheartedly recommend it. A "must read" for any Mini Nut.

It took me a couple of years to read the book because I spread out the reading to enjoy my armchair travels. My compliments on the work. I can't imagine how all the information was gathered and checked. The author had to travel to each town. I looked up a couple of facts I consider to be little-known facts. They were included in the book, and were correct. I enjoyed reading about places near my weekend cabin. I checked out several of the features. The one I found most amazing was the grave of Comfort Ruggles -- a member of the Boston Tea Party buried in a Missouri country cemetery.

The book is great for the native Missourian and for those travelers who dream of discovering the Show Me State.

Missouri Roadsides is a thorough compilation of almost every town in the state, from the small (Halltown, pop. 161) to the large (St. Louis, pop. 396,685). Based on courthouse records and eyeball observation, you'll find the history of each town, along with recreational areas, attractions, and fascinating tidbits. Armchair historians will like the emphasis on town origins. A special appendix on recreational areas is ideal for travellers, and includes wildlife areas, state parks, even navigable waterways. While the book would have been more complete with more maps and illustrations, Missouri Roadsides is a wealth of information -- and well worth the price!

As a Missouri native, I assure everyone interested in this book of its usefulness. Informative and well written, this book is a must have for anyone visiting, or living in Missouri!

Although I may be biased, (since C.H. "Skip" Curtis is my mother's boyfriend), I really loved this book. It's extremely informative for anyone--novice to expert--who travels on MO Route 66. Skip knows everything there is to know about Route 66; he's the editor of the Missouri Route 66 Magazine and he travels the road every time he visits my mom (which is a good 200 miles one way). Since I grew up on the Mother Road, I thought I knew every old hotel and shady bar on the route, but I was mistaken. Skip fills his book with two road maps (one from St. Louis going to Joplin and another vice versa), so you won't get lost. Also, there are tons of old photographs and postcards. Plus, my mom, my '55 Chevy and my favorite building are in the book; which puts it on the top of my book list. If you buy his book, you'll become a Missouri Route 66 expert (which comes in handy for parties), he'll become rich and I'll get more birthday presents (so, it's an investment we can all enjoy)! If you have any questions after you buy his book, write to him and he'll be more than happy to assist you. Or you can just ask him what C.H. stand for

It will change your point of view on how to finish your models forever. It made a 100% improvement on my painting and finishing skills. It gave me courage to try new techniques withoout fear or remorse in doing so. Every page is full of interesting content. A pleasure to reffer to again and again.

This book cuts through the mystery of putting an award winning finish on a model car. It answers all of the questions I've ever had about the subject of scale model finishes and has significantly improved the overall quality of all my models. Its well written and leads the modeler step-by-step through all the processes.

I've read zillions of books about the old car hobby, and this is easily the best one I've found. This is a book for driving enthusiasts, and people who love post-WWII sports cars and GT's -- it's not for speculators, it's not for people who want to modify cars (no how-to stuff), nor people who want to make a buck. It's a wee bit dated 25 years on, but hey, nothing's perfect. ...highly entertaining and informative read.
Taylor doesn't go into any of the notorious muscle cars, but instead concentrates mostly on lesser known models (mostly). Besides, there are plenty of books out there that go on ad nauseum about Detroit's V-8's. This book gets 5 stars as a car book, and 4 stars as one of my all-time favorite books, any subject.
So go ahead, learn a little about Bocar, Woodill, and Bill Thomas' Cheetah (a Cobra beater). Be on the look-out: buy your own copy of this book when you get the chance -- I'm keeping mine, and taking it with me after I die.
By the way, Amazon also lists this book under the title, "Modern Classics: The Great Cars of the Post War Era." There's another 5 star review there, with more detail, and in truth if you're not familiar with the book, that review may be more useful than my rave here.

When I first read this book in the late seventies, it was to check out what this automotive journalist thought of some of my favorite cars, like the Avanti, the Austin-Healey and the Porsche Speedster. The reviews were so honest and funny that I shelled out thirty part-time-job dollars to buy it. I look back on it now as one of the most influential books I ever read, because it opened up a world of fabulous cars that I had only vaguely noticed previously. The book is divided into three main sections detailing the postwar/pre-Opec sports cars of the United States, Great Britain, and Europe. Each region produced cars that reflected a certain national character, and Mr. Taylor describes, in roughly chronolgical order, all the cars that best exemplify it. Using a conversational and salty style, he traces each chosen car's history in the context of the time it was made, its competion history where applicable, and the good and bad points of owning the car yourself. Most importantly, he tells the stories of the men who made the cars, men who put their own personality and blood and fortune into producing the kind of cars they wanted to drive. Although each car's history can be read as an entity unto itself, the book is so arranged to give you a continuous overview of the whole era. I was particularly impressed by his inclusion of lesser-known and sometimes maligned cars, finding reasons for loving and admiring the Crosley Hotshots and Meyers Manxes along with the Ferraris and Gullwings and Corvettes. He expresses opinions that may rub some humorless enthusiasts the wrong way, but he can usually back up his remarks, and he is so engaging a writer that the unflattering comment is almost always followed by some redeeming compliment. And it's hard to fault his choice of the ultimate manifestations of each region's most characteristic sports car (the 427 Cobra for the US, the Morgan for Britain, and the Mercedes 300SL Gullwing for Europe.) So if you like the kind of cars that seem to be made only by the Franklin Mint these days, I highly recommend Modern Classics. Every page is an engaging read, and may inspire you to pursue your own modern classic yourself, like I did.

This was a Christmas gift for a true racing mechanic, the head of the engine department for the last of the old timers, Ed Pink. He loved it.

The price tag may seem weighty but actually represents a bargain for an outstanding book packed with nearly three hundred vintage images taken from the last century of auto racing in Motor Racing: The Golden Age. Here you'll find some of the most stunning photos of the last century of racing: many have never been seen before, and accompany original and insightful history. Motor racing fans will find it a top-notch survey leaving little out.