Cadillac Books

Mary Kay's autobiography tells of a woman with indomitable spirit and profound emotional intelligence. How she reached the pinnacle of success despite the tragedies and measly capital is a life lesson we should all learn from. I like Jim Underwood's writing style. His closeness to Mary Kay and his first-hand knowledge of her leadership style certainly provided credibility to this book. Highly recommended!

I was really impressed with the work that Jim Underwood put forth to create this woderful book. One of the most inspiring things for me is the fact that he shares insights that I didn't know about the company that I am proud to represent. I left each reading session with an added sense of pride and inspiration.
More Than a Pink Cadillac...is a great tool for sharing with prospective team members and their spouses/spices as it comes from a person who doesn't represent MK Inc and shows how much corporate does care about those who represent MK in the field.

When I decided to start my own business, my goals were lofty and to the average person unattainable. Many people in my life were unconvinced that I could accomplish them. Desperate to grown personally, I began working my way through self-help books and the like. By mistake I picked up MORE THAN A PINK CADILLAC" and my life was forever better. Jim Underwood offers us a look into the life of a remarakable woman who refused to let anyone hold her back. Not only does this book share her personal/professional journey, it shares the journey's of women just like myself. It's not just about business, it's about people. It reminds us that this world is nothing without the people in it. I highly recommend this book to anyone who has ever thought they couldn't make it work...no matter what "it" is. Pure inspiration!

Mary Kay, Inc., is perhaps best known for two things: the cult of personality surrounding its founder, Mary Kay Ash, and the fact that it rewards successful salespeople with pink Cadillacs. In this illuminating book, management expert Jim Underwood delves into the guiding principles of Mary Kay, Inc.'s daily operations, which remain, 40 years later, true to Ash's founding vision. Countries or corporations founded by a charismatic leader often sag or sink when that leader inevitably steps down. Mary Kay's leadership was unique in that she built a solid foundation for the company so it could continue without her day-to-day guidance. This corporate biography represents the first time the privately owned company allowed an outsider complete access to its managers and employees, enabling Underwood to persuasively illustrate nine leadership rules with testimonies from members of the "Mary Kay family." We recommend this to anyone who aspires to leadership. Mary Kay may look fluffy, but it's all about the firm.

I cannot say enough great things about this book. Mary Kay Cosmetics is truly a wonderful company and Mary Kay Ash was a very inspiring businesswoman. Even for those people not in leadership positions, this is still a fantastic book. This exceeded my expectations. I was very thrilled with my purchase.

Fun romp featuring repo men (and women) of DKA as heroes versus gypsy clans. The king of American gypsies has died, and the clans from around the US are vying to have their leader be selected as the new king. To this end, they are stealing Cadillacs left and right in order to show up in the proper style at the big gathering where the new king will be selected. Lots of fun to be had as Gores skillfully describes scam after scam after scam, both by the gypsies and the repo men. Both groups are sympathetically portrayed for the most part, and the background detail about modern gypsy life is interesting in its own right.

This book is full of heroes on all sides as DKA agents and gypsies strive to outwit each other throughout a very funny story. 32 CADILLACS is the best entry in the entertaining DKA series.

This book explores the world of gypsies, scamps and thieves and the offbeat group of Private Investigators who pursue them.

Always planning the next con, theft or bunko, a band of gypsies in San Francisco pull off a perfect crime. Using four branches of the same bank, slick tactics and phone banks, a group of gypsies manages to steal 32 cadillacs, all in the same day.
Facing a million dollar loss, the bank hires DKA, a local PI firm, to recover the stolen cars. Tipped off that a gang of gypsies was responsible, the DKA operatives, or repomen, start a chase that follows the cars across the US. Using very unconventional methods this quirky band of PIs, who are rejects and misfits, must use their wiles to "outcon the cons."

What makes this story really outstanding is the background tale of the gypsy life, description of how the cons are done and the plotting of the PIs to get the cars back. There is lots of action too including breakneck chases and escapes, including one where a DKA agent must leap into a car while his rear is filled with buckshot.

My favorite character is Ken Warren, a repoman with such a severe speech impediment that he barely communicates. But with extraordinary skills in hunting down and absconding with cars that no one else can get, he earns the respect of his fellow DKA agents.

A fun ride which I highly recommend.

... I found it to be a nice treat.

It was an interestinglook at the workings of the repoman and an enlightning look at the gypsy lifestyle.

