Customer Reviews

Indy Cars of the 1950s (Ludvigsen Library Series)

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

 

 

Indy Cars of the 1950's is disappointing. Nice pictures, but the captions do not really capture the flavor of the period. Technical data is nil, consisting of two pages at the very front of the book. The book unabashedly is tilted towards the products of Frank Kurtis, but contains no anecdotal information, technical discussions, or the like to flesh out the author's admiration. You can read the entire book in a 15 minute sitting. Quite disappointing - Joe Scalzo's book Indianapolis Roadsters 1952-64 is much better resource for this period of Indianapolis 500 history.

ALTHOUGH KARL'S NEW BOOK DOESN'T POSSESS A WEALTH OF INFORMATION IN PROSE, IMAGERY IS ALWAYS HELPFUL TO A SERIOUS HISTORIAN OR RESTORER WHO HAS NEVER EXPERIENCED THESE VEHICLES 'FIRST HAND'. HE HAS TAKEN THE OLD ADAGE, "A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS!" TO NEW HEIGHTS. ANY NEW UNPUBLISHED PHOTOGRAPHS - THESE ARE PUBLISHED FOR THE FIRST TIME AS I UNDERSTAND IT - OF ANY SUBJECT OF INTEREST TO AN AUDIENCE BEARS SCRUTINY FOR DETAILS, POSSIBLY NEVER BEFORE UNCOVERED BY IMAGERY. THESE CARS ARE EXCEEDINGLY RARE AND QUITE UNIQUE IN THE WAY THEY ADDRESSED THE TASK OF GOING FAST AT THE SPEEDWAY AND OTHER OVAL TRACKS THEY PERFORMED ON. THE CRAFTSMANSHIP ON THESE MACHINES EXHIBITED FLAWLESS QUALITY IN THE ATTENTION TO DETAIL WITH WHICH THEY WERE EXECUTED. THEY WERE 'WORKS OF THE ART' IN MACHINED BILLET AND HAND-FORMED SHEET METAL. I HOPE FOR KARL'S SAKE, THERE IS ENOUGH INTEREST IN THE SUBJECT MATTER TO JUSTIFY THIS BOOKS UTILITY IN THIS NEW MELLENIUM. I ENCOURAGE ALL WITH AN INTEREST IN INDY ROADSTERS OF THIS ERA TO ENJOY KARL'S BOOK FOR WHAT IT IS AND NOT WHAT SOME THINK IT SHOULD BE!

The Ludvigsen Indy Car series is a wonderful collection of photos with interesting commentary covering Indy Cars of the 40s, 50s, 60s, and 70s. Indy Cars of the 50's was the first volume published, and went for $19.95 retail; the other volumes went for $24.95. Why more? Because the other volumes were printed on glossy stock, making the pictures gorgeous and crystal clear. This first volume is printed on plain paper stock, so the pictures are fuzzy, and the paper isn't as opaque, allowing "see-through" of the picture on the opposite side of the page. I'd gladly pay the extra $5 for a reprint on the same high-quality stock as the other books in this series!

My husband was surprised and pleased at this unexpected gift. He is an avid racing fan and it was very interesting to see the earlier Indy cars that were driven on dirt tracks and with very little protection for the driver. I was glad I was able to finally find the perfect Christmas present!

Good B/W photo's, but little depth on the subject of the cars or drivers!