General Automotive Reviews

This book is a very nice pictorial assembly of historic and new Jeeps (mainly CJ and Wrangler!) in all kinds of trail settings. Many pictures are from overseas (GB). Nice addition to my Jeep book collection.

THE AUTHOR USES NOT ONLY THE FACTUAL HISTORY OF THE JEEP IN WWII AND HOW IT CAME TO BE,BUT ACTUALLY TRIES TO ILLUSTRATE THE UNIQUE RELATIONSHIP THAT EXISTS BETWEEN JEEPS AND THEIR OWNERS AS WELL AS THE WHOLE JEEP EXPERIENCE.THE BOOK IS LARGER THAN MOST,DISPLAYING SOME OF THE MOST COLORFUL LARGE PHOTOS OF OLD AND NEWER JEEPS IN ACTION AS WELL AS TRUE ART FORM.A MUST HAVE FOR ANYONE WHO UNDERSTANDS THE "JEEP THING"

This volume is quite interesting for the insight it provides into the times and marketplace that lead to the design & launch of Corvette. The discussion of the relationship between racing and the early production models is also well put together.

However, the photographs, while nicely composed, are NOT well represented in this book. As another reviewer mentioned, many photos appear hazy-- as if they were shot through a filter of some sort. Having seen Newhardt's photography elsewhere, I think this is the result of poor printing, not the original photos. It is a shame given the size and detail of the photos that are included.

Let's face it, this is a coffee table book and I am disappointed that the version as published falls short of what could have otherwise been a beautiful look at Corvettes throughout the make's 49 year history.

The author was just on the History Channel to talk about this book. He told stories that put the Corvette in the perspective of American culture and history and gave fascinating information from the book about why the car is the way it is, how GM killed it and brought it back several times, why it became a luxury sports car, and more. Incredibly, now that I've gotten the book, I'm surprised the show didn't even mention the pictures. (The title page says he collaborated on photos with David Newhardt but the individual pictures in the book are not credited.) The book is well designed and the photos are huge as is the book, with some pictures spreading nearly two-feet across two pages. If there's any criticism, it's that the older historic pictures appear fuzzy or badly printed. The text is filled with insider stories and quotes from engineers and designers and there's information I've never read anywhere else, all of it accompanied by spectacular shots of great cars - some of them rare and unusual that aren't in any other books either---and are placed in beautiful or interesting settings.

"The Last Open Road" was great, I loaned it to twenty friends, car nuts and non-carnuts, and gave copies as gifts. Everyone loved it. This is the second sequel (and probably the last from the way the plot developes). If you enjoyed the first two you'll enjoy this as well but, standing alone, it's not as good as the second ("Montezuma's Ferrari") which wasn't as good as the first.

Well, I read this book in one day. Started it, and 24 hours later I was done. Didn't want to set it down. If you liked Burt's previous two books, I'll bet you like this one as well.

What supprised me the most was reading about some of the folks who Buddy meets along his adventures and thinking "Hey, I know/knew those folks, too." It certainly made the book more interesting for me.

The only down side was, since I had a preview edition, there were enough typos to be distracting. Shouldn't be an issue as the final version is supposed to be out.

Burt does get extra credit for having the advertising section in the middle of the book. It's a great idea.

The data you need to attack those fuel-injection system problems. How to obtain and read those cryptic ECU codes from most car models, using comprehensive code tables with meanings. The first half of the book gives a good introduction to FI systems, the tools required, and symptoms to look for. Lots of photos and diagrams. Excellent value for money.

Very Informative Book. The information is not in detailed I would liked, or the information is to brief. Not enough troubleshooting Guideline. But You can get a decent amount of some informative and repair direction from this book. WORTHY BUY BOOK!! CAN'T BEAT THE PRICE!! USEFULL!!

I have found a lot of great information in this book. It is very good if you are a novice and you want to get an average level of knowledge regarding building and improving cylinder heads, camshafts and valvetrains. On the other hand, the book won't be of much help to the amateur mechanic wanting to improve his car. It lacks a finer lever of detail. I have tried some of the performance tricks suggested in this book, on the cylinder head of a small European car (R12, 1397ccm): I did some valve unmasking and worked on the intake ports. Although it seems there's some performance increase, the result is not breathtaking. Still, following the suggestions in the book I succeeded to rebuilt an engine in such a way than, if it hasn't gained as much power as I expected, it definitely has gained reliability.

A little background on myself I am a double ASE Master Technician both Automobile and Medium/Heavy Truck with 2 Associates Degrees in Automotive and Diesel Technology. After thoroughly reading this book I felt that #1 it was worth far more than I paid for it for the information given; #2 the technical level begins by assuming the reader has little if any in depth understanding of the important inter-relationship of heads, cams and valve trains then takes the beginner to quite advance theory and understanding of very technical concepts needed to make real horsepower in internal combustion engines. If a person could understand all the ideas in this book they would know more than most automotive technicians about this subject. I felt the author's ability to convey some very complex ideas in an understandable way was the his strongpoint. For a complete understanding of how to make big horsepower one would have to know much more about ignition systems, engine blueprinting, induction and exhaust systems and materials selection. This is only one part of the total picture...but a very important part for sure! Hope this helps!

