Today’s Post by Joe Farace
The winner ain’t the one with the fastest car. It’s the one who refuses to lose.—Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
I typically don’t read that many non-fiction books and when I do they tend to be books about the art and craft of photography. But this month I read two very different non-fiction books. Let’s start with the one that I liked the most…
Porsche 911: 60 Years
In my automotive life, I’ve owned three different Porsche automobiles but never a 911. The closest I’ve come to one was a 1968 Porsche 912 and Porsche 911: 60 Years does mention this short-lived model briefly but only in passing because the book’s focus in on the evolution of the iconic 911 model.
This looks like a coffee table book. It’s big—the book weighs four pounds!—the quality of the original and historical photography is superb and their reproduction is first class. It’s beautifully bound and filled with heavy, quality pages that show off the photographs to their best advantage. In short, it has of the attributes that an traditional coffee table book should have. But it’s the informative text by
The book opens with Porsche’s search for a car to replace the redoubtable 356. (You can rad my review of Porsche 356: 75th Anniversary here.) During this time the company and the Porsche family was hands-on looking at various options that included a beautifully designed—but never got beyond prototype Italian-designed convertible that looks more Aston Martin than Porsche—finally producing what they called the model 901. What is surprising to me is how closely the prototype of the coupe resembles the finished car, which had to be renamed 911 because of Peugeot’s trademark on three-numbered car names with a zero in the middle.
The format of the book is straightforward: After some introductory material, the book is broken into sections representing the various generations of the car. In each section, there are six or so numbered chapters, starting with that selfsame 901, that takes an in-depth yet readable look at what that model was and how it was built. Interestingly, the cleverly designed Table of Contents does not have page numbers! After those first chapters that focus on the early cars (1964-1969) the book has six sections, each typically containing ten chapters. These sections are self contained so you can start with the 1990-1999 cars—the last air cooled cars—and work backwards or start with 2000-2009 and look at all the water-cooled cars going forward. Or you can just flip through the book until you see something that catches your eye, Alternatively, you can just read it like any book from front to back to absorb the vaunted history of this legendary marque,
The second section covers 1970 to 1979 including the 1978 Moby Dick and 911 SC. The well named Moby Dick model features an elongated body designed because racing rules left fender shape unregulated, so the car had rear bodywork that, to me, resembles the legendary 917 race car. Designed for LeMans and while fast (220mph) it finished eighth overall. The 911 SC while mentioned briefly in first part of the chapter receives no images as it focuses on the white whale. That’s a shame because I have found that 911 SC owners are, next to Triumph drivers, some of the nicest and friendliest people in the sports car world.
The next section (1980-1989) includes some of the most iconic air-cooled models Porsche produced including the the 1989 Carrera 3.2 Speedster, that has echoes to the, by now, collectible 356 Speedster. Like most modern Porsche convertibles, this new speedster looks somewhat ungainly but what it lacks in style it makes up for in power and handling. Like the 356 it has a lowered windshield and somewhere between 2065 to 2103 Speedsters were produced compared to the original run of 3944 356 Speedsters, which surprised me a bit.
The following section covers models from 1990 to 1999 and was the end of the line for air-cooled models including the amazing 1999 996 GT3. Like all these chapters, chapter 36 features beautiful photographs of this specific model including a spectacular illustration of the cars 3600cc six-cylinder engine that produced 360 hp that was just as performance-oriented as the rest of the car allowing it to win its class at LeMans. Daytona, Sebring, while winning the FIA GT championship. The 996 GT3 sent the air-cooled models off with a bang.
The three water-cooled sections featured in Chapters 37 through 60 take up less pages than a similar number of pages in the water cooled section, Perhaps because there is so much history of these remarkable cars that has yet been written.
The water cooled era begins in the next section (2000 to 2009) and while there was some controversy about these new models there is not doubt that it led to the production of some of the most amazing performance cars Porsche ever produced, none more so that the 2008 992 GT2. Producing 530 hp and hitting a top speed of 206 this was a performance car for the ages as is spelled out with the beautifully illustrated silver model showcased in Chapter 45.
The nest section (2010-2019) includes the 2016 991 GTS, with photographs of a stunning red (Guards Red?) Cabriolet featured. To quote the book, “the GTS is neither a rabid attack dog like the GT3…it much more muscular that the base 911and the fortified 911 Carrera S…”
Wrapping up the book are the years 2020 to 2023 that features the stunning 2021 992 GT3 and GT3 Touring models that raise Porsche performance and styling levels to new heights. The models are priced the same but are clearly designed for different kinds of owners. For starters the GT3 brought the manual transmission back for users who prefer that kind of experience, especially for track days and driver education events. And while seemingly designed for performance and track experiences, the 992 was also available as a cabriolet.
