I just ordered Big Daddy and the Tex Smith book. I've read the Ramchargers book 3 times in the past 2 years. I love that story and the book is so well written!
Great thread guys. I was just talking about this with a friend recently. I'm into earlier pre war hot rod stuff. Anyone have any suggestions there incase I missed anything in my collection?
The latest book that I picked up is by Albert Drake. It’s about 1.5” thick. I couldn’t put it down and read the whole thing in a week. His book Flat Out is an excellent read. Got a chance to meet him in Portland several years back, great guy to talk with. For prewar Hot Rods, the Don Montgomery books cover some (he was a also a great guy to talk with), and the Tom Medley books Hot Rod history cover some also.
I gotta say, I'm struggling to finish the Tex Smith book. I am very disappointed. There is a lot of good history in there but he must have dictated this in a stream of conscious state and had someone copy it word for word. In almost every chapter he starts out telling a story, goes off on a tangent, circles around eventually and comes back to finish the story. It wears me out and I haven't retained as much as I would like to. I appreciate a well written book and, given his background, I expected on here but it's not. I hope Big Daddy and Challenger are better.
Another vote for this one. Great book for the guy (Myself) wanting to know about the beginnings of the vintage speed equipment manufacturers, to the old timer who just wants to reminisce and add his own narrative (My Dad) to each subtitle. Sits on my coffee table.
I haven't seen anything mentioned about early American track racing - a couple of favorites are The Golden Age of the American Racing Car by Griffith Borgeson and The Miller Dynasty by Mark Dees. Another good on topic book is Edsel Ford and E.T. Gregorie by Henry Dominguez. BTW, another recommendation for We Were the Ramchargers. Fantastic book.
Smokey Yunick book " Best Damn Garage in Town... the world according to Smokey is costly as it isn't printed anymore. What is out there is book called" Best Damn Garage in Town.... My Life and Adventures " Carbon Press $30.00
I bought ,"my life and adventures" on kindle several years ago. While looking this up, I found that I had bought Go Like Hell in kindle, too! (I had been looking for it for months. I thought I had a hard copy.
Bought a copy of High Performance. Tried to find Smokey's books or The Merchants of Speed... would need to sell a kidney to afford them. They might have to go on the same wishlist as Phil Irving - an Autobiography. https://www.amazon.com/Phil-Irving-An-Autobiography/dp/0908031491 Cheers, Harv
Often, you can find these books more reasonably priced on eBay. Amazon sellers are really proud of some of these old books.
I`ve been trying to read this book for 2 years. I become overwhelmed by all the history, I have to put it down. and soak it all in.
There's a copy of The Merchants of Speed on eBay right now for $75. Not exactly cheap, but far less than the ones on Amazon. Another good Shelby book is Shelby American: Up Close and Behind the Scenes by Dave Friedman. One of the better ones I've found.
Mark Donohue has two out-of-print books that I have long wanted to read. The Unfair Advantage, and Technical Excellence at Speed. Im curious if anyone has ready either of those. Donohue has an interesting point of view as both a legendary driver and a knowledgable engineer.
The Jalopy Journal
