Porsche: Sixty Years

Of all the marques available throughout automotive history, few have inspired more books than Porsche, and Porsche: Sixty Years by Randy Leffingwell is one of the best yet. It presents the history of this iconic sports car brand, from humble beginnings to world wide success, in thorough but always easy to read detail. It then illustrates every model and significant development in Porsche history with hundreds of gorgeous photos. It's all there; from Doctor Porsche's ground-breaking street and race cars of the 1930s, through today's astounding 997. At $60 a copy, it's not a cheap read; but we're confident that any serious sports-car fan will consider it to be money well spent.

Though if begins and ends with an untimely death, Erik Arneson's book Mickey Thompson: The Fast Life and Tragic Death of a Racing Legend is a full-fledge tribute to a racer who remains larger than life long after his mysterious murder in 1988. This comprehensive biography seeks to examine not only Thompson's assassination but his remarkable life and accomplishments too. The author includes dozens of interviews with the likes of Dan Gurney, Mario Andretti and Don Prudhomme as well as a treasure-trove of photographs and stories all by the people who knew Thompson best.

Big coffee table books about famous cars are a dime a dozen, and few of them, even the cheap ones, are rarely worth their asking price. But Shelby Cars In Detail, by Frank Barrett and Boyd Jaynes, is not only one of the most expensive that we've ever seen, it's also one of the best. $149.95 buys you a massive book presenting 26 significant machines from the Shelby American Collection. Each chapter is devoted to a single car, and combines Frank Barrett's concise but complete history of the machine, with Boyd Jaynes' gorgeous full color photography. It's heaven in a book for serious Shelby fans, and one that we'd love to see on a coffee table or book shelf of our own.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then the striking photos that fill the pages of Portraits are a veritable encyclopedia of motor sports history. In this fine photo book, veteran racing photographer Jesse Alexander brings us a most memorable collection of his favorite photos, each capturing a magical moment in time with history's greatest drivers and team owners, as well as the mechanics and fans that made it all possible. These beautiful photos, mostly black and white, cover four decades of Mr. Alexander's career, and are a fitting tribute to both his subjects, and his own remarkable skill.

If you think a magazine devoted entirely to environmentally-friendly transportation can appeal only to preachy tree-huggers and alarmist ozone scientists, then you haven't seen Ron Cogan's "Green Car Journal." A longtime auto journalist and enthusiast, Cogan has infused this slick quarterly magazine with enough excitement and driving fun to rival any of the mainstream buff books. The only difference here is that everything's flavored with a green twist. Driving impressions, tech articles and well-balanced editorials share space with a thorough look at what's coming over the environmental horizon. Automotive times are changing and "Green Car Journal" is now a Must Read for anyone who holds a driver's license.

Here's a different kind of automotive publication: it's the BuildBook. A series of full-color, soft-cover books each one a detailed history of the construction of a top custom car, and we do mean detailed. Each issue not only introduces you to the mechanical wizards who build these amazing mobiles but show every single step of the build in exhausting photographic detail. The photos are backed up by equally detailed copy that covers every cut, weld, piece or part that goes into the car. If you're a serious custom-car fan and find regular magazine articles to be seriously short on detail then the BuildBook is the book you've been waiting for.

It's often been said that the first auto race took place as soon as there were two automobiles in the same town. Back in 1908 cars were not yet a fixture in every driveway, but as The Great Race shows, that didn't stop early auto enthusiasts from participating in one of the most amazing motorized competitions of all time. Author Gary Blackwood is best known as a novelist and puts those skills to good use writing an entertaining account of the original around the world race. It's a quick read, but a good one, and the vintage photos help illustrate what a great adventure it was.

To millions of people the world over, Los Angeles, California is the "City of Angels." But to many American motor sports enthusiasts, it is also the "City of Speed." And as author Joe Scalzo shows us in City of Speed: Los Angeles and the Rise of American Racing, few municipalities in these 50 states have contributed more to America's love for fast cars and the daring souls who race them. Whether it be Indy cars or dragsters, sprint cars or motorcycles, Bonneville speed kings or wide open road racers, many of the greatest have come from America's second largest city. Read this and you'll wonder why every race fan in America doesn't make a beeline west.

