This wonderfully illustrated, up-to-date guide to the natural, cultural, and historical gems hidden just off the legendary Route 66 outlines 30 trips for curious travelers.
Route 66 is arguably the
world’s most famous highway (more than 60% of Route 66 adventurers are from overseas!)—its motels, diners, and roadside attractions comprising a time capsule of America’s love affair with the automobile. While many of the road’s
iconic attractions have disappeared with time (along with large stretches of the road itself), others are as enduring as ever.
In this completely revised and updated version of The Backroads of Route 66, author and Route 66 expert Jim Hinckley is your guide from the lowlands of the American Plains to the high plateaus of New Mexico and Arizona, from the Great Lakes to the mighty Pacific Ocean, and through major metropolises and remote country towns.
But rather than take the road oft traveled and the sites most photographed, Hinckley encourages you to branch off the Mother Road and discover the hidden gems beyond today’s familiar motels and tourist traps—quaint frontier communities that date to westward expansion; the legacy of native cultures; and the awe-inspiring natural wonders that have graced these lands since time immemorial. There to be explored within a few hours’ drive from the path of Route 66, discover:
- Outdoor attractions
- Museums
- Historic sites
- And much more
The thirty trips in The Backroads of Route 66 offer new travel opportunities for you and the thousands of road-trippers who follow this legendary route, looking for something more.
A fascinating plane-by-plane journey through aviation history, this beautifully illustrated book covers 365 of the most iconic aircraft in world history that enthusiasts, serious-minded hobbyists, and casual fans would love to fly if given the chance. Clear photography, historical context, and specs get you as close as possible to these planes without setting foot in a hangar.
Aviation has come a long way since the Wright Brothers built their glider in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, in 1903. From among the thousands of different types of military and commercial aircraft constructed over the past 100 years, aviation expert Robert F. Dorr profiles the most important, fascinating, and famous aircraft ever made. Your opinions might differ, but you wouldn’t want to miss out on the planes Dorr identifies as flights of a lifetime.
While covering every era of aviation history, many of the planes in 365 Aircraft You Must Fly were flown during World War II, a time unmatched in aviation for its technological advances, romance, and clarity of purpose. During this golden age of flying, propellers gave way to jet engines, and the “Greatest Generation” fought gallantly in them.
Explore the history, thrills, and joy of flying the world’s most amazing 365 aircraft.
Exotic, hand-built Ferraris of the 1950s and Chevrolet’s family sedan produced by the thousands would seem to have little in common. But it’s a twist of automotive history that quite a few Ferraris might no longer exist were it not for the Chevy V8 engine. Randy Cook’s Bowtie Ferraris documents how a surprisingly large number of multi-million dollar Ferraris owe their survival to an engine from one of the least expensive sedans produced in America. His book is an important addition to the body of Ferrari history, as he explores a topic never before examined in any detail.
Plus Foreign, Independent, & Generic Globes
This vast compilation references thousands of gas pump globes made for the major oil companies, from P-to-U (Pennzoil through Utoco) and their affiliates, as well as generic globes, and globes from independent companies and foreign firms. Over 1000 color photographs illustrate this voluminous text. Affiliated oil companies are listed under the major companies to which they are tied. A useful alphabetical cross reference to affiliated companies is provided to assist readers in quickly locating the smaller firms. This text also guides the reader through the distinctions between different gas pump globe types produced, lists reproduction globes manufactured over the years, and explains how the original, and highly collectible, gas pump globes of years gone by are valued in the collector’s market. An index is also provided. Finally, values are provided for both the globes displayed in photographs and for the thousands that are listed in the text.
This comprehensive guide features over 850 color photographs and references to literally thousands of gas pump globes made for all the major oil companies from A-to-M (Amoco through Mobil) and their affiliates. Affiliated oil companies are listed under the major companies to which they are tied. A useful alphabetical cross reference of affiliated companies is provided, helping readers locate the smaller firms. Additionally, the text also guides the reader to an understanding of the different gas pump globe types produced, lists reproduction globes that have been manufactured over the years, and explains how gas pump globes are priced. Finally, values are provided for both the hundreds of globes shown in the photographs and the thousands more that are listed in the text.
