Black Beauties: Iconic Cars

Black Beauties: Iconic Cars

• Star photographer René Staud provides the ultimate proof: Black is beautiful

• From the legendary Alfa Romeo 8C from the 1930s, to the Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse, the fastest open-top series sports car

• With exciting texts by Jürgen Lewandowski and contributions by Andrea Zagato (CEO Zagato), the head of design at Mercedes, Gorden Wagener and design critic Stephen Bayley

René Staud, the grand master of automobile photography, has published a new illustrated book. In his coffee-table book Black Beauties, the automotive photographer devotes himself entirely to the color black. In this extraordinarily book, Staud takes car lovers on a journey through time and presents the top models of the world’s greatest sports car brands. From the legendary Alfa Romeo 8C from the 1930s, to the declared goddess Citroën DS, to the fastest open-top series sports car, the Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse, the star photographer demonstrates the aesthetics that the color black lends a car. Staud’s photographs are characterized by his trademark striking style and uniquely showcase the classic elegance and sporting potency of the vehicles. But this impressive coffee table book does not only inspire with its great photos. The texts are by Jürgen Lewandowski, a luminary in automotive journalism and author of over 90 books on the subject. In addition, comments by Andrea Zagato (CEO Zagato), Gorden Wagener (head of design Mercedes) and Stephen Bayley (journalist and design critic) are included to provide the reader with specific insider knowledge from the industry. Text in English and German.

Black Noon: The Year They Stopped the Indy 500

Black Noon: The Year They Stopped the Indy 500

Winner of the 2014 Dean Batchelor Award, Motor Press Guild “Book of the Year”

Short-listed for 2015 PEN / ESPN Literary Award for Sports Writing

Before noon on May 30th, 1964, the Indy 500 was stopped for the first time in history by an accident. Seven cars had crashed in a fiery wreck, killing two drivers, and threatening the very future of the 500.

Black Noon chronicles one of the darkest and most important days in auto-racing history. As rookie Dave MacDonald came out of the fourth turn and onto the front stretch at the end of the second lap, he found his rear-engine car lifted by the turbulence kicked up from two cars he was attempting to pass. With limited steering input, MacDonald lost control of his car and careened off the inside wall of the track, exploding into a huge fireball and sliding back into oncoming traffic.

Closing fast was affable fan favorite Eddie Sachs. “The Clown Prince of Racing” hit MacDonald’s sliding car broadside, setting off a second explosion that killed Sachs instantly. MacDonald, pulled from the wreckage, died two hours later.

After the track was cleared and the race restarted, it was legend A. J. Foyt who raced to a decisive, if hollow, victory. Torn between elation and horror, Foyt, along with others, championed stricter safety regulations, including mandatory pit stops, limiting the amount a fuel a car could carry, and minimum-weight standards.

In this tight, fast-paced narrative, Art Garner brings to life the bygone era when drivers lived hard, raced hard, and at times died hard. Drawing from interviews, Garner expertly reconstructs the fateful events and decisions leading up to the sport’s blackest day, and the incriminating aftermath that forever altered the sport.

Black Noon remembers the race that changed everything and the men that paved the way for the Golden Age of Indy car racing.

Soft Cover

Lockheed Blackbird: Beyond the Secret Missions

Lockheed Blackbird: Beyond the Secret Missions

In 1986 Paul Crickmore’s first groundbreaking book about the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird was published. At that time, the Cold War was at its height and the SR-71 was an integral element in securing crucial intelligence from all parts of the globe. The highly sensitive nature of its missions couldn’t be compromised, and it wasn’t until the end of the Cold War that the operational exploits of this incredible aeronautical masterpiece could be openly written about.

As time has passed, more and more information has come to light, with a vast number of official documents declassified and key military figures able to talk openly about the Blackbird program. Paul Crickmore has used these updated facts to revise his previous history of one of the world’s most iconic aircraft of all time, creating what will surely be considered the definitive, timeless volume about the SR-71 Blackbird.

