10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good overview; great photos, December 31, 2002
This is the latest in a long line of very good automotive-related books from author Genat. The photos are top-notch and the text informative, if a little simplistic. The overview of the early and late hemi's origins at the beginning of the book is top notch. The chapters on the many Mopar bodystyles that featured the hemi option are also quite good. My only quibble is that the book often does not show the featured cars' engines in the make and model chapters.
However, if you're a Mopar enthusiast or a hemi nut, this book will "light your fire." Despite the minor quibbles above, it's a great book and I can heartily recommend it.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Ma Mopar should be proud, March 29, 2006
Robert Genat's "Hemi The Ultimate V-8" (2002) continues to be a marvelous study for one of the great automotive engines of all time. More than the usual photo book, this 165 page hardback offers considerable statistical analysis for Chrysler's mightiest muscle motor.
Through nine absorbing chapters Genat explains the hemispherical combustion chamber engine ("Hemi"), Hemi cars (B body types), Hemi racers, and Hemi clone cars. This outstanding presentation speaks to the legendary motor and its cars through its first 20 years (1951-71). (Hopefully, today's Hemis, briefly reviewed toward the end of the book, have been reserved for a second volume.)
The photos, herein, are creatively posed and informative in presentation. Readers see the Hemi's internal workings, dual carbs (side by side and short rams inductions), super stock pipes (one on each carb barrel), air grabbers, coyote dusters, and shakers in vivid color. Hemi orange will always make one breathless! (A few historical black and whites present the Hemi's earliest days on road and track.)
The best portion of this book is chapter six, "Hemi Daytonas and Superbirds". Genat's discussion tells experienced truth while hitting the high points about these winged rides. (It was in one of these blue Superbirds in 1970- I learned as a kid- that highway side fence posts disappear above 150 mph!) If you want to know more about "Tonas" and "Birds"-- read this chapter.
Genat's book concludes with Hemi statistics in Appendixes A and B. Finally, he provides an authoritative bibliography for further research.
This book is recommendable to all Hemi-heads, car lovers, and automobile historians. Of Hemis, Ma Mopar should be proud!
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Ultimate, January 24, 2010
I'm a huge Mopar Nut found this book very informative from the begining to now it's just a good book
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