Hot Rod [Paperback]

Henry Gregory Felsen (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Amsco School Pubns Inc (June 1950)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0877207542
• ISBN-13: 978-0877207542
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,656,391 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must read book for new, or soon to be drivers!, June 5, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Hot Rod (Paperback)

It's been twenty years since I read this book and I still remember the ending so clearly it scares me. The story is dated, but has many valuable lessons.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A real kick in the head for a wild teenager!, July 18, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Hot Rod (Paperback)

I first found the book among some of my fathers' things and well, I just couldn't put it down. I just finished it and what a book! The story of a 17 yr. old building his own Rod, which was his companion, friend, and enemy. Just him and his ride. Sounds a little like myself. The main character finds the rules of life the only way, the hard way.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A special book, September 29, 2007

By 

C. J. Leach (Midwest, United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

I have a few thoughts on this book and why it is a literary treasure. First published in 1950, it was written at a high/middle school level and is an easy read. The story is of a high school boy in an isolated midwestern town. His love is his hand built hot rod. It gives him much joy and is also a source of a lot of trouble. He has girl problems, friend problems, and law problems. He can always fall back on his car. I needn't recount the plot in any more detail, and I don't want to give anything away to ruin it for a future reader.

Although author Henry Gregor Felsen was not a master novelist, he was good. Unintendedly, he wrote a time capsule that captured a unique era in Americana and in our car culture. The War was over and the country was prospering. Car ownership, with its joys and hazards, was becoming accessible to almost all teenagers. This was truly the dawn of the "hot rod" culture, and indeed this title of Felsen's novel was not a household word at the time.

Felsen documents the spotlights, white steering wheels, and squirrel tails that adorned the early rods. The multi-carbs, straight pipes, and 3-speed stick shifts. And the jargon that now sounds so dated, but was so out front at the time. The machines were incredibly simple by today's measure, but even then there was a sort of priesthood of those few boys/men that knew how they worked and could make them run (I intentionally exclude the feminine gender, because that's how it was. Though I never met one, I suppose there were exceptions, just as there is the occasional two-headed cow).

The innocence - no real booze or drug problems. Felsen is accused of being "preachy", and indeed a central theme of the book is the need for a revolution in traffic safety by young drivers. There were no seat belts. Roadway surfaces were narrow and often poor. Brake systems were a joke by today's standards. In the state the story is set in, there was not even a state highway speed limit. Cars were becoming faster - much faster - and a new epidemic was emerging of teenage deaths from high speed crashes on public highways. I did my own "rodding" in the 70's and the teens and fast cars were still then, and are now, a dangerous mixture. Felsen caught on early and used his writing talent to proclaim a noble message. Felsen had an accurate perception regarding the chemistry of a male teenage driver and a powerful car.

History and "messages" aside, this is a fun read. The story is engaging and multi-layered. There was a police chase sequence that even had my heart rate elevated a bit. I first read this book about 40 years ago and was entertained but did not fully appreciate what the author accomplished. This was not written by a 21st century writer trying to recreate what was going on 58 years ago . . . Felsen was writing it as it was happening. Awesome.

Felsen wrote a few other books in this genre including "Street Rod", its sequel "Rag Top" (a great piece), "Crash Club", and "Road Rocket". He also authored numerous other military and juvenile books.