Pioneers, Engineers, And Scoundrels: The Dawn Of The Automobile In America [Paperback]

Beverly R. Kimes (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 2004

The people who "changed the face of the earth..."

From the Prologue...

"In 1913, The New York Times declared, 'the coming of the automobile has literally changed the face of the earth.' Given that assessment, it is interesting that the invention was so long in arriving. Its roots dated back to the American Revolution, but for more than a century, inventors faced ridicule and contempt ... The transition of America from horse-drawn to horse-less society boasts an epic cast of characters - from stalwart heros to dastardly scoundrels, from social grandees to street toughs, from wise men to wise guys."

This "cast of characters" provides the lens through which award-winning author Beverly Rae Kimes focuses on the early years of the American automobile industry. While some names - Ford, Dodge, Buick, and more - are easily recognized, this book also introduces snapshots of lesser known, but vitally important actors in this dramatic saga. The famous, the infamous, and the unknown are brought together by their common dedication to this great invention - and united by the fascinating stories that characterize each person.

This book presents a unique and engagingly written portrait of the American automobile industry's early years, focusing on the individuals who dreamed, schemed, innovated, succeeded and failed in their quests for fame, fortune, glory, and knowledge. This is a book that tells a story like no other - a history of America, Americans, and their love affair with the "horse-less carriage."

Did you know?

The first company to build automobiles was organized by Oliver Evans in 1804.
In 1900 the gasoline car was third in popularity, behind steamer and electric models.
In 1909 Henry Ford briefly considered becoming part of General Motors.
In 1916 Lt. George S. Patton led the first motorized charge in U.S. Army history with 14 men and 3 Dodges in a surprise raid on Pancho Villa¿s hideout.
In 1911 the top five automobile manufacturing states were Michigan (75 companies), Ohio (63), Indiana (61), Illinois (54) and New York (54).
In 1912 the U.S. exported 23,720 cars and imported just 868.

Learn the stories you haven't heard. Meet the people you haven't known.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

My first assignment [for Automobile Quarterly] was a history of the curved dash Oldsmobile, and I was hooked. What could be more exciting than automobile history? I told myself that one day I would know enough about it to tell everyone else how exciting it was."
... Beverly Rae Kimes, from the Acknowledgments

After forty years of research and writing, Kimes has become an acknowledged expert, sharing her knowledge and enthusiasm about automobile history with the world through her engaging articles and books. Five of her books have won the Cugnot Award of the Society of Automotive Historians for best book of the year, and she has received the Society's Benz Award for best article of the year four times.

Product Details

• Paperback: 532 pages
• Publisher: Society of Automotive Engineers Inc (December 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 076801431X
• ISBN-13: 978-0768014310
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #637,984 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars SpeedReaders.info Review, December 11, 2009

By 

Speed Readers (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pioneers, Engineers, And Scoundrels: The Dawn Of The Automobile In America (Paperback)

Pioneers, Engineers, and Scoundrels: The Dawn of the Automobile in America
by Beverly Rae Kimes

Birthdays are good. Really.

Think about it. Birthdays mark the more-or-less-successful achievement of surviving another year. Some do find more celebratory ways to observe these anniversaries of survival than others. Case in point: SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) observed its 100th birthday in 2005 and, among the ways it chose to observe its centenary, it published a book. More to SAE's credit, it wasn't a self-centered book about itself but rather a seminal tome about the very beginnings of the auto industry--authored by a very special person with an impeccable reputation for careful research and equal care with the writing.

That stellar author was Beverly Rae Kimes (1939-2008). Some of you reading these words may not be familiar with Ms Kimes. But look in nearly any issue of Automobile Quarterly--if her name isn't on the masthead under "staff" (and even when it is), look for articles with her byline. They are, simply and irrefutably, among the best--the best researched, the best writing of the best-told stories and articles. Then there are the Krause published Standard Catalogs--Bev Kimes' name is prominent as one of those who made these publications not merely possible, but a reality. There's more...but you get the idea.

In Pioneers, Engineers, and Scoundrels she has told those best stories in another way; weaving the early days of automobiles and automobiling in America into a whole that enables the reader to easily understand which events and developments were happening when and when they were concurrent or paralleling one another. As her book traces the morphing of the horseless carriage into real automobiles, she reveals the people--rascals and even those less colorful, more pedantic--who made it happen.

SAE, the publisher, merits a scant mention in the narrative mainly because the organization was understandably every bit as young as the fledgling industry, yet both are inextricably intertwined. The men, with names recognized and associated with one car or another, were often the same men who were influential officers of this then-new professional organization. Examples include the first president of SAE, Albert L Riker, the chief engineer who developed the Locomobile's gasoline engine. Cadillac's Henry Leland was SAE's president in 1913, which was (irony or not?) the same year that his allegiance (employment) went from GM to Ford. Regardless of which manufacturer he served, during his SAE presidency Leland toured Europe. Upon his return he warned any who would listen to him that Europe, "would soon erupt and America should be ready." Leland himself would be ready, willing, and able--as evidenced by his work developing the Liberty aircraft engines.

Kimes conveys her reader back into the 1920s. Then, by the time she and her reader arrive at the epilogue, there's the neat ribbon she has tied around the entire package that resolves the stories, the careers and lives of each of those key automotive pioneers. Equal kudos are due to Kimes for the writing and to SAE for publishing. The reader is the ultimate winner.

Copyright 2009, Helen V Hutchings (speedreaders.info)

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The real stories of early american cars, August 9, 2006

By 

G. Flank (Sweden) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Pioneers, Engineers, And Scoundrels: The Dawn Of The Automobile In America (Paperback)

This book covers into detail the interesting background and the stories behind the men in the early american car industry. It also connects well known and short lived cars into a story that clears the picture of the early american car era. It is well written and a lot of fun reading. A must for anyone interested in early american cars.

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Automotive History, December 12, 2011

By 

Don L (South Lyon, MI) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Pioneers, Engineers, And Scoundrels: The Dawn Of The Automobile In America (Paperback)

This is an extremely well researched book that presents a very comprehensive history of the early American auto industry.

Appropriately starting with one of Americas most under appreciated geniuses, Oliver Evans; Kimes trails the development of the automobile from the early steam and electric cart/wagon to the gas buggy or what we now consider an automobile.

It is not just about machines as the author weaves in the story of the men that created them and their industry.

This book is automotive history at its finest and a damn good read!