If you’re a fan of the Porsche 911 automobile, no matter, air or water cooled, you should own this book. It belongs in the library of every Porschephile. Back when I was starting my writing career, an editor once told me when writing a review I should always find something negative to say about a product so that I don’t look like a shill. OK, here goes, Porsche 911: 60 Years may seem perfect but it is heavy, so you may not want to read it in bed. I give it a sold ten out of ten bookmarks and it’s on my short list for the best car book of 2024.
- Publisher: Motorbooks
- Hardcover: 304 pages
- ISBN-10: 0760382654
- ISBN-13: 978-0760382653
- Dimensions: 10.05 x 1.3 x 12.4 inches
- Weight: 4 lbs
- Price: $60, Kindle is $57.
Movies of the 1950’s
Hollywood and the Movies of the Fifties. To be sure, this book is an encyclopedic work on the industry, people and films made during a period of upheaval and does a deep dive into the way the major and minor studios were organized and the films they produced. At a time when the average weight of a hardcover book ranges from one to three pounds, this one tips the scale at 2.55 lbs.
I would expect that no other single book on this subject is or could be as comprehensive as this one, yet…
The first section covers the people who are running the studios and those who came after them during the tumultuous paradigm shift caused by the rising popularity and availability of television. In looking at the people involved in the business of running the studios. the tone of the book can sound gossipy including a look at the sexual peccadilloes of some of the studio bosses. To be fair, when he discusses those with impeccable character, duly calls them to your attention as well.
Which brings me to something I had not expected to find in a book about the movies of the fifties: politics.Throughout the book, when describing an actor, writer or producer the author will often refer to them as left- or right wing. I think this information doesn’t have an impact on most of the content—except what’s coming up—and adds little to the book. The fact that political orientation was mentioned by the author bothered me and maybe you too.
Speaking of politics…It was during this time the House Un-American Activities Committee aka HUAC held public hearings on what they though was the untoward role of communists in the film industry which resulted in the power brokers creating a Black List. This was an interesting chapter and the author does a great job explaining how it came to be and discusses the writers, directors and executives who “named names” subjecting those people who were previously valued employees to censure and financial ruin.This would be and has been a separate book or two: You can read The Hollywood Motion Picture Blacklist: Seventy-Five Years Later if you are interested in probing deeper. Yet Hirsch does an admirable job in the space allotted. But…the chapter is followed by two more chapters about communist influence in the movies looking at the creation and impact of pre-WWII pro Russia movies to post war anti-communist films, where he sometimes stretches his definition to include movies I would consider mysteries or thrillers. Overall the effect of all three chapter is tedious and boring,
And then there is the author’s opinion on specific actors and movies. In the chapter on three movie divas whose careers spanned the forties into the fifties and beyond he focuses on Joan Crawford, Bette Davis and Katherine Hepburn. He is effusive of his praise for Crawford, personally and professionally, although her daughter would tend to disagree with Hirsch—. He praises Bette Davis but saves his vitriol for four-time Oscar winner Katherine Hepburn. In discussing her career he offers back-handed compliments alongside (what I consider) catty comments about her acting and personal life. Hey, Foster I get it. For a long time I didn’t like Julianne Moore but I got over mixing her up with who she was and who she portrays. Now, I love watching Ms. Moore act.
And finally let me talk about the author’s comments about specific films. He will often give a synopsis of a film and when he does it makes the late Roger Ebert and Pauline Kael look like movie reviews for your HOA’s newsletter. I’m talking about microscopic details that would make George R. R. Martin‘s, coming soon—The Winds of Winter—look like something that would fit in a Bazooka bubble gum package. After you’ve waded through his third movie synopsis, you are not looking for the next one but they’re coming and many more.
In the last part of the book, Hirsch looks at the various genres of films that were prevalent during the fifties with a passion that makes this, for me, the most interesting part of the book. Yet, every time he writes about a specific movie he really likes, it turns out that I hated it. And when he talks about ones that he hated, I loved them. And yet, again, he is so passionate about his feeling for these films that it made me want to reevaluate some of my own opinions of these films and take a second look at some films and directors, like Douglas Sirk, who I may have previously ignored. For all these reasons and the author’s passionate approach, I give Hollywood and the Movies of the Fifties seven bookmarks.
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