Customer Reviews

Porsche: The Road from Zuffenhausen

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Of all the Porsche books out there, this is the easiest to read and understand of any I have seen. The author has a very entertaining style of writing. The book not only follows the history of the company but the people who built it, so it is also about the Porsche family and over 100 years of Porsche designed automobiles. The color photographs are excellent and there are more original historic B&W photos than I have ever seen in a book of this type. What I like most is, this is a book anyone can enjoy reading, even if they are not an expert on Porsche. A beautiful coffee table book and historic reference.

Most of the Porsche books offered today are just rehashed copies of older ones with updated covers and a few pictures of the newer models thrown in for good measure. This book has pictures we have never seen before and we have practically every book about Porsche's published in English (and a few in German too). It is very informative. All Porschephiles should add this book to their collection. This is a great find and Amazon has it at a Great Price!!!!!

With Butzi Porsche writing the foreword, you know this is the real deal. Pictures never seen before of the beginning all the way up to breathtaking fashion shots of the latest models. The writing is excellent, clear and page-turning fun. Well Done!

Let me confess right off, I absolutely love cars designed by Porsche, I have always found the car to be sexy and elegant. When i see someone pull up next to me in a Carerra with the top down, I just sit and stare with envey. As for this book, it is quite simply fantastic, it is easy to read and well researched, almost scholarly and the images are crisp and well placed throughout the book. You see the evolution of the automaker and get a real feel for what has made the company so successful. If you have any interest in Porsche or just cars in general, then I highly recommend this book...pricy yes, but well worth it...the car and this book.

I bought this book as my main reference for a paper I am writing about Porsche for business class, but my use for this book will not end there. I found this book not only informative, but interesting, and insightful. The pictures were plentiful, but not over done, beautiful, and well described. I will undoubtedly have this book for the rest of my life, and is a must for every car-enthusiast!!

Porsche: The Road from Zuffenhausen is pretty enough to sit on a coffee table, but substantial enough to do justice to the history of Porsche. Far and away the most impressive sections are those describing the origins of the company, Ferdinand Porsche's early experience in the fledgling German car industry, and the evolution of the 356. The emergence of Porsche after World War II is inspiring, and you cannot read those chapters without feeling closer to the marque. Likewise, the birth of the 911 gets extensive coverage here, as it should.

As Dennis Adler is a photographer, the quality of the photos throughout (whether taken by him, or selected by him from the archives) is top notch. The 550, in particular, is nicely portrayed, and the contemporary photos from races and factory marketing materials throughout the book are enough to fill an afternoon.

While the author is an impressive historian, his knowledge of the specific models -- or maybe just editorial inaccuracies -- make for some rare disappointments. For example, the Roadster model of 1960-1962 is described as the Convertible D in a photo spread. While the differences are trivial to the casual reader, Porschephiles make a huge distinction between the 356A and 356B series cars.

The other weakness comes with the descriptive material for the more modern models -- the 996 and 986. Whether Adler works for Porsche I don't know, but his text here becomes almost worshipful, when in fact these models are now widely regarded with disfavor both on aesthetic and build quality criteria. And they have held value poorly as a result. As a self-described journalist, Adler owed us a bit more here than warmed over advertising hype over what was in the showroom as his book went to press.

With regard to WWII, while it is fair to give Ferdinand Porsche the benefit of the doubt with regard to his Nazi associations, Adler is perhaps a bit too sympathetic. It would be beyond the scope of the book to get into the moral aspects of collaboration. But we have a pretty good idea as to where the labor came from to construct factories under Hitler's government -- factories that earned Porsche his keep during the war years.

Overall, though, a fascinating and well-researched book. It is an accessible history of one of the world's legendary sports car marques, without the tedium of listing bolt sizes and wheel offsets. As a special treat, the last chapter features Porsche advertising posters and brochures, a rich hobby on their own. Its inclusion elevates the book and adds to the readers' appreciation of the Porsche story. The layout is also beautifully done, with page footers cribbing from the famous Porsche 'flash' script on the dash of the classic Speedster-Convertible D-Roadster series of 1954-1962. It's a pleasureable book to hold and leaf through, which counts for something in the age of the Internet.

I bought this book for my daughter for Christmas, she is going through a "I love Porsche" phase right now. We currently live just down the road from Zuffenhausen, Germany and the book couldn't have been more appropriate. She has thoroughly enjoyed the pictures and has learned so much about how the company and car designs have evolved over the years.

Positive:
Beautiful pages
Descriptive Information
Big book
Great book material

Negative:
I got this for my boyfriend and I think he would be more interested in the newer models like the 911 Turbo then the first Porsche. I expected the book to talk about everything! This book just basically focused on the first models and how it was created and such. Not on the recent models. So that kind of disappointed me.

Porsche , the road from zuffenhausen is a wonderful book regarding the historical perspectives of porsche cars !! A great book for porsche fans,collector's and historians ! The complete history of all model porsche cars , many beautiful photos and original documents and posters ! A great reference book for the porsche owner ! The best porsche book on the market ! A great coffee table porsche book !

This is a wonderful coffee table book. Its heavy weight glossy pages coupled with brilliant photography truly capture the eye. Most pictures are in full color but even those in black and white are compelling. While there is a considerable amount of Porsche history included in this book, it does not dive too deeply into minutia. In other words, the information provided is quite easy to read and digest. The bottom line; any Porsche enthusiast would appreciate this book.