The members of the DKA agency were wonderfully drawn characters...very Runyon-esque. The gypsy characters could not have been more colorful. The plots and sidebars were neatly tied together.

There is a lot of humor mixed in with the crime, trackdowns, deceptions, double dealings and repo procedural. This would make a great movie. The action never stops and Mr. Gores does a great job of putting the reader inside the mind of the players.

"32 Cadillacs" was very entertaining and my initial Joe Gores book. I feel like I have discovered a new writer and look forward to more fun reads by Joe Gores.

Why Joe Gores isn't a better known author is a complete mystery to me. Ok, Ok, he's won 3 Edgar Awards and all, but still you don't hear his name mentioned too often when asking for recommendations. His DKA Files series are full of action, humour, cons and scams and in short are pure entertainment. Well, no matter, I've discovered him now and I'm here to tell you that the series, and 32 Cadillacs in particular, is one that's not to be missed.

For the first time, the DKA Agency is pitted in a head-to-head battle with San Francisco's Gypsy community following a Gypsy scam that had netted a grand total of 31 Cadillacs. This is a once-in-a-lifetime job, recover the 31 Caddys for a nicely negotiated fat fee. But the Gypsies are crafty specialists of the long con and are exceedingly difficult to track down, so the recovery process will require the DKA team to use every resource available as well as every underhanded trick in the book.

To give you a head start, I'll introduce you to the central DKA characters. They are, Dan Kearny, Giselle Marc, Patrick O'Bannon, Larry Ballard and Bart Heslip. And two new characters are added to the staff, Trin Morales, a sleazy Latino who failed on his own as a PI, and Ken Warren, the genius carhawk with a killer speech impediment. Both bring tremendous dimension and entertainment to the DKA team.

But the real stars of the book are the Gypsies, colourful in character as well as in their various ingenious scams. Although they're such big thieves that they'd make a kleptomaniac look like a saint, you can't help but like them and hope that every now and then they'll catch a break.

Joe Gores is an author who has walked the walk, having been an agent in the real life DKA Agency. His first-hand knowledge and experience is apparent as his agents work through their cases. Rumour has it that the Larry Ballard could very well be modelled on Gores himself.

As a final word, if there are any Donald Westlake fans out there who have read and enjoyed his Dortmunder book Drowned Hopes, I would urge you to read this one too with a brilliant crossover of storylines. This book was an absolute pleasure to read and, I know it's a much-overused catch phrase but I would term it a "must read book".

Motherless Eddie Brown (actually Evangeline) candidly tells of her friendship with the new boy in school, Farrell. Both feel themselves to be outsiders and closely guard their family secrets. Their fathers are drinking buddies and their alcoholism overshadows the whole story. The bullying by the other kids pulls the two youngsters together and Farrel teaches Eddie to defend herself.
Young readers will relate to their experiences in coping with hurtful teasing, having to wear glasses, adjusting to a new teacher, and feeling embarrassed about their homes and families. The two of them have an up-and-down relationship as they take their insecurities and frustrations out on each other.
When disaster looms, they hatch a plot together to cope with it. Farrel fears that the new teacher's home visits will result in Eddie and him being sent to foster homes. He says they should run away and travel to his grandmother's.
Eddie must make a difficult choice between her loyalty to her father who has disappointed her over and over or on taking a risk with this new friend. The book ends on a hopeful note.

I don't usually read children's books, but bought this one for my grandchildren, read it myself, and was delighted. Perhaps the strongest feature is the way Ms. Davis captures the voice of 10-year-old Eddie Brown (Evangeline) the sassy little protagonist through whose eyes the story is told.

Eddie's problem is that she lives with her dad, the village drunk, in a run-down Florida motel--one of those places that rents rooms by the hour. The most notable feature of the motel, other than its broken neon sign and shady clientele, is the rear end of a pink Cadillac protruding from one of the rooms. Eddie's dad is the manager.

Eddie is street smart enough to realize that all is not well with all the comings and goings, and finds friendship with Farrell, another kid with problems. His dad runs a greasy mechanic shop and is the drinking buddy of Eddie's dad. The dads aren't bad guys, just a couple of negligent drunks.

Eddie and Farrell play basketball together, fend off bullies, and talk about their miserable lives. As bad as things are, they turn worse when a new teacher comes to town and announces she's going to visit each child at home, have a chat with their parents. No way, says Eddie and Farrell. Not only will they become the laughing stock of the school, but they could wind up as wards of the state. This sets the stage for an elaborate escape, a run-away-from-home with the intention of moving in with Eddies aunt.