“Since its beginning in Chicago in the 1940s, Monogram’s plastic model kits for cars, ships, aircraft, and spacecraft have captured the imaginations of hobbyists everywhere. The thousands of models Monogram made from 1945 to 1986 are described in detail, shown in over 300 beautiful color photos, and given their collector’s value. The popular cars range from classic hot rods and flashy custom cars to NASCAR racers.
Interviews were conducted for this book with company executives, designers and model sculptors including Darryl Starbird and Tom Daniel, artists who painted the box art, and salesmen who put the kits on store shelves. Today the kits and finished models are themselves collectibles for beginning and advanced modelers alike.”
Continuing his classic series on Ford Motor Company Michael Parris gives us the inside stories of Ford during the total performance sixties. This decade brought us the Falcon, the Mustang, Shelby Cobras and motorsports wins from Indy and NASCAR to Trans Am and LeMans. Nothing was beyond the grasp of Henry Ford II and his great company. Style and auto racing were playing an important role in Fords growth. Henry still called the shots, Iacocca brought on the Mustang and Carroll Shelby gave Ford the international respect in racing it sought. Henry wanted to buy, but Ferrari wasnt selling. So he turned Shelby loose with his Cobras and then the GT40s. And LeMans belonged to Ford. And in NASCAR, drivers like Fireball Roberts, Freddie Lorenzen and Cale Yarborough were lighting the southern speedways on fire.
But Ford during the sixties was about more than just auto racing. The company had stylish, hot-selling models like Falcon and Mustang. Profits were big and money was being spent on beautiful body designs, high-performance engines and new muscle cars. When the horsepower challenge came from GM, Ford was ready. Fairlane and Mustang GT models came charging off the assembly line by the thousands and they all had thunder under their hoods. Engines ranging from the semi-hemi 429, high-rise 427 and Boss 302 were facing off with GTO on every street in America.
Fords of the Sixties is full of beautiful photography and inside stories from the men that brought Ford its design and performance success throughout the decade. Stories never before heard are drawn from first-hand interviews and in depth research from the archives of Ford Motor Company Archives, Henry Ford Museum and the Detroit Library National Automotive Collection. If you want the inside story of Ford this all-color classic is a must for your library.
In the dark, frenzied years of World War II, the San Francisco Bay Area was the geographic center of a $6.3 billion West Coast shipbuilding industry. Stretching from the Golden Gate to Vallejo to Sunnyvale, 14 Bay Area yards launched many of the ships that helped save the free world. Basalt Rock of Napa, Bethlehem Steel of San Francisco and Alameda, Hunters Point and Mare Island Naval Shipyards, Joshua Hendy Iron Works of Sunnyvale, Marinship of Sausalito, Permanente Metals in Richmond, and Western Pipe and Steel in South San Francisco are names that still conjure memories for many locals of one of the most impassioned war efforts in human history. Offering new opportunities for African Americans and women, recruiters searched the nation for workers who relocated here by the thousands. These motivated men and women delivered Liberty cargo ships like the SS Robert E. Peary, built in seven and a half days, a shipbuilding record that stands to this day.
Known as the Main Street of America and the Mother Road, U.S. Route 66 is the nation’s best known highway. Once the microcosm of a culture increasingly connected by automobiles, its sights and attractions are now a fascinating reflection of a nation on the move. Travel this iconic highway through the heart of America with Route 66 Backroads as your guide. This lavishly illustrated book steers you from Chicago to Los Angeles, traveling through the lowlands of the American Plains and the high plateaus of New Mexico and Arizona, from the Great Lakes to the mighty Pacific Ocean, and through major metropolises and remote country towns. Branch away from the Mother Road, and you encounter gems hidden beyond today’s standard motels and tourist traps—the quaint frontier communities that date back to the nation’s westward expansion; the legacy of ancient native cultures; and the awe-inspiring natural wonders that have graced these lands since time immemorial. State parks, wildlife refuges, museums, historic sites, literary landmarks, and much more are there to be explored within a few hours’ drive from the path of Route 66. The fifty trips included here offer new travel opportunities for the thousands of road-trippers who follow this legendary route, looking for something more.
