Finding the Groove features enlightening interviews with 27 leading drivers of the 1970s. From NASCAR and Indy all the way to drag and street racing, author Hal Higdon explores American racing in all its forms.
In each chapter, Higdon asks the drivers: “How do you go fast around a racetrack?” Find out how “The King” Richard Petty has collected a record number of poles and top ten finishes and how Mario Andretti’s mastery over the “groove” made him one of the sport’s most legendary drivers. Learn from Mark Donohue, Al and Bobby Unser, Bobby Allison, Don “the Snake” Prudhomme, and others on where to pinpoint that sweet spot on the track in this throwback edition of Finding the Groove.
This book is the first in a new series from Octane Press called Retro Reads. The collection reissues popular titles and introduces them to a new audience. Motorsports enthusiasts will delight in familiar classics and discover new, dynamic narratives about legendary drivers.
This title is part of the Retro Reads series.The collection reissues popular titles and introduces them to a new audience. Motorsports enthusiasts will delight in familiar classics and discover new, dynamic narratives about legendary drivers.
Seventeen-year-old Bud Crayne built the fastest cars in town and drove his high-octane machines on the ragged edge. His need for speed would prove dangerous to him and the people around him, including his wannabe starlet girlfriend, La Verne, and the kids in his small hometown of Avondale, all of whom were dragged down his path to high-horsepower hell.
Hot Rod captured the heart and soul of 1950s hot rod culture. The lean, mean story follows Crayne’s hard-driving path to rodding redemption, riffs on some meaningful messages, and unleashes a fast and furious read. Dig in and learn what millions of readers already know; the world’s most popular hot rod novel is a hopped-up high-horsepower thrill ride.
This title is part of the Retro Reads series.The collection reissues popular titles and introduces them to a new audience. Motorsports enthusiasts will delight in familiar classics and discover new, dynamic narratives about legendary drivers.
In 1935, when a small company in Coventry, England, launched a sporting saloon (i.e., sedan) called the Jaguar SS, it set in motion an inexorable process that would lead to Britain’s most beloved line of high-performance automobiles. The Complete Book of Jaguar covers the SS and all of the Jaguar’s subsequent production models, from the original SS Jaguar to today’s F-Type sports cars, F-Pace SUV, X-Type sedans, as well as concept cars.
As with other books in the Complete Book Series, author Nigel Thorley organizes the content chronologically with entries for each year. Narratives for each discuss the cars and technology, while spec tables highlight key technical and performance specifications.
Originally begun by a couple of motorcycle enthusiasts—William Lyons and William Walmsley—as a firm called the Swallow Sidecar Company, Jaguar would become one of the world’s most celebrated automakers. In England’s bleak postwar years, Jaguar became a shining star—first with its XK120, followed by the XK140 and XK150. Sporting sedans like the Mark 2 and Mark X set the bar for luxury four-door transport in the ’50s and ’60s. Then Jaguar stunned the world with the achingly beautiful E-Type in 1961, a genuine 150 mph super sports car.
Along the way, the company competed on road courses around the world, going head to head with greats like Ferrari and Aston Martin. Though Jaguar lost its way periodically in the modern era, it has bounded back stronger than ever in the twenty-first century with a strong lineup, including the new F-Type sports car and F-Pace SUV.
The Complete Book of Jaguar is the essential guide to this important chapter in the history of sports and luxury automobiles.
Wartime letters of a New Englander’s journey from innocence to elite fighter squadron pilot “A must-read for young Navy and Marine Corps officers as they enter aviation training.”—Lt. Gen. Robert F. Milligan, U.S. Marine Corps (retired) “An intriguing look at Marine aviation in World War II by a sensitive and intelligent pilot; few narratives provide as much insight into the intensely personal feelings of a pilot in combat.”—Walter Boyne, author of The Influence of Air Power upon History “Offers a compelling look into the world of a young man who left the comfort of civilian life to become a pilot in one of the best known combat fighter squadrons of the Pacific War. Lt. Carl O. Dunbar Jr.’s letters home remind us of the personal side of the Second World War.”—Michael H. Creswell, author of A Question of Balance Before the Marine Fighting Squadron VMF-214 became known as the Black Sheep squadron led by “Pappy” Boyington, this air group was already flying missions from Guadalcanal. Commissioned in 1942, the squadron was originally known as “The Swashbucklers.”
Lt. Carl Dunbar was one of the squadron’s original pilots, and his letters home describe the training and living conditions he faced as a Marine in the Pacific theater during the early years of World War II. Dunbar ultimately flew eighty-two missions during the Solomon campaign, and this volume includes his private logbook.
Like many veterans, after returning to the United States Dunbar rarely spoke about his wartime service. Only after his death did his son Peter discover this trove of material, and his commentary provides context for each of his father’s letters. Both personal and universal, this volume offers a glimpse of what life was like for a man with a great sense of loyalty and compassion caught up in the war of his generation. Peter M. Dunbar is a lawyer and partner with the Tallahassee-based firm of Pennington, Moore, Wilkinson, Bell and Dunbar and serves as an adjunct professor of law at Florida State University.