I won't spoil the ending for those who haven't read the book, but will add that things go from bad to worse to disastrous when they encounter the really bad guys in a bus station, the sort that preys on little kids.

This book has everything for a delightful read--a loveable protagonist, a BIG problem, a determination to do something about the problem, bad guys and a satisfactory ending. It also has a message for kids contemplating escape from their parents: things could be much much worse. In short, it's a great read for both kids and adults.

In this novel, which won the coveted Ann Durrell Fiction Contest (Dutton Children's Books' contest for new writers of middle-grade fiction), Evangeline "Eddie" Brown lives in poverty with her beer-sodden father. Their home is the rarely frequented Cadillac Motel, decorated with the butt-end of a pink Cadillac. Eddie has lived in Paradise since she was born. The motel is in sad shape and so is Eddie's Pa, who has never recovered from her mother's death when Eddie was five. Ruby, the motel maid, functions somewhat as a mom substitute. Eddie is friendless and teased unmercifully at school.

Eddie meets Farrell, the son of one of Pa's drinking buddies. The two connect through their mutual love of basketball. Eddie is troubled by Farrell's secrets. Why is he afraid of enclosed spaces? Where is the place he lived when his mother died? When school starts, they strike a deal: Eddie will help Farrell with his schoolwork in exchange for fighting lessons. Farrell and Eddie combine their talents to solve problems. Their solutions sometimes result in triumph but also lead them into danger.

Along with her new friend, Eddie also has a new teacher. Instead of cranky old Mrs. Thornton, the class has pretty, sweet Miss Rose. Her new teacher drops a bombshell: she plans to visit each student's home. Eddie is awash in shame and fear at the thought of her lovely teacher in the trashed-out motel meeting her drunken father. She is desperate to prevent that scenario.

This is a poignant book with fresh, surprising characters (I love Eddie's attitude!) and a lively but thoughtful plot. It's both heartbreaking and heartwarming but never slips into sentimentality. Although I thought that perhaps the situation with Eddie's father was resolved just a bit too easily, this is a minor quibble with such a wonderful novel. Indeed, I simply cannot wait to read many more books by talented newcomer Michele Ivy Davis.

--- Reviewed by Terry Miller Shannon (...)

This is a wonderful story that made me laugh and cry. I really loved the main character. The author does such a wonderful job that you really feel part of the story. I am an adult and I plan on sharing this one with both my 8 year old and 11 year old. A great book to curl up with!

What a delightful book! I enjoyed the engaging story and the spunk of the main character. Eddie is a no nonsense tomboy on the outside and a vulnerable young girl within. The author lends a remarkable insight into the life of a young girl of difficult circumstances. I recommend this book to anyone who would like to enjoy its simple lessons. I truly do believe that this book shouldn't be limited to kids!

Since I grew up in an area near an Indian reservation in central MN, and now live in an area that was formerly a reservation in central OR, I had to read this book by Rick Steber about his viewpoint. It brings us great sadness to realize how difficult it's been for the American Indian population to assimilate and succeed in our current culture, and why alcohol plays such a great role in their attempts. I did enjoy reading 1491 which documents their predecessors' success in living a better life as the early natives to this continent. I'm glad to hear we're beginning to see the necessity for restoring the prairie grasses and conservation practices of burning, etc. that were successful for the early forestation and conservation of our country.

As I lived close to this area during the time of this book, it was thrilling to read Rick Steber's view of the happenings at that time.

It supposedly is not based on facts. I remember too well the incidents and the stories of the law enforcement officers relating to the "trouble with the natives". Humourous as it was at the time, it is truly a sad tale of loss of another one of our native American tribes and the plight the white man has brought to them.

The characters in this book are drawn deeply and realistically. I could not put this book down.

Buy the Chief a Cadillac is indeed a wonderful historical novel, although fairly recent history, as the time period of the book is in the early 1960's.
The Klamath Indian tribe, living on a million acre reservation in southern Oregon, is about to be terminated. The government passed a plan where they would pay each Indian $43,000 and in return, the reservation would be no longer. This novel is set in the days just before and immediately after the Termination Act took place.
Full of well fleshed out characters, mean drunks, crazy cowboys, whisky swilling loggers, lawmen both good and bad, this book is a darn fine read. It is historically correct and explores clearly one of the last really big rip-offs of the Indians by the US Government.
Buy the Chief a Cadillac is fueled by 60's rock and roll, a river of potent booze, hopped up hotrods, guns, chaos, greed, murder and abundant mayhem. We meet and journey with each of the many and varied interesting characters from their own point of view, something that works very well.
The book is tight, keeps the reader turning the pages; the writing is crisp, clean, and clear, and has a definite ring of authenticity about it. This is the first of Rick Steber's books I've read and I plan to read more of them. I'd recommend it for anyone who enjoys reading about the West, for those interested in American history, and think it would make an excellent book for professors to have their students read in classes that deal with the American Indian, the reservations, the 1960's. A terrific book by a talented writer.