“Puts you back on the Island and behind the scenes, a must for TT fans.” R Little, Co. Down
The TT is the world’s most famous motorcycle race, renowned since 1907 as the ultimate test of man and machine. For the thousands of fans who travel to the Isle of Man each year it is a pilgrimage to the shrine of motorcycling. This documentary captures the spirit and character that surrounds the festival through the eyes of those involved in it. Through director Andy Stickland’s candid approach, the real TT is seen on film for perhaps the first time. It reveals the emotions, fears and thrills throughout the fortnight that go hand-in-hand with the excitement of the racing. It offers an all-access pass to the pit lane tensions, and gives an angle to the TT that is seldom, if ever, seen by the spectator.
Interviews with the riders, spectators and officials deliver a very honest commentary, supported by the actual Radio TT broadcasts from the 2003 festival. This is the closest you’ll get to the unmistakable experience of a TT fortnight without crossing 70 miles of Irish Sea. The TT has been crying out for a film to be made about it that captures the magic of the event, that explains why so many of the greatest racers in the world have been drawn to the Island despite its dangers and why so many fans make their annual pilgrimage to the festival. Well here it is! The inside story; a celebration; an understanding.
This is TT – a film documentary. Featuring the music of Coldplay, Oasis, Slade, Brian May and more.
SIGNED
Peter Vincent is arguably the most experienced photographer of the Bonneville Salt Flats. Every year for more than two decades he has visited this unique American landscape with camera in hand. This book contains the very best of the thousands of images he has captured at Bonneville and its surroundings, delivering an exceptional photographic portrait.
Bonneville is a simple but challenging setting. Its flat, white surface and endless arc of sky above allow a photographer to bring a great degree of subtlety to his work. But there is little protection from the elements; high winds, blinding sun, and blistering heat contrast with immense rainstorms that can cover the basin in 6 to 12 inches of water within an hour’s time. All of these conditions create an unusual yet creatively stimulating environment.
Vincent first came to the salt to photograph the racers who test their machinery upon the planet’s ultimate proving grounds. Somewhere along the way, Vincent began to appreciate the salt flats and its surroundings as something more than just a location. In this book he captures the meaning of Bonneville from every possible angle of speed, culture, landscape, and light.
Suddenly, everyone wants one of those old dirt bikes from back in the day. Knobby tires, small two-cycle engines, four-speed transmission, and a full four inches of suspension travel. Those are the bikes that most baby boomers grew up on; the ones that young men rode into the ground and left to rot where ever they last fell.
But no more. Now, those simple little Hondas, Yamahas, Harleys, and Pentons are making their way from the back of the garage to the front. From the barn to the shop. The shop where patient mechanics and enthusiasts are stripping them down and bringing them back to life.
The questions for the prospective buyer is: What to bring home? Among the thousands and thousands of dirt bikes, scramblers, trials bikes, play bikes and early motocross bikes, which are the best bikes to make your own?
Vintage Dirt Bikes will help the reader make that decision by providing information on all the most popular makes. For each bike, this new book provides four to six paragraphs describing the bike in general terms. In addition, bullet points for each model include the following information: Relative cost to acquire, value when finished, and which are most likely to offer the most fun for the money. Readers will also find what to look for when checking the condition of items such as paint, suspension, frame, and engine.
A general section at the back of the book will offer the reader help deciding where to buy classic bikes, where to get parts, who to call for help, and which parts of the restoration should be farmed out to experts with specific skills.
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From the first drawings in the early 1960s to today’s uber-popular new Bronco, get the full story of Ford’s legendary SUV in this stunningly illustrated volume.
When Ford introduced the Bronco for the 1966 model year, its intent was to get a slice of the off-road and outdoor enthusiast utility market then owned by the popular Jeep CJ and International Harvester Scout. What Ford couldn’t know at the time was that it was creating a legend—a rugged, square-shouldered vehicle that would exist in its original form through 1977 and in various guises for a further 20 years, wrapping up its first life in 1996.
