Top Gear's James May is back with his hilarious and controversial opinions on . . . just about everything. As well as writing about his first love, cars, James has a go at political correctness, the endless rules and regulations of daily life, the internal combustion engine and traffic wardens. He discusses gastropubs, Jeremy Clarkson and other trials of modern life. His highly entertaining observations from behind the wheel will have you laughing out loud, whether you share his opinions, or not. Car Fever is an indispensable guide to life for the modern driver.
There wasn't always a class for these "funny-looking" cars. In the mid 1960s, many of drag racing's fastest drivers were outgrowing the Super Stock and Factory Experimental classes, building cars that stretched and eventually broke the rules. Promoters discovered they could pair up these altered-wheelbase, injected, blown machines in exhibition match races--and the spectators came running. Rivalries were born, the Funny Car class was created, and the cars kept getting faster and faster. Funny Car Fever is a humorous, heart-felt, first-hand account of the most exciting and memorable years of the Funny Car class. Steve Reyes followed these fiberglass-bodied, nitro burning machines and their drivers from the years leading up to the creation of the Funny Car class through its halcyon days. He's included over 350 of his favorite images and more than a few never-before-heard stories to bring the feeling of the class and the era home to you.
Ferrari Fever is a fascinating and nostalgic look back at the classic car collecting scene in the 60's and 70's, an era when some of the rarest and most interesting Italian automobiles could still be found hidden or languishing in barns, junkyards or by the side of the road...almost lost in time. Paul Schouwenburg s story begins in wartime occupied Amsterdam, a poignant backdrop to the hardships of the years to follow, when the appearance of any exotic Italian thoroughbred was a rare sight indeed. Fuelled by a fascination for all things mechanical, adventures on a Rudge bicycle and early experiences in his parents succession of Rovers, Paul gains a burning passion for finding, restoring, and ultimately racing Italian cars. But these were not just any Italian cars -from the early 60s onwards, he begins to uncover several rare Alfas, from 1900CSS Zagato to Tipo 33/2, in addition to a host of very special Ferraris, including a 250GTO, 340 America Touring, 250 MM Vignale Berlinetta, 250GT SWB Competition/61 and 275GTB/C/LM, usually by word of mouth or tenuous rumour. Having acquired them, often many different models at a time, he would drive them home across Europe through snow storms, and restore them single-handedly in his spare time, full-time job as a world-leading head and neck cancer surgeon permitting! If that wasn t exciting enough, he would then race them, often winning, before moving on to the next irresistible project. Filled with rich anecdotes and rare insights into the colourful characters of the day, including Jacques Swaters and Rob de la Rive Box, Paul s passion and incredible drive make for exciting reading. Indeed this is a unique take, a look in the rear view mirror at a bygone era when gems could be found incredibly cheaply and enthusiasts took seat-of-the-pants decisions regarding many aspects of a hobby which was uncharted, innocent and simply not as commercial as today he couldn t even give away his 250 GTO at the time!
A sensual tale of art, lust, and deception—now a major motion picture In 1630s Amsterdam, tulipomania has seized the populace. Everywhere men are seduced by the fantastic exotic flower. But for wealthy merchant Cornelis Sandvoort, it is his young and beautiful wife, Sophia, who stirs his soul. She is the prize he desires, the woman he hopes will bring him the joy that not even his considerable fortune can buy. Cornelis yearns for an heir, but so far he and Sophia have failed to produce one. In a bid for immortality, he commissions a portrait of them both by the talented young painter Jan van Loos. But as Van Loos begins to capture Sophia's likeness on canvas, a slow passion begins to burn between the beautiful young wife and the talented artist. As the portrait unfolds, so a slow dance is begun among the household’s inhabitants. Ambitions, desires, and dreams breed a grand deception—and as the lies multiply, events move toward a thrilling and tragic climax. In this richly imagined international bestseller, Deborah Moggach has created the rarest of novels—a lush, lyrical work of fiction that is also compulsively readable. Seldom has a novel so vividly evoked a time, a place, and a passion. Praise for Tulip Fever “Sumptuous prose . . . reads like a thriller.”—The New York Times Book Review “An artful novel in every sense of the word . . . deftly evokes seventeenth-century Amsterdam’s vibrant atmosphere.”—Los Angeles Times “Need a brief escape into a beautiful and faraway world? Deborah Moggach’s wonderful Tulip Fever can offer you that.”—New York Post “Taut with suspense and unexpected revelations.”—Entertainment Weekly “Elegantly absorbing.”—The Philadelphia Inquirer
Popular Mechanics inspires, instructs and influences readers to help them master the modern world. Whether it’s practical DIY home-improvement tips, gadgets and digital technology, information on the newest cars or the latest breakthroughs in science -- PM is the ultimate guide to our high-tech lifestyle.
“A wonderful nightmare of a book: tender and frightening, disturbing but compassionate. Fever Dream is a triumph of Schweblin’s outlandish imagination.” –Juan Gabriel Vasquez, author of The Sound of Things Falling and Reputations A young woman named Amanda lies dying in a rural hospital clinic. A boy named David sits beside her. She’s not his mother. He's not her child. Together, they tell a haunting story of broken souls, toxins, and the power and desperation of family. Fever Dream is a nightmare come to life, a ghost story for the real world, a love story and a cautionary tale. One of the freshest new voices to come out of the Spanish language and translated into English for the first time, Samanta Schweblin creates an aura of strange psychological menace and otherworldly reality in this absorbing, unsettling, taut novel.
Hailed since its publication as the definitive - and most opulent - book on the subject, The American Railroad Passenger Car is now made available in an unabridged two-part softcover edition.
This practical and inspirational guide throws out a lifeline to any woman who finds herself lost in the turbulent storms of divorce or widowhood. With understanding and humor, After He's Gone articulates the emotions specific to newly widowed and newly divorced women--as well as the emotions they have in common--and provides realistic advice on getting through the first weeks, plus a useful list of simple things women can do to feel better immediately.
