The Bomber Mafia

by Malcom Gladwell

Planning to watch the movie Oppenheimer? A nuclear bomb!? Why had other military strategies not broken Japan’s ability to fight? Because no matter what the strategists of the Bomber Mafia thought, pinpoint hits from high altitude were not achievable in those days.

Bomber

by Len Deighton

This is a novel but the level of research and attention to detail Deighton brought to bear could have easily yielded a nonfiction analysis of one fateful day and night in 1943 pinning German air defenses and RAF Bomber Command against each other.

The V-8 Album

by Charles Seims et al

A compilation of facts and photographs pertaining to Fords and Mercurys and a tribute to the flathead V-8 engine that powered them for 21 years, 1932–1953.

Dreamers

by Cornelis van den Berg

If you dream about going into car manufacturing, look at these guys. One of them had actually done it for real—TAD Crook aka “Mr. Bristol.” Long retired, he sat for an interview, from which is spun this narrative nonfiction the publisher calls “accurate, but not always factual.

Bourne to Rally: Possum Bourne, The Autobiography

by Possum Bourne with Paul Owen

The fickle finger of fate . . . this autobiography was completed just days before 47-year-old Bourne had a fatal road accident. While that makes the story especially poignant, there’s a lot of practical stuff here how to keep a racing career humming: talent is essential but not sufficient by itself.

Porsche Boxster and Cayman, The 981 series 2012 to 2016

by Brian Long

Having covered this model since it first launched Long could not very well sit this version out. Besides, the 981 cars have especially much going in terms of features, refinement, and reliability—and so does this book.

The Cobra in the Barn, Great Stories of Automotive Archaeology

by Tom Cotter

This was the first book in what would become a series extolling the allure of looking for desirable cars, be it by methodical search or accidental stumble—sometimes literally. The sleuthing, the deal making, the extraction, and the inevitable headaches are captured in experiences many of us had had ourselves (or wish we did).

How to Build a Car: A high-speed adventure of mechanics, teamwork, and friendship

by Lacey & Sodomka

Have you heard the one about a mouse, a frog, and a bird building a car? Not a joke, this charming book for inquisitive young minds explains how a car works—and how you can’t, really, build one on your own.

Bugatti Type 46 & 50: The Big Bugattis

by Barrie Price

The first edition of this book is now decades old and in revised/updated form still in print—which must mean it is a reference-level work. Spoiler alert: it is; also, it certainly has remained the only one on this subject.

America’s Greatest Road Trip!

by Tom Cotter and Michael Alan Ross

A couple thousand miles, a couple thousand photos and, hey presto, a book! And for once he’s not on the trail of the next barn find. Initially he thought he’d drive an ‘80s Corvette. That would have been a whole different trip! Instead a brand-new Ford Bronco and Airstream trailer—provided free by their respective makers—do the honors.

Allard Motor Company: The Records and Beyond

by Gavin Allard

This extensively illustrated book has more than just the obvious appeal to Allard owners: it reproduces the factory records for all the chassis built, and by this and other means connects many dots across the whole of the British motoring scene.

Wheels Within Wheels, An Unconventional Life

by Lord Montagu of Beaulieu

The name of Beaulieu looms large in British history, and not just in a motoring context although the clever book title so obviously alludes to it. His life would have been unconventional even without the law he changed, not as a lawmaker but as a defendant.