Since the Bronco’s retirement, the SUV/crossover sector has become the dominant segment of the automotive market. Nearly all manufacturers—even exotics like Lamborghini and Bentley—offer SUVs in their line-ups. In fact, Ford has largely discontinued passenger vehicles (except the Mustang) in favor of trucks and SUVs. Simultaneously, the collector market has turned its eye to vintage SUVs and trucks, the former growing significantly over the past 5 years. Classic Broncos have doubled in value over that period, regularly selling at prices ranging from $40K to $100K.
The story picks up in 2017 when Ford announced plans to revive one of its most hallowed nameplates: Bronco. Brilliantly styled to pick up the beloved, boxy cues of the original, customers began dropping deposits as soon as the order books opened. Ford still struggles to meet demand with speculators flipping new Broncos on the secondary market for thousands over invoice.
Beautifully produced and expertly written, Ford Bronco is a must-have book for all Bronco and SUV enthusiasts.
The inspiration for the major Apple TV+ series, streaming now!
The riveting history of the American Eighth Air Force in World War II and the young men who flew the bombers that helped beat the Nazis and liberate Europe, brilliantly told by historian and World War II expert Donald L. Miller. The Masters of the Air streaming series stars Austin Butler and Callum Turner, and is produced by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg, the legendary duo behind Band of Brothers and The Pacific.
Masters of the Air is the deeply personal story of the American bomber boys in World War II who brought the war to Hitler’s doorstep. With the narrative power of fiction, Donald Miller takes you on a harrowing ride through the fire-filled skies over Berlin, Hanover, and Dresden and describes the terrible cost of bombing for the German people. Masters of the Air is the deeply personal story of the American bomber boys in World War II who brought the war to Hitler’s doorstep. With the narrative power of fiction, Donald Miller takes you on a harrowing ride through the fire-filled skies over Berlin, Hanover, and Dresden and describes the terrible cost of bombing for the German people.
Fighting at 25,000 feet in thin, freezing air that no warriors had ever encountered before, bomber crews battled new kinds of assaults on body and mind. Air combat was deadly but intermittent: periods of inactivity and anxiety were followed by short bursts of fire and fear. Unlike infantrymen, bomber boys slept on clean sheets, drank beer in local pubs, and danced to the swing music of Glenn Miller’s Air Force band, which toured US air bases in England. But they had a much greater chance of dying than ground soldiers.
The bomber crews were an elite group of warriors who were a microcosm of America—white America, anyway. The actor Jimmy Stewart was a bomber boy, and so was the “King of Hollywood,” Clark Gable. And the air war was filmed by Oscar-winning director William Wyler and covered by reporters like Andy Rooney and Walter Cronkite, all of whom flew combat missions with the men. The Anglo-American bombing campaign against Nazi Germany was the longest military campaign of World War II, a war within a war. Until Allied soldiers crossed into Germany in the final months of the war, it was the only battle fought inside the German homeland.
Masters of the Air is “a stunning achievement” (David McCullough), “a fresh new account” (Walter Boyne, former director of the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum) of life in wartime England and in the German prison camps, where tens of thousands of airmen spent part of the war. It ends with a vivid description of the grisly hunger marches captured airmen were forced to make near the end of the war through the country their bombs destroyed.
Drawn from recent interviews, oral histories, and American, British, German, and other archives, Masters of the Air is an authoritative, deeply moving account that “accurately and comprehensively” (Lt. Gen. Bernard E. Trainor, USMC (Ret.) and coauthor of Cobra II) tells of the world’s first and only bomber war.
Dan Sharp examines the aircraft’s technical development in unparalleled detail as well as analyzing the ongoing discussions surrounding the Me 262 at the highest levels within the Messerschmitt company, the German Air Ministry and Adolf Hitler’s inner circle.
There are many myths surrounding the development of the Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighter. Its unparalleled performance is beyond doubt; easily able to outpace its opponents and possessing the firepower to shred them in seconds. Yet immediately after the Second World War, rumours abounded that official indifference, technical shortcomings and interference from the Führer himself had crippled the Me 262’s progress and delayed its appearance on the front line until it was far too late.
Begun as a series of design concepts during 1938, the fighter would not enter mass production until the spring of 1944. Even then it failed to make any notable impact until the closing weeks of the war, when Me 262s began destroying USAAF bombers at an alarming rate. Exactly what happened to cause this apparently late start and who was responsible has until now been largely a matter of conjecture.
