Ferrari F40

by Gaetano Derosa

At a cost five times higher than its predecessor and offered only to VIP customers, the Ferrari Forty would seem to have limited appeal. Instead, bidding wars ensued and the order book swelled. This book draws on a lot of Ferrari publicity material to explain why the car is so special.

Ronny Bar Profiles: German Fighters of the Great War Vol 1

by Ronny Bar

If you deal with WWI aviation you will have seen Bar’s artwork before. He was a modeler before he became an artist so he knows what level of detail and realism to show. There are only six aircraft makers covered in this book but in dozens of variations.

Auto-Opium: A Social History of American Automobile Design

by David Gartman

Mass production gives rise to social conflict, social conflict is reflected in the aesthetic qualities of vehicles. All clear? How’s this: working Americans demand beautiful, stylish, and constantly improving cars to compensate them for the deprivations of mass production. Not an easy book, this!

Ferrari F40 

by Keith Bluemel

It was among the most expensive cars of its time, yet the company sold three times as many as they had forecast. It changed the way other makers looked at supercars and it also changed how Ferrari thought about its own cars. See why here.

Flying with the SPOOKS, Memoir of a Navy Linguist in the Vietnam War

by Herbert P. Shippey

“Join the Navy and see the world!” The U.S. Navy is probably not the first armed service that springs to mind when you think Vietnam—in fact, many people joined the Navy specifically to avoid going there. Navy SIGINT has not been covered extensively and much info was classified for 40 years.

SS United States: An Operational Guide to America’s Flagship

by Rindfleisch, Bauer, Daywalt

Built for speed this superliner claimed a Blue Ribband on her maiden voyage in 1952—and the record still stands! Unusual: she was built right out of the gate with conversion to troop carrier in mind if such a need arose. Unusual: she is still afloat, albeit derelict. Unusual: this book.

The Fall of the Packard Motor Car Company 

by James A. Ward

Packard made a better attempt than its peers at surviving the damage done by the Depression of the 1930s, but still it was for naught. Transportation historian Ward examines the reasons.

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.