Customer Reviews

Ferrari

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is an incredible book. You will open it, glance over the first few pages, and then place it on a smooth desktop to save the cover. You will find yourself gently easing each huge, glossy page over to avoid even the slightest wear. The text is informative and insightful, with commentary you might not find anywhere else, such as the candid critique of the performance of the 750 Monza. The photographs are stunning. You will not be disappointed. To be certain, this is not a comprehensive history of every last Ferrari. Where a group of cars can be described together - like the Testarossa, 512TR, and F512M - sometimes only one or two are shown. Missing are all the one-offs except for the Mythos; you will not find the 250 Berlinetta Bertone, the Dino Pininfarina, or even the 512 Special. You will not find the more obscure cars like the Scaglietti 121 Le Mans or the 330 LM. Neither will you find information about cars "powered by Ferrari" - like the Stratos or the Fiat Dino - or about aftermarket coachbuilt variants like the 512 BBi Spyder, or the wild customs shipped to the middle east. And, it was published before the 550 Maranello or 360 Modena, of course. These are trivial criticisms, and given the pure tone of the book, some of that material wouldn't belong here anyway. It's terrific.

This book has very nice pictures from the first page all the way to the last page. My one main problem with this book is that it may be 382 pages, but each section has the text in four languages. This makes the book seem a lot longer then it acutally is. For the size of the book, i would have thought their would have been more information on some of the sections. Some sections only have a half of a page of text. Overall, the book is very nice, but just be aware that it is not 382 pages of information, but only 1/4 of that.

Despite the correct comments on multilingual text by others, this is a fantastic book and a must have for any Ferrari library. The authors did several things correct. They created a large hard cover, high quality text, with many glossy color photos of great quality and interspersed useful information. They covered the full range of the car and gave due respect to some less popular, but no less worthy, models in the maker's history. You even get coverage on those Fiats with Ferrari engines etc. Overall a great book that does justice to a great car maker.

'Ferrari,' quite simply, is the most beautifully photographed book on the cars from Maranello that I have ever seen. There is text, and it is helpful, but I find myself returning to this book time and time again just to drool over the pictures -- they are nothing less than stunning.

The book starts out with approximately 15 pages about Enzo Ferrari, the man; then there are maybe 10 pages about Ferrari, the marque; the next 330 pages(!) deal with the Ferrari cars in all their splendor: all color, many-times huge, (several full-spread -- roughly one foot high and two foot wide), highly-detailed and incredibly clear photos of the most gorgeous cars in the world.... perfect examples of priceless cars in absolutely wonderful settings; following the several hundred pages on the cars of Ferrari, there is one page devoted to the author and the photographer (Lehbrink, and Schlegelmilch, respectively); the book concludes with about 15 pages of specifications.

To provide a little more detail on the actual vehicles covered in the car section... There are more than 50 car-series included, starting with the Spider Touring (166 & 212) in 1948, and concluding with the F50 in 1995. The majority of the vehicles covered in this book are road cars, (many of those being the early road-and-racing cars, such as the original Testa Rossa; 250GT swb; GTO; etc), but other true competition vehicles are included -- a few examples would be the P-series cars (i.e. 330P4), the CanAm cars (350; 612; 712), and the 512M, 312PB, and 333SP. The number of photos for each series of cars range from about 6 to as many as 15 or more (often-times including interior, engine, and/or detail shots). There are roughly half-a-dozen paragraphs written about each car or series of cars (appearing first in English; then German; then French; then Spanish or Italian). As mentioned above, this section on the cars of Ferrari ends with the F50 introduced in 1995 (and therefore does not cover the 360 Modena nor the 550 Maranello).

As for the specifications part of the book... For each and every series of cars photographed and written about in the preceding section, there are corresponding details listed here. There are from 2 to 4 car-series on each page; for each series, there is a small line drawing representing the most common body-style for that particular series; then things such as all the model designations in that series, the years they were built, the total number built, and specifics for the engine, transmission, and chassis, as well as top speed, are listed.

For anyone who is looking strictly for reading material, whether it be the cold, hard facts, or someone's interpretation and personal bias on Ferrari... I would suggest you look to the myriad other books concerning themselves with the countless details about the history, drivers, race wins, squabbles, fights, and (sometimes) cars of Ferrari. However, if you want to "feel" Ferrari -- a 330GT sparkling in a field of Goldenrod; a 250GT Lusso patiently waiting on a damp, foggy road; or a 333SP tearing around a track with the surrounding scenery blurring by -- look no further. This book allows you enjoy the aesthetic side of the great Marque From Maranello -- it is photographic proof of the beauty of the rolling sculptures called Ferrari, and the artistry of (mostly) Pininfarina. This is the first book I've seen that lets you feel as if the cars are actually sitting in front of you -- it almost seems possible to reach out and touch these phenomenal machines.

Excellent book with the essencial info needed to understand the philosophy of the most famous car maker in the world. Customers looking for advanced technical information may feel disappointed, but the marvelous glossy pictures worth every buck spent.

This book is huge! Beautiful colour photos throughout make this book a great buy. This book is not ideal if you want to read up on Ferrari cars.Each car has a brief written section in 3 different languages. As for as a photo gallery of Ferrari this book is a gem. As far as a factual history book,there are other books.

If you love Ferrari's and plenty of colour photos to look at but dont mind a brief read then this book is okay.

I received this book as a Christmas gift a few years ago. Let me just say it is a SUPERB book loaded with Ferrari eye-candy! From Ferrari's beginnings in 1947 to the F-50 supercar of 1995, this one covers nearly all the Ferrari roadcars (as well as some racers) in chronological order. Although it's printed in FOUR different languages (you've got to search the pages to find the English sections) and the vehicle statisitcs may be inaccurate sometimes, it is still a worthy addition to a racing fan's library. The back of the book even has a section showing a diagram of each featured car with information underneath....even production numbers! The only real problem with the book is that there is an UPDATED version available that includes the Ferrari 360 Modena, 550 Maranello, Enzo and other late models. If you want the extra info then this is NOT the book to buy.....try to find the later edition.

The photos are amazing! Every Ferrari ever built is in this book, along with a detailed history. No wonder the CEO of Ferrari said this is the best book on Ferrari automobiles ever written! Every Ferrari fan should at least see this book once. Even the F50 is featured! In other words, I highly recommend this book to any fan of high performance cars.

Today I read a book. Maybe not a whole book and maybe not the best of books. But I think it was the best. The book you see was called Ferrari, and of course, it was about none other than Ferrari's. After receiving it as a gift I wondered just how good it would be. My awkwardness turned into excitement when as I started reading. Nothing could prepare me for the many languages and associated pictures that relished this book. Filled with many cars (many of which I wish I could have, I might add), it was thoughtfully put together with glossy high resolution pictures. Being half Italian and having the chance to read both the French and English languages I found the book to be well put together and well thought out. I only wish I was more multicultural. But I'm not. I'm only 14.

great pictures - high resolution and good informatio