Grounded in research involving thousands of wartime documents spread across archival collections in three countries, Messerschmitt Me 262 Development & Politics finally sweeps aside the myths and provides a clear understanding of the real history. Sharp examines the aircraft’s technical development in unparalleled detail as well as analysing the ongoing discussions surrounding the Me 262 at the highest levels within the Messerschmitt company, the German Air Ministry and Adolf Hitler’s inner circle.
Ride along with author Tom Cotter and photographer Michael Alan Ross as they pilot their Ford Bronco/Airstream Basecamp combination 8,881 miles along the lower 48’s back roads and byways.
Tom Cotter has spent decades ferreting out lost “barn find” collector cars. The process has made him an ardent road tripper, logging thousands of miles every year on America’s back roads. Previous journeys have traced Route 66 in his 1939 Ford Woody wagon and followed the Lincoln highway coast to coast behind the wheel of a 1926 Model T.
Cotter’s journeys led him to wonder: What could be the most epic American road trip? The answer: Key West, Florida, to Deadhorse, Alaska, its thousands of miles recounted in America’s Greatest Road Trip. Cotter and Ross drove across the country, through British Columbia and the Yukon, and finally through Alaska to the literal end of the road. Ross documented their road time in thousands of photographs.
Along the way, the pair met fellow road trippers, adventurers, small-town Americans, world travelers, and rolled through an ever-changing geography from the Gulf of Mexico to the Mississippi Delta to the Great Plains and Mountain states through the Northwest Passage and finally several hundred miles of Alaska’s challenging ALCAN Highway.
Cotter’s observations of Two-Lane America are complemented by Ross’s beautiful photography capturing both the sweep and the detail of life off the beaten path.
Join them on their once-in-a-lifetime journey—you’ll be glad you came along for the ride.
Do You Dream of Riding a Motorcycle?
The Craft and Art of Motorcycling will help make your dream a reality—from your first ride to the road ahead.
Hollywood’s go-to riding guru, Steve Krugman, has trained thousands of riders including high-profile actors, musicians, and athletes. The Craft and Art of Motorcycling is based on his years of experience developing unique, effective, and proven riding methods.
In clear, relaxed language, Krugman offers complete understanding of the bike itself and riding fundamentals (the Craft), with concepts, strategies, and insights that lead to mastery on the road (the Art).
Key topics include:
- Motorcycle controls and operation
- Fundamental skills—starting, stopping, shifting, and turning
- Real-world cornering technique
- Low-speed control and emergency maneuvers
- Street- and road-riding strategies
- Managing riding conditions and the elements
- Selecting gear and buying your first bike
The Craft and Art of Motorcycling is an accessible and comprehensive introduction to motorcycle and scooter riding—simply explained and beautifully illustrated throughout—and provides an essential foundation for any rider, whether an aspiring novice, rusty returnee, or weathered road-veteran.
Thousands of pieces of curious information on drivers, constructors, layout, statistics, categories, milestones, nationalities, regulations, are provided in this fun book, set in chronological order from the initial race, in 1923, until the present time. The book is illustrated with photographs of some of the most representative cars that raced in the event. It is written in easy to read English, so it can be understood even by people who are not fluent English speakers. All the players, and many obscure drivers and constructors are featured: Ferrari, Jaguar, Bentley, Toyota, Audi, Matra-Simca, Porsche, Ford, Aston Martin, Peugeot, Alfa Romeo, Bugatti, Chenard et Walcker, Lorraine Dietrich, Mazda, Mercedes Benz, BMW, Rondeau, Gordini, Jacky Ickx, Tom Kristensen, Phil Hill, Woolf Barnato, Derek Bell, Bob Wollek, Yannick Dalmas, Frank Biela, Sebastien Buemi, Brice McLaren, Chris Amon, A.J. Foyt, Dan Gurney, Olivier Gendebien, Emanuele Pirro, Luigi Chinetti, Raymond Sommer, Tazio Nuvolari, Jean-Pierre Wimile, Hans Stuck, Hurley Haywood, Andre Lotterer, Gerard Larrousse, Graham Hill, Maurice Trintignant, Mike Hawthorn, Stirling Moss, etc.