Black & Gold: The Story of the John Player Specials

Black & Gold: The Story of the John Player Specials

Back in the late 1960s commercialism in motor racing was increasing. Major sponsors appeared on the F1 scene including tobacco giants Marlboro and Yardley cosmetics, and this had developed into a veritable flood by the time Team Lotus changed its Gold Leaf livery to the black and gold of the John Player Special cigarette brand. At the time, the author of this book, Johnny Tipler was working for the Stanbury Foley Organisation, a motor racing promotions hothouse based in East London. Its major client was John Player & Son, and the livery of the Lotus 72 in its JPS guise was designed largely by SFO partner Barry Foley. In 1972 the black-and-gold livery also extended to the Team Lotus transporters and JPS hospitality vehicles. This book, Black & Gold, has been a gleam in publisher William Taylor’s eye for a long time. Probably eight years have elapsed since he and Tipler first talked about producing it. During that time Tipler spoke with the key figures from the JPS era – those who are still with us at any rate – while Taylor accumulated images of the period from John Player photographer Ian Catt, as well as amassing examples of JPS paraphernalia. Black & Gold: The Story of the John Player Specials, is the result of a veritable wealth of knowledge and experiences from all the ‘players’ in a ‘Special’ story that started in the early 1970s and went through to the end of 1986 with Ayrton Senna and Johnny Dumfries driving. The black & gold brand is still recognised and passionately remembered, the world over.

Area 51 – Black Jets: A History of the Aircraft Developed at Groom Lake, America’s Secret Aviation Base

Area 51 – Black Jets: A History of the Aircraft Developed at Groom Lake, America’s Secret Aviation Base

When most of us think of Area 51, we think of aliens, UFOs, and controversial government cover-ups. It’s easy to forget that, since the mid-1950s, the United States’ famed extension of Edwards Air Force Base has served as a top-secret CIA testing ground for many of the most groundbreaking advancements in American military aviation technology. In Secret Jets, author and military historian Bill Yenne offers the first fully illustrated chronology of Area 51’s most famous aircraft projects, including Lockheed’s U-2 “Dragon Lady” and SR-71 “Blackbird” reconnaissance planes, drones ranging from the early Lockheed D-21 to the modern-day General Atomics MQ-1 Predator, and the famous F-117 Nighthawk stealth fighter produced by the Have Blue program during the 1970s. Each project is given its own fascinating chapter illuminating the aircraft’s development at this famed location. But beyond the aircraft themselves, Secret Jets also covers a handful of the many classified experimental programs carried out at Area 51 over the years, such as Have Doughnut, Have Ferry, and Have Drill – secret undertakings that successfully reverse-engineered such enemy aircraft as the Russian MiG during the Cold War. Presented in beautiful hardcover format and illustrated with historic color and black-and-white photographs, diagrams, and maps, this book reveals Area 51 for what it truly is: a clandestine area for the United States’ most cutting-edge technological innovators in military aviation.

Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird: The Illustrated History of America’s Legendary Mach 3 Spy Plane

Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird: The Illustrated History of America’s Legendary Mach 3 Spy Plane

The legendary SR-71 Blackbird spy plane was, and still is, the world’s only operational Mach 3 aircraft, and was designed, built, and tested by Lockheed’s famed “Skunk Works.” This new book covers all fifty Blackbirds built, from the first flight in 1962, to the last in 1999. As a replacement for the venerable U-2 spyplane, Lockheed went from contract signing to first flight in only thirty-two months starting in April 1958―from the beginning of design studies to the signing of a contract from the CIA to build the initial batch of A-12s in February 1960, to first flight in 1962. From the A-1 design through the completion of the very first Radar Cross Section models of the A-12, to the testing of every major system and subsystem, this book describes and illustrates the SR-71 as never before, using images from a variety of sources, as well as the author’s own superb, new photography.

SR-71: The Complete Illustrated History of the Blackbird, The World’s Highest, Fastest Plane

SR-71: The Complete Illustrated History of the Blackbird, The World’s Highest, Fastest Plane

SR-71 covers every aspect of the spyplane’s development, manufacture, and active service, all from the insider’s perspective of one its pilots. Features over 200 incredible photos.

Flying to a coffee table near you comes the new paperback edition of this authoritative and illustrated history of the most mind-bending military aircraft ever flown! Developed by the renowned Lockheed Skunk Works, the SR-71 was an awesome aircraft in every respect, setting world records for altitude and speed: an absolute altitude record of 85,069 feet on July 28, 1974, and an absolute speed record of 2,193.2 miles per hour on the same day.

