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The Car: The Rise and Fall of the Machine that Made the Modern World

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Fulfilled by Big River Books LLC
Arrives Thursday, Jul 3
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Description

A spirited, insightful exploration of our favorite machine and it's cultural impact on society over the past one hundred and fifty years. More than any other technology, cars have transformed American popular culture. Cars have created vast wealth as well as novel dreams of freedom and mobility. They have transformed our sense of distance and made the world infinitely more available to our eyes and our imaginations. They have inspired cinema, music and literature; they have, by their need for roads, bridges, filling stations, huge factories and global supply chains, re-engineered the world. Almost everything we now need, want, imagine or aspire to assumes the existence of cars in all their limitless power and their complex systems of meanings. This book celebrates the immense drama and beauty of the car, of the genius embodied in the Ford Model T, of the glory of the brilliant-red Mercedes Benz S-Class made by workers for Nelson Mandela on his release from prison, of Kanye West's 'chopped' Maybach, of the salvation of the Volkswagen Beetle by Major Ivan Hirst, of Elvis Presley's 100 Cadillacs, of the Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost and the BMC Mini and even of that harbinger of the end—the Tesla Model S and its creator Elon Musk. As the age of the car as we know it comes to an end, Bryan Appleyard's brilliantly insightful book tells the story of the rise and fall of the incredible machine that made the modern world what it is today. Read more

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Pegasus Books


Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 6, 2022


Language ‏ : ‎ English


Print length ‏ : ‎ 320 pages


ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1639362304


ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 01


Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.05 pounds


Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 1.2 x 9 inches


Best Sellers Rank: #69,746 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #25 in Automotive History (Books) #34 in Road Travel Reference #1,376 in World History (Books)


#25 in Automotive History (Books):


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Top Amazon Reviews

    • Excellent Book
This is one of the most comprehensive and well researched books that I have in my extensive automorive library. I am still reading it and am about half way through but am very impressed.
Reviewed in the United States on May 4, 2024 by Amazon Customer
    • AMUSING AND INTERESTING
This is really the history of passenger cars with internal combustion engines, but that would make for a boring title. The author is droll and reflects on the influence of cars on our culture in an interesting and amusing way. My only complaint is the near total absence of pictures of the cars he describes, but this is probably not a book for people who can differentiate a 1974 Corvette from a 1975 model. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on July 11, 2023 by TexasGriller
    • good reading for gearheads
Read, than gifted, a good read , also in my kindle library.
Reviewed in the United States on March 11, 2024 by Peter F. Metro
    • Almost Good
Read review in WSJ, so thought I'd give it a go. I'm about a third of the way through. It's pretty good. But there are problems. As some have noted, it seems slanted against American cars. Which is fine. I'd glad to hear about what was going on in Europe. It would be better with illustrations and pictures. Describing these ancient vehicles without providing some visual context makes it hard for me, as a layman, to understand what the vehicle looked like. And now that I'm in the parts with Hitler and Fascist dictators, maybe not painting such a pretty picture of what they were doing would be nice. And the author also seems to be glancing over the fact that just about all these gents are Anti-Semitic monsters. I'll have to see how much more I'm willing to tolerate before it goes back on the shelf. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on October 22, 2022 by E. King
    • Almost perfect history and commentary
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I have to admit to a nearly life-long love affair with the automobile. I've owned some of the best that American, Italian, German and Japanese manufactures have produced. And I now have a Tesla S in my garage. Still, I learned some fascinating automotive history. However, I was disappointed that the author dismissed the hybrids, especially the Prius, so quickly without acknowledging that they exploit the best characteristics of the internal combustion engine and the electric motor to bridge the shortcomings in battery technology. And I have to point out an inconsequential historical error in the description of John Dillinger's love of his Ford Model A. When things got too hot for him in Chicago, he drove to St. Paul to cool off - not the other way around. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on October 22, 2022 by John I
    • Excellent
Great writing and range. An enjoyable ride through car history. Thanks for reminding us that car entrepreneurs gave us freedom.
Reviewed in the United States on January 30, 2023 by G. L. Pooley
    • More than a recitation of the history of the automobile
Appleyard details the economic, psychological, social, and political elements that have shaped the evolution of the car and the car industry up to the present. He also presents a thought-provoking look at implications posed by shifting to electric and driverless cars. Fascinating book.
Reviewed in the United States on October 26, 2022 by Al R
    • On the Road
At its heart this is a history of the automobile in not just America but including Europe too. And while there is plenty about Henry Ford and others who built cars and changed the world, there is also a long look at the social and economic impacts of the car, as well as musings about the changes societies will face as internal combustion engine cars go the way of the dodo. All in all well worth reading. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on May 13, 2024 by Mark

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