John, George and the HWMs: The First Racing Team to Fly the Flag for Britain

by Simon Taylor

Underdogs. One a mechanical engineer, the other almost a household name as a quite good race driver. England is picking itself up after the war so they stood up a race team—because they could and because no one else was. They did well, but ask people today about “HWM” . . .

M18 Hell-Cat: 76mm Gun Motor Carriage in World War II

by David Doyle

This particular “Buick” cost almost a million bucks when new. It was the most effective US tank killer of WWII but as every machine, it required compromises (firepower, armor, mobility). When all is said and done, it was the crews that made it successful, not the design.

Joseph Figoni: Le Grand Couturier de la Carrosserie Automobile

by Peter M. Larsen and Ben Erickson

Brimming with extraordinary source material these three volumes explore the Bugatti period in this coachbuilder’s oeuvre, and present info on 113 chassis bodied 1925–1939. The press release says “brace yourself,” and it ain’t kidding: over 1100 pages!

100 Dream Cars: The Best of “My Ride”

by A.J. Baime

The title may not inspire much confidence but this book really has substance. And it’s beautifully made yet costs practically nothing. If you read the Wall Street Journal you already know what to expect, but the photos look waaaay better here, at large size on good paper!

Blue Bug: The Story of A Girl and A Car

by Ronald Sieber

That’s a Type 35 on the cover and the little girl obviously loves it and wants to own it one day. And then she meets an honest to goodness Bugatti-racing woman!

British Steam – Pacific Power

by Keith Langston

You think checking the options list for your next car purchase is work? One of the big locomotive makers once had 500 models in their 1910 catalog! This book looks at the Big Guns, the sexy express haulers.

The Flying Firsts of Walter Hinton

by Benjamin J. Burns

Quick: who was the first to cross the Atlantic by plane? If you said Lindbergh, or Earhart, you’d better read this book!

Kinser: A Racing Career Like No Other

by Steve Kinser with Dave Argabright

The most successful sprint car driver of all time retired from competition with a reputation for being able to outfox defeat in seemingly impossible-to-win situations. What made him tick?

Grid to Glory: 75 Milestone Formula One Moments

by Alex Jacques

Reading this colorful book you can easily have the author’s high-energy broadcast voice in your ear. It must have been hard to distill 75 years into 75 “moments” but apparently there are some never-before-told stories in the mix.

Auto Racing in the Shadow of the Great War

by Robert Dick

Motorsports evolve constantly; that the era discussed here witnessed “significant” change is kind of inevitable considering that there was not much precedent for anything, be it circuits, roads, cars, regulations, organizations, even goals. And yet, this era is often neglected in the literature. This book fixes that.

The American Car Since 1775

The Most Complete Survey of the American Automobile ever Published

by The Editors of AQ

Fifty years after its first publication you can still find this book without much effort, at less than the original MSRP, and often in “as new” condition—meaning those owners never used the book as it was meant to. Don’t be that person!