Fast Lady, The Extraordinary Adventures of Miss Dorothy Levitt

by Michael W. Barton

“The Fastest Girl on Earth” had plenty of adventures in life but an inquest ruled her death of morphine poisoning at 40 a misadventure. What good is it to be the first British woman racing driver, the world’s first holder of a water speed record, the first woman to hold a land speed record if no one remembers?

For Flux Sake: Beer, Fags and Opposite-Lock 

by Ian Flux with Matt James

This British driver belongs to the baby boomer generation, the last one to be able to immerse itself in racing without guilt, regret, or even a backward glance. This account of a racer’s life is endearing, frank, shocking, funny and fast-paced—just like its author.

Barbie™ i can be™ President

by Christy Webster

Hey, nothing escapes our attention . . . not even Barbara Millicent Roberts of Willows, Wisconsin (no kidding) . . . because nothing is as simple as it seems. When she hit the scene in 1959 she was the first adult-bodied doll, now she holds a commercial pilot’s license (again, no kidding). She may not be President yet but now she can add “major movie star” to her resume.

OBD-I & OBD-II, A Complete Guide to Diagnosis, Repair, and Emissions Compliance  

by Greg Banish

Are you the sort of person who puts masking tape over that annoying Check Engine light? If your car has an ECU, realize that more and more states require a recent OBD-reader analysis in order to renew registration.

A History of Auto Racing in New England

Dick Berggren, editor

Unless you live there you probably had no idea how long ago racing started in that region. This excellent book connects many dots that extend far beyond those six states.

Norbert Singer – My Racing Life with Porsche 1970–2004

by Norbert Singer & Wilfried Müller

He almost became a rocket scientist. He almost went to Opel instead of Porsche. His very first assignment helped win Le Mans at a crucial time. No looking back now—his entire career was spent at Porsche, which would go on to win 16 overall race victories with cars in which he played a key role.

Pan Am Ferry Tales: A World War II Aviation Memoir

by W. Gordon Schmitt

Ferrying supplies, personnel, and aircraft to far-flung corners of the globe is expensive and complicated. PAA already had the know-how and the infrastructure when the US decided that Africa and Egypt were of supreme strategic importance to the war effort. Here, a navigator looks back.

The Lotus Book Type 1-74 & The Ian Walker Racing Elans

by Colin Pitt

Covering this many cars in one single book of not even 200 pages can only be accomplished one way: keep it light and tight. This isn’t so much an emulation of the Lotus credo but the author/publisher’s default writing style.

Junkyards, Gearheads & Rust

by David N. Lucsko

The author is a hands-on enthusiast and restorer but also an academic. This book is less about parts picking or hunting for treasure but the junkyard as purgatory for automobiles, a stage of limbo from which will some will go on to be crushed, and some saved. One practical finding: scarcity does not necessarily equate collectibility.

Lancia Flaminia and Flavia

by Colin Pitt

All roads lead to Rome, and the Flaminia is named after one of them. There are practically no books about these models; this one is hardly comprehensive but it’ll have to do.

Triumph Cars: 100 Years

by Ross Alkureishi

A really good look at the cars and the people who made them, spiced with plenty of well-deserved criticism of the politics that drove this fine marque into the ground.

Good Connections, A Century of Service by the Men & Women of Southwestern Bell

by David G. Park Jr.

Once upon a time, telephones were connected directly in pairs by wire. Obviously inconvenient and self-limiting. Telephone exchanges, local loops, trunk lines—all words the modern cellphone user has never heard. This book brings you up to speed.