Mickey Thompson: The Last Racing Maniac

by Scribbler Joe (Scalzo)

I read this book with the absolute wish that every single solitary, bar none, motherlover listed in it could be looking over my shoulder reading right along with me; or even better still be listening to the author frantically reading the book aloud to all of us huddled in some musty Babbitville coffee enclave at 4:30 on a cold, rainy Wednesday afternoon.

Dodge B-Series Trucks: Restorer’s & Collector’s Reference Guide and History

by Don Bunn

Bunn’s passion for this truck was fueled by his purchase in 1973 of a 1952 half-ton. He became a charter member of the Light Commercial Vehicle Association and quickly found that there was little or no information available to someone who wanted to rebuild or restore an old B-Series truck.

Flywheel, Memories of the Open Road

by Swallow, Pill, and the Muhlberg Motor Club

This unique book demonstrates that enthusiasm for automobiles and the printed word can survive even under the most terrible of conditions as, for instance, in a gritty German POW camp. It reprints the best of the world’s most unusual, cheapest, and lowest-circulation car mag, published in 1944–45 by half a dozen bored but talented inmates of Stalag IVb.

Pioneers, Engineers, and Scoundrels: The Dawn of the Automobile in America

by Beverly Rae Kimes

SAE observed its 100th birthday in 2005 and published this book about the very beginnings of the auto industry—authored by a very special person with an impeccable reputation for careful research and equal care with the writing.

The Spirit of Competition

by Frederick A Simeone

Simeone’s philosophy toward collecting can be summed up by what he refers to as “The Automotive Hippocratic Oath: Do no harm to historically accurate artifacts.” His museum housing his racing sportscar collection is now open to the public and is becoming a magnet destination for enthusiasts.

The Alphabet and The Automobile

by Murray L. Smith, illustrations by Charles W. Queener

Typically A-B-C books are for little kids. It is obvious at first glance, however, that this one wasn’t intended for those lively little minds with short attention spans. Those kiddos are captivated by A is for aardvark and a Blue Train for B is likely to elicit a squeal of “Oh, show me Thomas the Tank!

Paolo Martin: Visions in Design

by Paolo Martin

You may look at the cover and see a famous Ferrari but Martin is really at home in any area of design, a story told here in over a thousand images accompanied by thoughtful and inspiring commentary by the man himself.

Armoured Trains: An Illustrated Encyclopedia 1825–2016

by Paul Malmassari

From a battleship on rails to nimble if sometimes slapdash scout trolley, armored—and armed—trains have seen action much more recently than you might think. They have their limits but obviously they fulfill a role only they can do. This book gives you almost 200 years of examples.

Jochen Rindt: Uncrowned King

by David Tremayne

“Who the hell is Jochen Rindt?” is the title of the first chapter—because it was the first question people asked when Rindt seemingly came out of nowhere in 1964 to beat the big-name drivers of his day. And it is, the author fears, the first question a new generation of racing enthusiasts asks today.

Seward Johnson and His Bronze Friends

Realism and Creative Imagination in Contemporary American Sculpture

by Gérard Roubichou

Ever been fooled into mistaking Johnson’s life-size bronze figurative sculptures for real people? Don’t feel bad: he had no formal training as a sculptor but his very first cast work won an award—out of 7000 entries!

The Porsche Art Book

by Edwin Baaske (Editor)

Even if Porsches leave you cold and you dismiss the whole “car as art” issue as contrived, you will want to meet these artists and see how they work and think.

SM: Citroën’s Maserati-Engined Supercar

by Brian Long & Philippe Claverol

How many cars do you know that were both state vehicle and rally car? The SM was a tour de force par excellence. Or, in ‘Murrican, it was out there, big time.