If you are looking for a great novel about Pilots in the Vietnam War, this is the one for you. I can't believe that I paid so little for this book, because it will stay on my shelf as one of those rare books that I will reread. This is a fantastic novel about Thud Drivers in the Vietnam War. The flying scenes, the characters, the complexities of the times are all well thought out and presented in this great novel of aerial combat. Even though it is a novel, I would rate it up there with the offerings of 100 Missions North, Thud Ridge, and all the other great F105 novels. Do yourself a favor and get this book. You will not be disappointed.

Once you start this book, it will be hard to do anything else until you finish. Gripping, moving account of the Thud airstrikes over NVN. Newbies to the Vietnam war will feel admiration for the pilots, and anger toward the war leadership that put politics over lives.

Although Harrison develops his charactors carefully, the reader is pulled rapidly through the unfolding story with its tragedies and triumphs and - surprises.

If you can find the book, get it. But make sure you have a clear couple of days to get through it.

I have read this book several times and I can't get enough of it. The action is non-stop. And the air battles are as real as my flight-sim. This book is right up there with such authors as Dale Brown, Joe Weber, and Leonard B. Scott. I score it a 10. I just wish he would write more.

This is a superb novel based on the Republic F-105 Thunderchief (THUD) pilots in Vietnam. Astounding level of accuracy

Roy Schneider has created the best series of books about Cadillacs that I have encountered (40's, 50's & 60's). I own the 50's and 60's volumes and refer to them often. These are publications of the highest quality (binding, paper, photography and copy). This is as near to an insider's view of Cadillac as most of us would hope to get. Many of the photographs are from dealer data books and other internal sources, which are very expensive to aquire now. Mr. Schneider has brought much of this rare literature into a beautifully presented format. I hope that he is considering publishing a new volume for the Cadillacs of the Seventies.

Roy Schneider has produced the most outstanding series of books about Cadillac (40's, 50's & 60's). The publication itself is of the highest quality (binding, paper, photographs and text - all first-rate). I own both this edition and the 50's book, and I refer to them often. Mr. Schneider has presented many rare photographs and text that are from many "internal" types of sources, such as salesman's data books, which are difficult for collectors to find and very expensive. I hope he will consider publishing a new volume in the future: Cadillacs of the Seventies!

If you have the opportunity to buy this hard to find book, grab it!

As the title suggests, this book focuses on the details of Cadillac's beauties from 1960 to 1969. Each year is given a great amount of space as well as clear black and white photos (yes, no color here) of exteriors, interiors, close-ups, etc. The level of detail the author puts into each description is incredible. This book is ideal for Cadillac aficionados who love the 1960's era. I own a '60 Coupe and a '64 convertible, so naturally I loved the focus on this particular decade and I enjoyed reading about the subtle differences between years and across models. The original shop manuals or sales brochures simply do not provide this sort of information. Most Cadillac books focus on the 40's or 50's, so this one is a real gem if you love the 60's car lines as I do.

If you are only a moderate Cadillac fan, I would suggest broader topic books that cover earlier years as well. Keep the faith.

I found the book to be comprehensive, very detailed, and incredibly researched. In addition to the wealth of data and photos, the author included much historical information about the cars... and the area they helped define. I particularly enjoyed Roy Schneider's introduction, forward, and captions. His expertise on the subjet is impressively demonstrated throughout this book--and previous others. The book is as enjoyable as riding in an Eldorado Biarritz convertible with an expert driver.

Como se dice..."I love this book!" I would know how to say it but I let a cousin borrow my book and it's never been back in my hands and now she's in love with the Italian language. :) That's a good thing! Well, I found the same edition of this book at the library and 3 months later, I was practically fluent in Italian. It's been a few years since then and my ability to speak Italian is almost non-existent. This book is good for a quick review or if you want to learn to speak a language within no time (but with dedication!). You'll find common phrases, words, but you will also find important grammar lessons in this book--the key element in learning a language.