Spring showers might bring may flowers, but before anything can sprout, a tractor must pass along the furrows. Though I'm not a farmer, I have always enjoyed the hearty beauty of a tractor in an open field. "The Illustrated Directory of Tractors" by Peter Henshaw feeds my interest.

This book is loaded with two things: pictures of tractors and a few paragraphs about each one.

Whether you like the Emerson-Brantingham 12-20 of 1918, or are fascinated by the entire line of modern John Deeres, you'll love this overview.

The downside is the production. Photos don't appear to be color-corrected, the spine is stiff, and the dimensions of the book are not practical. Despite having 280 stunning tractor photos from across the world, much of each image is lost in the inner margin of two-page spreads.

Anthony Trendl

I cannot put in writing how impressed I was with this book. The back cover states that it contains thousands of facts, but it seemed more like tens of thousands while still reading like a story book. The book gives a very good summary of the product lines of all major tractors, both in the US and abroad, as well as examples of some unheard of brands. Facts are given for all of the models that are discussed. I would highly recommend this book!

I like this book, because it tells clearly the history of the GTO, and it's helpful to know the various versions of the car. The main quality of the book is the synthesis, because the author doesn't put in the text an excessive number of facts; he writes only the essential informations to know the car, like the aestetic characteristics, the displacement of the engines, the basic characteristics of the fuel systems and the speed gears, the colours, the codes for the identification and other historical informations. The text is accompanied by a lot of photographs in black and white, that represents the cars and their passenger compartments and engines.
The limitations of the book are the absence of photographs in colour, and the brevity of the technical informations about the cars and the engines.
In spite of these limitations, this book is a good point of departure to know or buy the GTO.

Being new to the GTO world and living abroad, this book was my only resource in determining authenticity and value. With the help of this book, I was able to make an educated purchase. I recommend it to anyone interested in purchasing a GTO.

I and my younger son are collectors of International pickups. We found this book to be very informative about the light trucks of International Harvester. The information was based on improvements made to each model year and material about how well each model sold. An good companion book would be International Trucks (CRESTLINE) by F.W.Crismon

I found this book to be highly informative in the history of International's trucks. I was disappointed, however, that the author did not have the majority of the book focusing on the Scout. It was the Scout that is the most popular of IH's rigs but the author left a short section in the back about the Scouts. I was also disappointed that it did not have color pictures. Overall, the book is a great history and it includes some interesting old truck ads.

While mr Haddock is a great fan of the early3.8 cars,he seems less enthusiastic about later 4.2 models.The biggest disappointment to the restorer is that he fails to indicate the correct COLOR of various components .The book is black and white so the pictures are of no use in that regard.

A system by system analysis of Jaguar XK-E production standards and techniques. Covers Series I and Series II cars. If you have one of these cars, the book is a must have, especially if you are preparing the car for show. Many detailed black and white photos of obscure mechanical systems in their pristine state, commentary on production specifications, counts, totals, etc. If you have only one E-Type restoration book, this is the one.

This book may or may not have been well researched. On page 81 a caption for a photograph reads "In 1990 Jeep introduced the Wrangler 'Saraha'." I know this to be untrue because I have the original factory window sticker for my 1988 Jeep Wrangler Sahara. Other than that this book was a good read.

When are they going to update these books to include the historical irrival of the TJ??? Give me some royalties and I'll write the section myself!

On a serious note though... David Fetherston (the author) seems like a bystander (not a Jeep Fanatic),but I could be wrong.

The book is fairly detailed, short, sweet, with lotsa Jeep pictures. Big pictures, and big font type are traits this book carried to the extreme. I guess it was done that way for the older wartime guys/gals that still love Jeeps. (can you blame them?)

One of the quotes I saw in the book that struck me as truer than true is..... 'The Sun Never Sets on the Mighty Jeep'

The Chapters in the book are as follows... 1. The Sun Never Sets on the Mighty Jeep 2. Post-World War II 3. The 50's 4. The 60's 5. The 70's 6. The 90's (They don't have any TJ's in there yet) 7. The Future - Plus Some R&R

This book does not include any technical or repair /maintenance information however, so don't buy it expecting help in that area. This book is more for history, background, the people involved in the Jeeps initial conception, etc.

This book also covers the history of the Willys and the Scrambler better than most I've seen.

Did you know that in the war, they'd tip the Jeep on it's side if needed for repair? Well, now you do!

Oh, by the way, I bet the author of this book caught the Jeep Bug before he was done with it... I wonder how many Jeeps he owns now.?.?

Jeep ON!