Today’s Post by Joe Farace
It’s crossover time again and in this first section Joe’s Movie Club intersects with our little Book Club.
For some reason, I’ve been reading a lot of non-fiction books lately. It all started with the true crime book Black Dahlia, Red Rose by that was fascinating, shedding new light on the unsolved 1947 murder of Elizabeth Short in Los Angeles. You can read my thoughts about the book here. I followed that book with Leave the Gun, Take the Canoli by Mark Seal, an intense dive into the making of Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather. A while ago, I had read The Devil’s Candy by Julie Salamon about the making of Brian De Palma’s highly underrated film, Bonfire of the Vanities. After that I read The Big Goodbye: Chinatown and the Last Years of Hollywood by Sam Wasson about the making of the classic noir thriller Chinatown. (The Amazon price for the Blu-ray of this film is less than ten bucks, so I just added it to my wish list.) Interestingly, none of these movies turned up in either Part One or Part Two of my YouTube videos on my Favorite 16 Movies (since I saw my first film back in…)
Two things stuck with me after reading all of these books about the movie making process: First, my impression of a number of my filmmaking idols were destroyed as I got to see the kind of people they really were. Second, if what I read in these books about the drama and heartache directors and staff put up with in order to get a movie shot and distributed, I’m amazed that any movie ever gets made. Otto von Bismark once said, “Laws are like sausages, it is better not to see them being made,” The same might be said about reading books about making movies. On the other hand, I really enjoy a good bratwurst. And speaking of Germany…
Review: Porsche 356: 75th Anniversary
Let’s get this out of the way first: Porsche 356: 75th Anniversary Is the best book about cars I have ever read. Period. Part of the reason may be that the book focuses on a single model and follows its evolution from creation to perfection but the truth is that every aspect of this book has been produced with the highest quality.
The book’s author. Gordon Maltby, not only knows how to write but is also an excellent storyteller. And there’s an interesting story here to tell that’s illustrated with many large, well-reproduced photographs along with technical drawings that, in turn, enhance the book’s no-holds-barred production values.
The history of the Porsche automobile is inextricably linked to that of the Volkswagen that Ferdinand Porsche also had a hand in designing and early cars with the Porsche name on the hood had more than a bit of the original VW Beetle in them. The books shows how that integration of VW design and components were carried on longer in the 356 than I had imagined but the thrust of every change the engineers made to the car’s design was to refine the car and improve it, something that remains the hallmark of the marque today.
The book’s text unfolds in a manner that mimics the evolution of the 356 itself, in gradual steps explaining all of the change its designers made in their continual search for perfection. In doing so the book should appeal to two kinds of readers. The first are people, like myself, who enjoy reading the history of a storied marque and the book is chockablock with fascinating details not just about the cars but includes profiles of the many people who helped make those changes. And this includes not just the big players like Ferdinand and Ferry Porsche but also the drivers and racers—many of them titled aristocrats— as well as importers, like Max Hoffman who had an impact on the 356’s success in the USA.
The other group that will love Porsche 365: 75th Anniversary are what the British call “anoraks,” a name given to someone that has an obsession with a particular hobby, such as automobiles. And there is plenty of technical minutia in the book for these people to get nerdy about but it never gets in the way of telling the story of Porsche. The pages are full of technical drawings along with detailed explanations of mechanical details about these automobiles, such as how the legendary four-cam engine came to be designed and how it works. You might even learn a thing or two. I know I did!
Much of the latter portion of the book is dedicated to Porsche’s racing program with both it’s drivers and car designers featured. While a parade of aristocrats including the late Count Wolfgang von Trips are featured, a few names appearing in the pages surprised me. Herbert von Karajan who was principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic for 34 years is pictured along with his race car. But even more surprising was legendary Corvette designer Zora Arkus-Duntov who raced at Le Mans several times in a 1100cc Porsche.
The book wraps up with a look at some “other” Porsches, that range from tractors—yes, tractors—to military vehicles, to sedans that look more like an old VW Jetta than a new Panamera to special edition competition cars. It’s a vehicle smorgasbord of Porsche vehicles that ends the book with a fun upbeat note.
If you love Porsche automobiles you want this look. If you like Porsche automobiles, you’ll also want a copy. It might be a little early in the year to add this book to your Christmas shopping list but birthdays are scattered throughout the whole year—mine is next month—and Porsche 356: 75th Anniversary would make the perfect birthday gift for your favorite Porsche-phile.
- Publisher : Motorbooks
- Hardcover : 256 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0760377375
- ISBN-13 : 978-0760377376
- Weight: 3.33 pounds
- Dimensions : 10.25 x 1.2 x 12.4 inches
- Price: $62.23 (Amazon Prime)
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