Beverly Rae Kimes has written an absolutely delightful book, both entertaining and informative, on one of the world's great inventions, the automobile. It is a chronological study of the cars as well as the inventors, engineers, businessmen and con artists who made horseless carriage history from the 1800's through the 1920's. Ms. Kimes presents the very human side of the development of this dynamic industry. All the players are here: steamers, electrics and internal combustion vehicles, whether from the United States or Europe.

All of the diverse personalities and characters associated with the business come to life. She captured it all. There are hundreds of insightful quotes, including this from Henry Ford, delivered in response to his partner's proposal to build a bigger 6-cylinder car: "A car should not have any more cylinders than a cow has teats." Many more anecdotes bring life to Ms. Kimes's trip down the highway of automotive history. (GUS BUENZ, courtesy of the New York Times)

558 pages  -  Publisher: SAE International (2004)  -  $39.95

This big, expensive book is worth every pound it weighs and dollar it costs, at least in terms of the joy and edification it will provide to the classic-car aficionado. Kimes, an esteemed automotive writer, embraces the entire classic era--the period between the two world wars--in the U.S and foreign car industries, an era that witnessed an unprecedented exuberance in styling and technology that has never been duplicated. The abundant illustrations are mostly in black and white but are exquisitely clear.

The text is much more than superficial accompaniment to the photos, as Kimes documents and offers perceptive commentary on the industry's evolution in the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s. Important automotive designers come to the fore as technological and artistic wizards. Can there have been a car more beautiful than the Packard of the 1930s? Well, the Cord of the same decade reached incredible heights of designing grace. But who could forget the Isotta Fraschini of the 1920s, the car Norma Desmond owned in Sunset Boulevard? (Brad Hooper Copyright © American Library Association.)

720 pages  -  Publisher: Classic Car Club of America (2001)  -  $99.00