Corvettes and Thunderbirds are parked next to Studebakers, Beetles, and, in some cases, cars that may defy description of any kind in this collection of twenty-six original essays and stories about first cars, family cars, and even dream cars that traveled the highways and backroads of the authors’ lives. Often hilarious, sometimes bittersweet, the stories are about growing up—although for some of us, where cars and trucks are concerned, we never quite do.
The true story behind NASCAR’s hardscrabble, moonshine-fueled origins, “fascinating and fast-moving . . . even if you don’t know a master cylinder from a head gasket” (Atlanta Journal-Constitution). “[Neal] Thompson exhumes the sport’s Prohibition-era roots in this colorful, meticulously detailed history.”—Time Today’s NASCAR—equal parts Disney, Vegas, and Barnum & Bailey—is a multibillion-dollar conglomeration with 80 million fans, half of them women, that grows bigger and more mainstream by the day. Long before the sport’s rampant commercialism lurks a distant history of dark secrets that have been carefully hidden from view—until now. In the Depression-wracked South, with few options beyond the factory or farm, a Ford V-8 became the ticket to a better life. Bootlegging offered speed, adventure, and wads of cash. Driving with the Devil reveals how the skills needed to outrun federal agents with a load of corn liquor transferred perfectly to the red-dirt racetracks of Dixie. In this dynamic era (the 1930s and ’40s), three men with a passion for Ford V-8s—convicted felon Raymond Parks, foul-mouthed mechanic Red Vogt, and war veteran Red Byron, NASCAR’s first champ—emerged as the first stock car “team.” Theirs is the violent, poignant story of how moonshine and fast cars merged to create a sport for the South to call its own. In the tradition of Laura Hillenbrand’s Seabiscuit, this tale captures a bygone era of a beloved sport and the character of the country at a moment in time.
First published in 1996. The Southern Subculture of Drinking and Driving is part of the Criminal Justice series. Volumes in the Current Issues in Criminal Justice series focus on scholarship, original thought and research, and readability. This one is no different. Julian B. Roebuck and Komanduri S. Murty have produced a volume that will be of vital interest to those who study and create policy on drunken driving one of the more enduring social problems of the past two decades. The volume has two major components that make it unique in the drunken driving literature. First, Roebuck and Murty focus on drunken drivers themselves and, through the use of a large dataset, add to our knowledge of that group of people by describing their characteristics. Second, and perhaps more important, Roebuck and Murty delve into the phenomenology of the drunken driver through a lengthy interview process.
Meet Chris Stewart, the eternal optimist. A man who flies to Spain, sees a peasant farm on the wrong side of the river and, with scarcely a second thought, hands over a cash deposit. And then finds he has acquired not just the farm, but the farmer, too, who has no intention of leaving. Not to mention the lack of running water, electricity or even a bridge. It would be enough to send most people straight back home. But Chris and his wife Ana are made of stronger stuff - and besides, they have sunk all their savings into their farm, El Valero, and buying a flock of sheep. So there is no turning back. Life gets tough, but it also gets good. Driving Over Lemons is that rare thing - a funny, insightful book that charms you from the first sun-lit page to the last. And one that makes running an Andalucian mountain farm seem like a half-decent career move. It has been a major bestseller both in Britain and Spain.