This book is an excellent introduction to the Italian language. Its pronunciation guide is the most thorough I have seen, and pronunciations next to words indicate which syllable to stress, which is not done in the other popular italian books I have used. This is crucial to pronouncing the language correctly. The book is well layed out, pedagogically, if a tad ambitious. It keeps a fairly rapid pace in introducing new grammar rules, and can be overwhelming as a first text. Heavy use of drills really does get the language to "sink" in, however. The reason this book gets four stars, is that the italian it teaches is a bit outdated. Some of the vocabulary it teaches is straight out of 1960, and the pronouns it teaches for "he" and "she", among other words, are not in common current usage in Italy. My friend from Italy explained to me that those works anly used by her grandparents' generation.

I found "Italian Made Simple" to be the best Italian workbook for the student studying at home. All study books explain the grammar, but this one also drills you extensively in it. I learned more from this book than any other. After completing this book, I can recommend moving on to Living Language's Ultimate Italian tape courses and also Schaum's Italian Vocabulary book. Also, a good way to get your feet wet learning Italian, is with the book entitled, Italian in 10 minutes a Day. Buona fortuna!

By buying this book it really helped me understand the basic-intermediate status of Italian. It does everything in the best way I thought possible, and helped me learn my new language quickly and easily. It takes you step by step so that you don't get confused. Every six chapters there is a brief Quiz to see what you have learned and what you still need to spend some more time on. In the end, you won't be speaking fluently, but very very close to it. I reccommend buying "Living Language: Italian" that will give you an advanced-intermediate status. and finally, buy an advanced book or get a tudor...(TUDORS WORK REALLY WELL!)

HAVE FUN!!!

Once I picked up this book, I could barely put it down. I finished it that night. David Kohrman brings what would normally be a dull subject manner to life with interesting details and a captivating style of writing. I am eagerly awaiting his next work.

The Book-Cadillac Hotel and the Statler Hilton are two of the most magnificant buildings in Detroit, with it's amazing collection of 1910s and 1920s architecture. DK's excellent book describes in great detail the history of these two landmarks, and updates us on their current sad conditions with brilliant photography. I cannot say enough about the B-C, please check out ... after reading this book, and join the Friends of the Book Cadillac, to assure that the proposed Marriott-led rennovations occur so we can enjoy that landmark for years to come.

What a stimluating walk through time. David George Kohramn visits the history, past and present, of the Detroit Statler and Book Cadillac Hotels. The book is jammed with rare photos I have never seen. His deep research is evident in his concise, but detailed writing. This is a must have for any history buff and individual concerned with the preservation of our past. Thank you David, for an exciting adventure!

after getting used to tortuga's style of writing it turned out to be a book that i've already read twice! i absolutely love it! the main characters are great and secondary characters shore them up to perfection! this book deserves a sequel if nothing else than to tell us what's going on in Gryph's and Remy's lives!

The last tale of B.A. Tortuga is a vamp tale. An old vamp tale to the rhythm of blues. You can feel it bit in every words and it's a crazy rhythm.

Vance is a scarred ex cop who now works for a man known as Colonel. He hunts vampires. He receives orders and goes on mission. He is not particular fond of vampires but neither hates them. It's only his work. Then he meets Clay, a vampire like no other he has met before. He feels a powerful attraction for this man. And Clay seems incapable to stop biting him and makin love to him. And he is not adverse to the idea.

And then there is Remy, a sweet little Cajun man who has always cared for Clay, cause Clay is family. And now that Clay has met his mate, Remy is a little bit sad, not angry, is not in his nature... but maybe Gryphon, another vampire, much older than Clay, can make him feel better, a lot better.

Till the mid of the book, I feel partial for Remy and in second stance for Vance. They are very different, but very lovely both. Vance is a wounded man that has not finished to believe in justice. He is angry to the world, but he is still a good boy. And he works only for the Goods. Instead Remy is a little hot thing, all sweet and caring; he has not an ounce of malice in his body, maybe he is a little wicked, but in the good meaning of the word. He only has yet to find his soul mate and until that moment, he can be a good buddy for Clay.

Clay is the good boy. Only he is a vampire. He is so good, I can find nothing wrong in him. But I'm not so fond for good boy. So maybe this is the reason why I cheer up when Gryphon makes his appearance. He is a real man... ops vampire. He is strong and protective, he takes what he wants and now he wants Remy.