Auto racing has a long and exciting history, but for serious sports car fans no era can match the excitement of the Can-Am Series of the 1960s-70s. If you are a fan of road racing, then Can-Am Challenger is the perfect pass to get you behind the pit wall and right into the excitement. Author Peter Bryant traces his personal experience as an innovative racecar designer, working with many of the Can-Am series' fastest teams. He discusses everything from his pioneering work with titanium to the excitement and challenges of working with Carroll Shelby's legendary Cobra team. The writing is heavy on technical details but it's still easy to read, and is broken up by plenty of humorous stories and black and white photos. It's an informative and entertaining addition to any racing history library.

While the spotless rooms shown in Ultimate Garages II may look like exquisite museum displays, they are actually privately-owned garages, housing some of the finest four-wheeled machines to ever be parked indoors. In his follow up to the first Ultimate Garages book, author Phil Berg hits the streets again, lifting garage doors everywhere to find the best four walls for keeping classic cars pampered and protected. The book details twenty-three pristine garages; from warehouses to wood-paneled lounges. Large color photos show every corner and detail of the immaculate floor spaces. So if you need the inspiration to get your own "car clubhouse" cleaned up, or just want to check out other drivers' dream-come-true garages, look no further than these fine pages.

Every real Chevrolet fan knows what the initials SS stand for. And every Chevy fan will surely want a copy of Chevy SS: 50 Years of Super Sport. This very large format 348 page book by Robert Genat traces the Super Sport blood line from it's origins in the 1950s, to the NASCAR-inspired SS models of the 21st century. And all along the way, photographer David Newhardt delivers gorgeous photographs of some of the hottest cars ever to wear that big bow tie. It's a quick read but one you'll come back to on a regular basis. There are more detailed books available on many of these cars, but few find such a nice balance between history and hardware. Bow-tie groupies will surely want this plus size volume out on their coffee table. Just make sure that it's a super strong table.

If one were to draw up a short list of automotive icons, then the 1932 Ford Deuce would definitely be on it. And thanks to author Tony Thacker, we now have '32 Ford Deuce, the definitive history of an American automotive achievement almost as significant as the Model T. This massive volume chronicles the origins, developments, history and even the society that produced this most memorable car. It goes on to chronicle its second life as the basis for America's ultimate hot rods, presenting 75 astounding examples of the coolest '32 Fords ever to be chopped, channeled, hopped-up, or high-boyed. It's well-written, extremely informative and superbly illustrated. You'd be hard-pressed to find a cooler car or a better book about it.

Nothing makes a cool car look hot like a flame paint job. And no where will you find more information on the history and heroes of this unique style of auto adornment than in Up in Flames: The Art of Flame Painting. Author Tim Phelps examines the origins of the flame job and introduces readers to 18 of the greatest artists to ever apply this fantastic fire to a hot car. The photos are superb and there's even a do-it-yourself section.

America is the home of the hot rod. And in Hot Rod Milestones, authors Ken Gross and Robert Genat bring us 25 of the coolest cars to ever be chopped or channeled. From rockin' roadsters to speed record coupes, every one of these ground-breaking machines gets its own chapter with a complete history and a wealth of detailed photographs. It's great reading, with plenty of technical detail for the hard core motorheads, and some very entertaining anecdotes for the history buffs. One of the best hot rod books that you can buy.

Automotive history took a pivotal turn during the 1950s. In Cars of the Fantastic '50s, writer and photographer Dan Lyons takes us back in time to explore America's new appreciation for head-turning motoring. The book covers a wide variety of icon vehicles, from the Cadillac Eldorado to the Kaiser Darrin. See how America expressed its post-war euphoria with vibrant tail-fin styling that turned even lowly pickup trucks into glamorous works of art. Each page is filled with brilliant photos of these colorful cruisers, along with detailed explanations of their design and significance. So for anyone who enjoys classic American cars, polish your chrome, drop your top, and get ready for a journey through the truly fantastic '50s.

In the world of high performance motorcycles, the letters GSX-R are synonymous with speed. Few motorcycles have ever matched the Suzuki GSX-R's dominance of both street and racetrack. And now the entire history of this legendary motorcycle is available in Suzuki GSX-R: A Legacy of Performance by Marc Cook, an experienced and respected motor journalist. Mr. Cook delivers a chronological guide to the GSX-R's development, from its conventional GS series predecessors through the groundbreaking, lightweight design of the first GSX-R, to today's all-conquering GSX-R1000. It's packed with excellent photos and tons of technical data. The copy does sometimes read like a Suzuki sales brochure, but that doesn't stop this from being a book that every fan of this mighty motorcycle can enjoy.

