The Quest for Speed

by Mike Roussel

Air racing was once a big thing, seemingly the catalyst for advancing aircraft technology and also public buy-in. By looking at only the Schneider Trophy, and from a very European point of view, this book is limited in its answers.

DKW: The Complete History of a World Marque

by Siegfried Rauch with Frank Rönicke

DKW pioneered two-stroke engines and front wheel drive. It did not exactly give them world dominion, and the lights have been out since 1966, but the firm’s ideas and influences reach far and wide.

The Kellner Affair: Matters of Life and Death

by Larsen and Erickson

The raison d’être for this book is that French coachbuilder J.P. Kellner was executed by the Nazis as a spy, a victim, as were others, of denunciation. This monumental book examines original documents, all reproduced here—and concludes/proves that the guy blamed for it is not the guy! Oh, and there are cars too . . .

Ship Decoration 1630­–1780

by Andrew Peters

Such intricate work on a seagoing vessel that gets banged around and shot at and all the while needs to make a “statement” about power and influence and religion and worldviews. This is political art as much as Advanced Woodworking.

Gone With The Wind on Film

by Cynthia Marylee Molt

It was the highest-earning film for a quarter century. It set records for the total number of Oscar nominations and wins at the time. You’ve seen it, probably more than once. Before you watch it again, read this book!

Rolls-Royce

by James Taylor

Fine things come in small packages—a cliché, but, written by a proper researcher and author, this small booklet is a fine introduction to an extraordinarily long-lived marque.

Psycho, The Birds and Halloween

by Randy Rasmussen

Three classic horror films. Rasmussen’s prose takes us scene by scene into their terrors and madness. A diverting book. Light your candle on your great-grandmother’s skull, swipe away the cobwebs and, dear Speedreaders readers, read all about it.

Built to Better the Best: The Kaiser-Frazer Corporation History

by Jack Mueller

Cars pretty much sold themselves in the years following WWII. K-F, the new kid on the block, had the ideas, the product, the manufacturing capability, motivated workers, government loans—and still failed. This book takes a stab at laying out the complex reasons why.

Some Unusual Engines

by L.J.K. Setright

You don’t need to be an engineer to appreciate this book but after reading it, you’ll feel as if you are one! Engines, mostly British, for pretty much anything that moves are discussed here by an author with a sharp tongue and a sharp mind.

French Flying Boats of WWII

by Gérard Bousquet

The topic may not grab you right away but just look at the photo on the cover: one engine pointing backwards, three levels of workstations . . . you ain’t seen nothin’ yet. Those French . . . always doing things differently. Good book!

Avro Lancaster: The Survivors

by Glenn White

Only 17 known complete survivors of the iconic WWII bomber exist worldwide and this thoroughly illustrated book takes you to and inside them.

Hurst Equipped: More Than 50 Years of High Performance

by Rich Truesdell & Mark Fletcher

Don’t pass this book by because it has muscle cars on the cover! Hurst was so much more than performance parts and racecars. This is the first-ever look at the company and its many products and, at least a little bit, the man himself.

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