I feel torn in writing a review about The Complete Book of AMC Cars (2024). New auto history books are rare enough these days that anyone who navigates the gauntlet of getting published deserves applause. […]
Stuart R. Blond’s biography of Packard head James Nance is among the most unusual books in my automotive library. For one thing, Spellbinder: The Life of James J. Nance, is a two-volume set that stretches […]
(EXPANDED FROM 4/10/2020) If Dodge: 100 Years represents the future of automotive history, then we’re in real trouble. What we have here is a lavish display of mindless car porn and marketing babble. That’s an […]
(UPDATED FROM 10/16/2020) Charles K. Hyde’s history of American Motors and its constituent companies is a valuable scholarly addition to the literature. His book, Storied Independent Automakers: Nash, Hudson and American Motors, offers considerably more […]
(EXPANDED FROM 11/13/2020) Thomas E. Bonsall wrote one of the better Studebaker histories, but it suffers from flaws that undercut the book’s usefulness. More Than They Promised, which was published in 2000, is a refreshing […]
Patrick Foster (2005) once lamented that he couldn’t find a publisher for a book on George Romney. “A typical rejection goes something like this: George Romney led an exemplary life, was honest in business, never […]
Andrea Hiott has written an engaging and nuanced automotive history that transcends the usual “car guy” narratives. Thinking Small: The Long, Strange Trip of the Volkswagen Beetle offers a wealth of background about the political, economic […]
To my mind, the Avanti’s history has two major parts: Under Studebaker and as an independent automaker. Of the Studebaker histories, Richard M. Langworth (1993) arguably offers the most detailed and analytically sophisticated narrative. The […]
Richard M. Langworth’s book about Hudson was first published in 1977, but it is still the best history of this quirky automaker. As with his other auto histories written during this time period, Hudson 1946-1957: […]
This is one of the better scholarly books about an auto company. Donald T. Critchlow achieves the rare feat of crafting a narrative that is engaging, analytically sophisticated and challenges industry groupthink in key respects. […]
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