The wait is over -- 33 years after its theatrical release, Steve McQueen's racing masterpiece, "LeMans" is finally available on DVD. Considered by many to be the best racing film ever made, "LeMans" was Steve McQueen's tribute to his personal passion for cars and competition. Presented on wide-screen letterbox format and digitally re-mastered from a pristine film print, this DVD captures all of the excitement of the original release. Here's a DVD that begs to play on a wide-screen TV with surround sound. Crank up the volume, sit back and you can practically smell the racing gas. While the motion picture was made with a supporting cast of 45 professional racers, Steve McQueen did all of his own high speed driving for the film. McQueen was a well-respected racer in his own right and so his intimate knowledge of the professional racing community gives "LeMans" a gritty realism missing from so many previous racing films. The racing sequences account for 90% of the film footage, leaving the viewer breathless. Never has the average film fan been so close to the racing action. Three decades after its initial release, "LeMans" is still the film by which all other racing films are measured.

Car design is a complex art that involves a lot more than just putting pen to paper or mouse to pad. American Car Design Now by C. Edson Armi gives us an inside look at the process through the words and techniques of top designers from Ford, General Motors and DaimlerChrysler. The book explores not just style and shapes, but how designers approach the customer, the accountants, and most importantly, the executives upstairs, as they strive to create an ideal design. It's not a light or casual read, but for the dedicated student of automotive design, the book is packed with fascinating insights into how experts like Tom Gale, J Mays, Wayne Cherry and others produce some of Motown's most enticing car designs.

Many of us cannot define art or obscenity, but we know it when we see it. Author Eric Peters, however, knows an ugly car when he sees one, and can tell you exactly why. His new book Automotive Atrocities!: The Cars We Love to Hate, is a clever, sometimes cutting, look at some of the worst cars ever to soil the world's roads. Now, some may take exception, but few can argue with most of his choices, or his sharp, biting descriptions of their journey from the factory to the junkyard.

Collecting the cars of hospitals and funeral homes is a pretty specialized field, but as Gregg Merksamer show us in Professional Cars: Ambulances, Hearses and Flower Cars, this little known segment of the collector car hobby is filled with fascinating design work and very specialized engineering. Lavishly illustrated with hundreds of black and white photos, it's a very interesting look at a very unique branch of the automotive family tree.

Few of us will ever own the Ford GT super car, but we can all get an inside look at its history and development in Ford GT: The Legend Comes to Life. Author Larry Edsall takes us step by step through the design and construction of the GT, starting with a short history of its almost unbeatable ancestor, the original GT 40. With a forward by the legendary Carroll Shelby, superb color photography and sharp, concise copy, this is a great book for fans of a great car.

If you're certified gearhead, then Ferrari Formula 1 by Peter Wright is the book for you. It's an incredibly detailed behind-the-scenes technical analysis of Ferrari's championship winning F1-2000 Formula 1 race car. Granted unprecedented access to the normally secret world of Ferrari engineering and design, Mr. Wright shows us the real nuts, bolts and software of modern race car design. It hardly qualifies as light reading, but if you're fascinated by serious technical detail, this is definitely a must read.

In today's Harley-happy America, biker books are a dime a dozen, and most are pretty much the same, except, that is, for Soul on Bikes by Tobie Gene Levingston and co-authors Keith and Kent Zimmerman. It's the story of the East Bay Dragons, one of California's oldest and best known African-American motorcycle clubs and the vibrant black biker culture that they helped to create. But this book is about much more than just motorcycles. Granted, there's plenty of the bragging, rowdy behavior and road stories that one expects from hardcore bikers, but there's also a deeper story of family, from the Levingston's roots as Louisiana sharecroppers to the close-knit family of modern African-American motorcycle clubs. This book belongs in every serious biker's library.

The sports car era of the '60s and '70s was one of the most exciting in auto racing history, and many of the most exciting cars involved came from Ferrari. In Ferrari Prototype Era 1962-1973 in Photographs, renowned automotive journalist, Alan Henry, truly captures these exquisite race cars and their time of greatest glory. It's primarily a superb photo book, but one with concise, informative copy that hits all the high notes of that exciting decade. Race fans will love it.