Books.
After the car, truck or motorcycle itself, I think pages of information and photos are the next best option for any enthusiast of wheels, internal combustion and chrome and steel.
Because the season of gift giving is upon us, here’s a roundup of titles worth searching for this Christmas.
First up, Top Muscle: The Rarest Cars From America’s Fastest Decade. As the title suggests, this coffee table volume published by Motorbooks (ISBN: 978-0760345146) is crammed full of the most powerful and significant V8-powered automobiles to have ever prowled the streets.
“Top Muscle: The Rarest Cars From America’s Fastest Decade” by Randy Leffingwell and Darwin Holmstrom.
Handout, Motorbooks
Divided into three sections, including General Motors, Mopar/AMC and Ford-Mercury-Shelby, every one of the cars featured is owned by two brothers. The vehicles form only a tiny fragment of what is known simply as the Brothers Collection.
Photographed by Randy Leffingwell and written by Darwin Holmstrom, some of the muscle cars profiled include the very first 1970 Chevelle SS454 LS6 to leave the assembly line, the very last 1971 Hemi ‘Cuda convertible Plymouth produced, and one of only two 1969 Mach 1 Mustangs ever built with a factory sunroof.
The colour photography stunningly captures the details, while the text describes the significance of every vehicle – they get eight pages of coverage each.
For those who appreciate cars from a bygone era, Art of the Classic Car should satisfy. Streamlined sheet metal, Art Deco design and ingenious engine configurations are found in the vehicles built between 1910 and 1940 – these are rolling sculptures as much as they are automobiles.
“Art of the Classic Car” by Peter Bodensteiner and Peter Harholdt.
Handout, Motorbooks
Four sections, including Open Cars, Convertibles, Coupes, and Sedans contain vehicles from some of the auto industry’s greatest names, such as Alfa Romeo, Delahaye, Duesenberg, Packard and Stutz. These are the kind of drop-dead gorgeous cars that are found on the lawns of car shows such as Pebble Beach, California, and Amelia Island, Florida.
In this Motorbooks title (ISBN: 978-0760344156) essays written by Peter Bodensteiner supplement studio images taken by Peter Harholdt. Complete with period advertising and promotional art, the book is a fine example of a pictorial history that exceeds expectations.
Two of the biggest names in the game of documenting motorcycles, writer Paul d’Orleans (aka TheVintagent.com) and photographer Michael Lichter have produced Café Racers: Speed, Style and Ton-Up Culture.
The book, also published by Motorbooks (ISBN: 978-0760345825) is a result of Lichter’s Ton-Up! display that ran at Sturgis Bike Week in 2013.
“Café Racers: Speed, Style and Ton-Up Culture” by Paul d’Orleans and photographer Michael Lichter.
Handout, Motorbooks
An array of go-fast motorcycles was assembled and photographed, and Café Racers traces the early history of fast machines, and succinctly documents the two-wheeled flirtation with the mistress, speed.
Café racer was a term first used in 1960s England to describe riders who rode stripped down and modified motorcycles from one café to the next, sometimes exceeding 100 miles per hour (or, ‘ton-up’ in British parlance). But the roots go much deeper, and it wasn’t just a British phenomenon. There’s been a resurgence of interest in this genre of motorcycle – and Café Racers does a good job of documenting factory-built rides including the BSA Gold Star and Norton Manx together with new one-off specials such as the Lossa Engineering Honda CB77 and the Fuller Hot Rods Full Sport Ducati.
Lastly, there’s Aurora to Ariel: The Motorcycling Life of J. Graham Oates, A Pioneering Manx Motorcyclist. First published in 1993, author Bill Snelling offered in 2010 a revised and expanded second edition that’s out of print.
However, it’s now available from Amazon as a Kindle publication, and it’s well worth the less than $10 it costs.
“Aurora to Ariel: The Motorcycling Life of J. Graham Oates, A Pioneering Manx Motorcyclist” by Bill Snelling.
Handout, Amulree Pubications
Snelling relates the story of how Oates left home at 14 to enlist during the First World War, eventually becoming a motorcycle dispatch rider. Oates then returned to the Isle of Man, where he built his own brand of Aurora motorcycles.
Where this book shines is in its detail of Oates’ 1928 cross-Canada motorcycle adventure. Aboard a 500cc Ariel and Canadian-built Sturgess sidecar, Oates and his machine became the first rubber-tired vehicle to cross the country from coast to coast. For nearly 1,500 kilometres, where there were no roads, he rode the outfit on railroad ties.
Oates’ career doesn’t end with that trip, as he has several more adventures (including another Canadian trip in 1932), all documented by Snelling and backed up with archival images.
I’ve read my paper copy twice, and if I didn’t have it I’d track it down on Kindle. It helps remind us that intrepid folks with vision and determination can accomplish great things.
Greg Williams is a member of the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC). Have an auto related item to share for the column or What’s Next? Contact him at 403-287-1067 or gregwilliams@shaw.ca. Visit his website at gregwilliams.ca.
