American Work Trucks: A Pictorial History of Commercial Trucks, 1900-1994 [Paperback]

John Gunnell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1994

A photographic essay on the romance of trucking, toy trucks, chain drive trucks, truck club growth, why trucks are collected, starting a truck collection and more!

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

The articles that Gunnell gathers are mostly about collecting and restoring trucks. Two of his authors concern themselves with truck museums: the A.W. Hays Truck Museum outside of Sacramento, and the National Automotive and Truck Museum in Auburn, Indiana. The others talk about collecting as a hobby--similar to antique car restoration in that it involves a lot of time at fleamarkets, but different in that old truck parts can be extremely difficult to find. Gunnell also provides chapters on collecting toy trucks and on truck memorabilia, but the bulk of his book is given over to a pictorial history of trucks other than pickups from the 1904 Columbia electric truck to the 1994 White/GMC "integral sleeper aero." Studying these well-captioned, black-and-white photographs, the reader gets a sense of design changes and of the rise and fall of manufacturers such as Studebaker. John Mort

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Krause Publications (January 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0873412907
• ISBN-13: 978-0873412902
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,980,135 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars 1900- 1939 light and medium duty truck feast, June 11, 2003

By 

S. Jones (MOTUEKA, NELSON New Zealand) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: American Work Trucks: A Pictorial History of Commercial Trucks, 1900-1994 (Paperback)

This book of 300 pages contains several chapters written by an assortment of authors, some of whom have produced their own books. There are chapters on collecting truck toys, collecting real trucks, restoring, truck museums, truck memorabilia, trucking pioneers and Teamsters to name a few.

The bulk of the book consists of a photo review, divided into three chapters: 'Highway Pioneers 1900-1939' (120 pages) , 'Knights of the Road 1940 - 1969' (75 pages) and 'Modern Classics 1970 - 1994.' (64 pages)

Considerable coveraqge is afforded to light and medium duty trucks, and as such should appeal to collectors and fans of this catagory.

Most of the illustratons for the three big chapters have been lifted from OEM truck brochures and advertising material.

Although many of these photos would have been originally in full color,(especially from 1965 onwards) here they are all portrayed in black and white. In fact the only color which graces this book is to be found on the cover. For a book published in 1993, I find this disappointing.

Kenworth and Peterbilt fans seeking shiny chrome and polished aluminium will starve, but those interested in Whites, light and medium duty trucks, particularly from 1900 to 1939, should find this book a worthy addition to their collection.