So in the end the supporting characters, Remy and Gryphon, steal the scene to the main characters, Vance and Clay. And all of them contribute to create a fast paced story, full (as always in the B.A. Tortuga's story) of hot sex, that is not never a bad thing.

Tortuga has give us 4 very appealing characters in this vampire tale which is quite different from the usual. We have Vance, an ex-military man with a dark past now hunting vampires for a living. His latest target is Clay, a vampire hunk with a long black cadillac, who quickly turns the table on him. Then there is Remy, an endearing Cajun who looks after Clay, and being human he has his advantage during the day. They started off as a threesome and here I do feel for Remy as he is somewhat neglected by Clay. Then along comes Gryphon an ancient vampire who claims Remy for his own. The sex is of course steamy and hot, with all the blood, animalistic and sensual bites. The plot is one roller coaster ride as this threesome who were hunted turned into a foursome on a vengence. There are some wild and wonderfully crazy moments and you just have to love the hearse (chuckle). The plot could have delved deeper into Vance's past, both vampire's background and the reasons behind the vampires' hunt and the ending parts are somewhat rushed. But as a M/M romance, the chemistry and interaction among the four guys makes this one sensual and enjoyable erotica.

Pink Cadillac's author, Robert Dunn, knows the stuff of Memphis '55/56 -- the days of blues descending and rock rising, the roadhouses, radio stations, deejays, unscrupulous record label owners and the power of the mojo. He's taken that knowledge and transformed it into a riveting novel. I found myself reading late into the night, needing to know how Thomas 'Bearcat' Jackson's record producing career had been destroyed -- why blues singer Sonesta Clarke loved, but couldn't live with Bearcat -- if Dell Dellaplane's powerful father would smash his son's dreams by bringing down Bearcat's roadhouse -- if Daisy Holliday would ever come to her senses, forsake lounge singing in Buffalo, NY and return to Memphis. Most of all, I couldn't put the book down until the truth of the record -- Pink Cadillac -- was revealed. Had it actually ever been recorded? If so, why did it live in legend alone? Did it hold the answer to a mystery that might've been best left unsolved? Buy this book. Once you begin reading, you won't want to put it down.

I read about 30 books a year and consider "Pink Cadillac" one of the two or three best novels (of any genre) that I've read in the last half-decade.

Author Dunn cuts through the sickeningly-sweet nostalgia to which rock's first decade has been reduced, and paints a warts-and-all portrait of Eisenhower-era Memphis: the racism and segregation, the subjugation of women, the predatory practices of the music business, the even more predatory practices of the ruling class, and--on the positive side--the energy and exuberance that made early rock 'n' roll and those who created it something truly special.

Dunn also does an excellent job of capturing the music historian's obsessive/compulsive thinking and behavior--a frame of mind that has motivated people such as I to spend our lives researching and writing scholarly treatises on what the people who created the music often disdainfully refer to as "those old things."

"Pink Cadillac" grabbed me from its opening paragraph and still hasn't let me go, some 24 hours after I finished it. Even if you don't like '50s rock 'n' roll, it won't keep you from enjoying this book. And for we who love the music of that period, Dunn's novel serves both as a triumph and as a sad reminder that good novels about rock 'n' roll have been few and far between.

Robert Dunn has given us a bittersweet story that perfectly captures a time when rhythm and blues was giving birth to rock and roll. A modern day record collector/entrepreneur, grief-sticken by his wife's sudden death, is on a healing quest to find a legendary single. He is convinced that "Pink Cadillac" is the greatest song never heard, a disc that may or may not have been recorded by a rag tag group of musical pioneers in the mid-fifties. Through flashback, the reader discovers the secret of the song, and why its origins have been kept hidden nearly half a century. The colorful characters that populate the story are in and of themselves worth the ride. Thomas "Bearcat" Jackson is a particularly vital and heartbreaking character as penned by Dunn. Bearcat is a brilliant self-taught bluesman and record man, imprisoned and haunted by the Jim Crow era into which he was born. Much to the dismay of his long time musical partners, Bearcat hooks up with two young white kids, creating a new sort of sound with their "Pink Cadillac." But was this magical tune ever actually put to wax? And what dreadful price did Bearcat and his friends pay for daring to make such music together? With "guest stars" such as Memphis DJ Dewey Phillips and Elvis himself (who provided the Cadillac the song is named for), this is a rollicking ride that will be a great read for novices and diehard music fans alike.