Cuba Classics: A Celebration of Vintage American Automobiles [Hardcover]

Christopher P. Baker (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 2004

This unique homage to Cuba's astonishing wealth of antique cars is also a paean to the extraordinary people who keep their weary cacharros running with resourcefulness, ingenuity and great humor. In a collection of vibrant images, this book reveals the timeworn splendor of classic American automobiles spanning eight decades.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this paean to the vintage car, Baker, who has also provided the photos, juxtaposes American autos against the backdrop of Cuba to great effect. "Today, Cuba possesses about 450,000 cars, of which one-sixth are pre-revolutionary American autos dating back to the ’20s and ’30s," he writes. Most of the cars pictured here, however, come from the 1950s: a pristine-looking green 1950 Chevrolet Styline Bel-Air is parked alongside a gray, weathered house; in the foreground an old man in a straw hat walks by eating from two ice cream cones. Not all of the photos are of the best quality (there are random, grainy pictures of people on the streets and free-frame photos of cars in motion), but overall, the photos effectively capture the beauty of the vintage cars themselves as well as the country that keeps them running. This photographic history is a nice companion to Baker’s award-winning travel memoir, Mi Moto Fidel: Motorcycling Through Castro’s Cuba.
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From Booklist

Travel writer Baker has been to Cuba 20 times to research books, and one of the more fascinating aspects of contemporary Cuba did not escape his notice: it is the "largest American car museum in the world." Before Castro, particularly in the 1940s and 1950s, Cuba imported a vast number of cars from the U.S, but since the embargo, no more cars can be brought across the Florida Strait. Consequently, the islanders are left to make do--to repair and relish the cars they owned before the embargo. Baker's lively text and rousing photographs give a palpable sense of the "time warp" experienced by tourists to today's Cuba as they, say, spot a 1952 Ford Victoria, catch a glimpse of a 1955 Chrysler New Yorker, or closely observe a 1959 Studebaker Lark. The photographs are the major draw here, for Baker catches these prized vehicles, most held together only by a creative use of spare parts, in full-length profiles, up-close details, at rest, or zooming by on street and road. Brad Hooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 189 pages
• Publisher: Interlink Books (August 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1566565464
• ISBN-13: 978-1566565462
• Product Dimensions: 12.1 x 10.7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #764,932 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Christopher P. Baker (1955-) was born and educated in Yorkshire, England, studied at universities in London and Liverpool, and has lived in California since 1980. He has since established himself as one of the world's leading travel writers & photographers and is considered the world's foremost authority on travel and tourism to Cuba and Costa Rica. He has authored and illustrated more than 30 books for such publishers as Dorling Kindersly, Frommers, Lonely Planet, Moon, and National Geographic, etc., including guidebooks, literary books, and his acclaimed coffee-table book, "Cuba Classics: A Celebration of Vintage American Automobiles." His writing & photography have appeared in more than 200 international publications, from National Geographic to Newsweek. His literary travelog "Mi Moto Fidel: Motorcycling Through Castro's Cuba," won both the Lowell Thomas Award as 'Travel Book of the Year,' and the North American Travel Journalist Association Grand Prize. In 2006, he won the prestigious Lowell Thomas Award 'Travel Journalist of the Year,' and has also been named 'Travel Journalist of the Year' by the Caribbean Tourism Organization (2005) and Jamaica Tourist Board (1998). He posts twice-weekly blogs at www.moon.com/blogs/cuba-costa-rica and promotes himself through his website: www.christopherbaker.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Classic on Cuban Classic Cars, August 13, 2004

By 

Tony Tedeschi "editor, naturaltraveler.com" (Glen Cove, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cuba Classics: A Celebration of Vintage American Automobiles (Hardcover)

Chris Baker is the preeminent travel writer covering Cuba today. His guidebooks for National Geographic Traveler and Moon Publishing are biblical Baedekers for anyone traveling to the island. "Mi Moto Fidel," his book-length journey around the island on a BMW motorcycle, reads like a Hemingwayan novel -- and has garnered prestigious writing awards. Now, with "Cuba Classics," Baker has taken his already impressive act to a new level, displaying his skill as a photographer, which is nothing short of artistry. His stunning photographs of vintage American autos -- so plentiful in Cuba -- are not only wonderful depictions of cars not seen in the U.S. for decades, but are the subjects of photos that demonstrate a photographer's instinctively artistic command of format, color, tone, and lighting. Settings for the autos often speak to the greater issue of the Cuban landscape, both urban and rural. It's a must book for car buffs, for anyone interested in photographic artistry, for anyone enamoured of beautiful writing. As a long-time fan of Baker's journalism, I have found myself asking what else could he possibly do to present another aspect of this island country he knows and loves? "Cuba Classics" is the latest answer to that question. Kudos.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cars & Cuba Knockout, December 4, 2004

By 

James OReilly "baboone" (Northern California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cuba Classics: A Celebration of Vintage American Automobiles (Hardcover)

Yes, we've all seen great photos of classic cars in Cuba--but this book will make you swoon. Your knees will buckle, and you will become feverish with desire to get yourself to Cuba as soon as possible. Magnificent.

4.0 out of 5 stars When America made magnificent cars, September 22, 2011

By 

Jesse (Texas) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Cuba Classics: A Celebration of Vintage American Automobiles (Hardcover)

I love this book! The photography is poor, the printing quality could be better, but the cars are the stars! When it arrived I was stunned to see all the old cars, cars made back when America made unforgettable cars. Now you can't tell one American car from another and they are all ho-hum.
The photos also show some of Cuba, a beautiful island that we should never have lost as our friend. The photos, history and stories captivated me and I just sat down and spent two hours reading the book. I didn't want put it down.