Customer Reviews

Ed "Big Daddy" Roth: His Life, Times, Cars, and Art

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

I was the primary audience for Roth's work back in the '60's -- my friends and I would have sleepover parties where we'd read car magazines and build model cars all night long. Roth's creations were just so outrageous at the time and they brought a lot of excitement to the hot rod scene. I remember first seeing the "Rat Fink" and thinking how over the top it was, and wondering what my mom would say if I brought home a Rat Fink model or T-shirt.

I had to get this book as soon as I saw it and I'm glad I did. It brings back so many good memories of those times. While not a true biography of Big Daddy, it does a great job of covering his life and has plenty of detail on all of his cars and other works. The book also has lots of great photos; the author spent a lot of time gathering as many existing photos of the Roth empire as he could. The author also interviewed as many people as he could find who were associated with Roth, and they have some funny and interesting stories to tell.

If you're at all interested in hot rods or hot rod history and the effect that Roth had on the culture, this book is recommended.

Ed "Big Daddy" Roth was a real renaissance man of the 1960s: creator of Rat Fink, builder of creative custom cars, and a Mormon beatnick who refused to fit in anyone's mold. Ed "Big Daddy" Roth: His Life, Time, Cars, and Art is an engaging and informative biography that charts his rise to fame in general and his skills building custom cars in particular, and comes from an author who met Ed in the mid-1970s and regularly covered his exploits. Nearly 300 photos - many new to this collection-charts his creations and his art, and will appeal to any who know his name.

For me, a guy, who lived and breathed the hot rod, surf and music scene of the 60's, this book brings back a necessary component of the time. Relive and remember the essence of the time through Ed Roth who's artwork and cars seemed to be on the tip of everyone's tongue. We all knew the "Rat Fink" and we all knew "Big Daddy". Now he lives forever in this definitive work.

I was really looking forward to reading this book; and while it was interesting, I think the book falls short in two ways. First, the writing is somewhat sophmoric. The author writes as one would talk, and there was not a clear chronology. He jumped around and sometimes repeated information. Secondly, I was really looking forward to seeing photographs of Roth's vehicles, but there were limited photographs of some of the vehicles. I understand that maybe not many photographs were available from Roth's family's archives, but certainly, there were other sources for the photographs of the cars that appeared at major shows. I would recommend this book to Roth fans, but there may be other better books out there.

This book is a great collection with everything that you want to see and know about the "Big Daddy".
I bought one for a friend and I'll buy for me too.

Great book, with lots of interesting bio notes and great pictures of Ed Roth's art and automotive masterpieces...brought back a lot of memories of building models of them as a kid in the 60's and 70's. And who can forget Rat Fink?!? It was a birthday present for my brother, and he loved it.

Bought this as a gift and he loved it. A great collection of info and photos on the one and only Big Daddy. Great shots of him througout his life and career, up and down, (my favorite shot was of him sleeping on the side of the road beside his car on his way to a show). Lots of photos of his wild cars. Great book for all his fans.

This is a great book, a must have for Big Daddy fans and hot rodders alike. A great compainion to "Rat Fink: The Art of Ed "Big Daddy" Roth. I love the hard cover because I hope to have this book to show my kids someday. Ed Roth lives forever through his fans.

I now have 3 of the 4 ed big daddy roth books.. and its so nice to know all i have to do is come here and i can get them... bookstores in the real non computer world.. dont seem to carry the books on him.. and my hubby is a avid fan of rat fink... so thank you...

Most people see Ed as an icon, which he was/is, few knew the man. I was very fortunate to have met him when in HS, and almost 40 yrs later 800mi away in another state. He was a talented man, a gifted artist, a somewhat insecure businesman, but a man with a soul. Find what you want to find, Ed Roth was a complex individual; should be more of them.