Customer Reviews

Harley Earl (Design Heroes Series)

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Please, if you have any regard for the American automotive styling of the 1930s, 40s and 50s don't buy this book. While making often snide asides about American culture, art, industry and society in general, Stephen Bayley proceeds to denigrate Harley Earl and his contribution to American car design. Bayley takes great delight in belittling Earl's designs and ridiculing their importance in both industry and art. Bayley proceeds to take personal shots at Earl, Alfred Sloan and Lawrence Fisher, the three prime movers of General Motors in the first half of the last century. In addition to Bayley's acid prose, the book contains a number of poor black & white photos of Earl's styling achievements. Not one good color photo in the bunch. To say I was disappointed in the book is an understatement for certain. I expected a book that would chronicle Earl's work and its significance in the American scene of the era. I did not expect a cynical Brit author proceeding to communicate to the reader how Harley Earl probably did not actually deserve to have a book written about him. For me, the auto styling of the era is deserving of more than casual interest. Some of Earl's designs, such as the 1957 Chevrolet, are considered classic and the cars are much in demand today, over a half-century later. Despite what you might think of Earl's designs, they surely made their mark, influencing auto design and industrial design in general for many years. I regret buying this book. I regret that the book was ever written as it reflects only the author's opinions which are decidedly derisive of America and its contributions to automotive styling and industrial design. (And the book lacks an index, not that I will be using it as a reference.) "Design Heroes" is the title of the series to which this book belongs. What a misnomer. Tsk.

I have the 1983 Hardcover/128pages,Harley Earl And The Dream Machine by Stephen Bayley is sadly the only book so far that I am aware of on The Man. A Legend, The way the British Author Treats America,American Tastes and uses artsyfartsy comparisons and words that make no sense,for example he compares at one time the way GM worked with Karl Marx?(Huh?) at another time he says GM's "Darwinist" in it's approach to vehicle lines? Again another Huh? The only thing that offsets the disdain the Snob Author has for American Tastes are the Cars in the Colorful Art by Phillip Castle(A couple pages) and some color photos the remainder being black and white,and some jabs in there sometimes subtle sometimes not,it is interesting it touches on Harley Earl And Associates(Later Ford And Earl) contribution(short chapter)concerning Ban Deodorant,Airplane Interiors and A Plumbers showroom(Not Pictued),it is a very brief chapter.
The only reason I purchased the Book was because Of Harley Earl despite not having even been born, I wonder what the author's take on Bill Mitchell is? and I wonder why did he bother to do the book with such bias? Hopefully someone will do Mr.Earl Justice.