Written by a former Blackbird pilot, SR-71 covers every aspect of the aircraft’s development, manufacture, and active service, all lavishly illustrated with more than 200 photos. The SR-71 remained in service with the U.S. Air Force from 1964 to 1998, when it was withdrawn from use, superseded by satellite technology. This authoritative history covers the spylane’s entire phenomenal service.

The Vincent Black Shadow

The Vincent Black Shadow

The Vincent Black Shadow is a name that resounds whenever classic bikes are discussed. The Vincent company were already advertising their existing Rapide machine as ‘The world’s fastest production motorcycle’ when, in February 1948, the Black Shadow was announced with a then unbelievable top speed of 125 mph on pool petrol. It’s no wonder that the bike has been a constant source of fascination since that announcement. Few, however, have defined exactly what comprised a Black Shadow and how today you can spot a genuine one. The Vincent Black Shadow explains how the model was originally conceived in secrecy, its development and subsequent production, discussing in depth those features it shares in common with the other Vincent models and those that differentiate it. Charting the details of the changes introduced in its production life and the modifications in the interests of speed or improved road performance that may have been done to it by generations of owners over the sixty-odd years since production ceased, Tim Kingham offers a lavishly illustrated and essential read for any fan of this iconic bike.

Black Beauties: Iconic Cars Photographed by Rene Staud

Black Beauties: Iconic Cars Photographed by Rene Staud

René Staud is one of the best automotive photographers in the industry, highly sought-after and extremely innovative. He has already published five successful automotive photo books, the most recent of which is Mercedes-Benz–The Grand Cabrios & Coupés. And now René Staud is “back in black.” Like the opening riff of the famous AC/DC song, Black Beauties is predestined to delight little boys and big boys alike. In his consistently compelling images, Staud shows us a series of historic cars painted in the color of classical elegance and sporty power: the legendary Alfa Romeo 8C of the 1930s, the Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse, the fastest open-topped production car ever made, and even the “Goddess” Citroën DS. In addition to the gorgeous photos, there are essays by renowned authors about the significance and effect of the color black on automotive design. A wonderful photo volume that is anything but colorless!

Capt. Jepp and the Little Black Book: How Barnstormer and Aviation Pioneer Elrey B Jeppesen Made the Skies Safer for Everyone

Capt. Jepp and the Little Black Book: How Barnstormer and Aviation Pioneer Elrey B Jeppesen Made the Skies Safer for Everyone

Capt. Jepp and the Little Black Book is a fascinating look at the beginnings of aviation in America and the colorful daredevils who risked their lives to entertain crowds, deliver the mail, and carry passengers commercially. It is also the rags-to-riches story of Elrey B. Jeppesen–daredevil barnstormer and wing walker of the 1920s, intrepid airmail and airline pilot of the 1930s, creator of an aerial navigation system in use today worldwide, and founder of a business that grew from a ten-cent little black book into an international, multi-billion-dollar enterprise without equal.

Black Cross Vol 3 Junkers 90

Black Cross Vol 3 Junkers 90

In the mid-1930s, contracts were placed with Dornier and Junkers for prototype four-engined strategic bombers. The Junkers aircraft, the Ju 89, was by far the better of the two. However, the program was abandoned in 1937 and Junkers used parts designed for the Ju 89 to construct a new civilian type for Lufthansa. The wings, tail and engines of the Ju 89 were added to a new fuselage to create the Ju 90.
The 40-passenger aircraft flew for the first time in August 1937 and entered Lufthansa service in 1938. A production batch of 10 aircraft were ordered. Two Ju 90s were also ordered by South African Airways but were never delivered because of the war.

The Ju 90 was pressed into military service with the Luftwaffe, first as a transport during the Norwegian campaign and later flying supply missions to the beleaguered German forces at Stalingrad. The more widely used Ju 290 was developed as a result of the rebuilding of early Ju 90s.

This book covers the antecedents of the Ju 90 as well as providing a comprehensive account of its design and construction. Its operational history, both military and civilian, is discussed. The book contains many detailed photographs of the aircraft and the various types of engine used.