Customer Reviews

Motorcars of the Classic Era

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is not a book about cars; it is an excercise in photography. If you are looking to read about the cars, you will be extremely dissapointed. Other than a tag stating the car model and year, there is no text whatsoever on pages with photos. Tiny capsule captions for each photo are found at the end of the book. The photos are exquisite, but they are all studio shots; none show the cars in their natural surroundings. Most of the photos are only postcard size. Those that are larger run across the center gutter due to the portrait page orientation. A lot of the photo is lost in the gutter. For those that want beautiful photos along with some historical background of the car and manufacturer, I recommend books by Dennis Adler.

I saw a review for this book in one of the classic car magazines and ordered the book. I myself produce a cable tv program. One of the vehicles that we featured was the Stout Scarab, the cover vehicle for this book. When the book arrived I was very dissappointed that almost 10 percent of every automobile photo was lost in the binding of the book. If ever there was a need for fold out pages or a wider format this was it. Though the photos are beautiful, so much is lost that in the whole it is painful to look at. I returned the book.

Charles Derer

Seriously, if you're into cars from this era, you simply cannot do better. It's just not possible. Mike's photography is just short of stunning, and the accompanying text is intelligent and easy to understand. You won't regret buying it. At all.

Motor Cars of the Classic Era has gorgeous photographs of some of the most extravagant and rare automobiles made. I bought it for my husband, who although very knowledgeable of cars in general (especially of the vintage variety), had never seen a couple of the vehicles photographed in the book. It is wonderful and fantastic for anyone who appreciates the beauty and workmanship of old cars.

I do love the creme de la creme cars from the 30's for their unique style and presence, and I had not found a book that came close to doing them justice till this one. There is not much detailed information on the models, just a short narative in the back, but the aesthetics of the pictures is almost overwhelming and for me obviated the need for more statistics. The cars are segmented by country, and it is fun to look at the differences in the underlying styles (and true to stereotype the French are clearly the most outrageous). There are some great, great cars in here (from the impressive Mercedes 500K to the fabulous Bugatti Atlantic) and I must say I fell in love with the Scarab pictured on the cover (kind of an elite VW van that would clearly not make it out of a design shop today!). It would be hard to make the selected autos look anything but terrific, but Furman's sensual photo's magnify the impact and luster of each model. The close ups of selected fittings, while not quite as breathtaking, do provide the sense of the individual and artistic attention paid to each of these very special creations. What a great gift for anyone who loves great design and great cars. If I could hand out 6 stars I would.

A must for your automobile book collection - even if it is the start of it. Michale's photography is 2nd to none and his love of fine automobiles brings out his best. If you like classic automobiles, this has to be on your coffee table.

Beautiful photos of cars, and many details like hood ornaments. But why print photos over two pages, over and over again, in all such books?
I bought it (in a Dutch translation) because it wasn't expensive - about $16. That doesn't compare well to the price asked here.
It's still available at one of our well-known bookshops that sells publishers' leftovers...

Furman takes the industry's most beautiful automotive photographs. He has an innate ability to perfectly capture the essence of the car through lighting and angles while showcasing the vehicle's best features. Others have criticized this book for having no information about the cars, but I feel a historical expose on each would detract from his work. This book celebrates their beauty, not their specifications. This book is a must have for those who appreciate the lines of a vehicle as much as what's under the hood.

This is a beautiful book of 270 pages. The photography is spectacular and unique to this book. It is printed on heavy stock art paper and is first class in every way. Thirty seven marques are represented with many featuring more than one automobile. Every car is a true classic. The photography is superb and presentations are very creative. The quality of the color printing is excellent. Provenance of each car is extensive and well done. I like this book a lot, five stars! Russell

To any vintage auto enthusiest (of the late 1920's through 1940's) this book's a sumptuous, informative feast for the eye and soul.

Most of the work (first 3/4's) showcases the author's deep photogenic appreciation of all those talented entra war era automotive craftsmen (just American & European, I believe). Those who balanced their well developed sense of (Moderne/Deco/Streamline) auto design, with practicality and graceful function. The last 1/4 of the book holds interesting/informative text for each auto presented prior.

Well, ok, so I stumbled onto a book display of this work leaving an Exhibition of Art Deco earlier today: spent a transfixed 20 minutes carefully thumbing through it. Hey, the book just topped off a thoroughly satisfying afternoon at the Musium of the Legion of Honor in San Francisco, ok?!?

And... I suppose, the fact that not more than 20 ft behind me- standing, silently, yet gracefully parked & roped off from the rest of the exhibition's attendees was one of the true automotive icons of the age: a mint 1937 Cord 212 Speedster, didn't hurt matters much either (BTW: only 2300+ were ever produced of this well deserved Streamlined classic).

Turns out (as another vintage auto admirer of the book commented over my shoulder) this is the very white and red Cord included in the oversized coffee table tomb of which this review is jotted.

Whether novice or 'in the know' on the topic, this book's the "real deal!!"

KP