American Buses (Crestline Series) (Paperback)

by Donald F. Wood (Author) "The automobile's origins date to the late nineteenth century..." (more)
Key Phrases: bus body builders, local transit buses, school bus body, New York, United States, World War (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
From turn-of-the-century depot hacks to mode rn Greyhound and Trailways models, this giant scrapbook of p eriod and contemporary photographs reveals the evolution of a wide range of buses. '

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Motorbooks International (November 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0760304327
• ISBN-13: 978-0760304327
• Product Dimensions: 10.6 x 8.3 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,016,125 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars American Buses, June 27, 2000

By A Customer

Greatly recommended. Good nostalgia book for anyone who travelled extensively by bus or for anyone who works in the bus industry.

Over 300 black & white photos of every conceivable type of bus. It would have been nicer if the later pictures had been in color. I think it would have add zip to the book.

Each decade has 2 to 3 pages of text, giving the highlights of the industry at that time, followed by pictures of each type of bus in use at the time.

Interesting tidbits and little known facts are also given. I learned that the official color of school buses is "national school bus chrome".

The quality of the books is good. The pictures are nice and sharp. Every bus aficionado should have this book.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Start your bus library here., February 24, 2002

By	Robin Benson - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

A reasonable book for bus fans to start with. It covers makes from 1900 to 1989 and author Donald Wood has done his research and crams in plenty of facts for the introductions to each decade. This is primarily a photo guidebook though and as another reviewer has commented, it is a pity some of the photos are not in color.

The three hundred black and white photos are mostly good quality. To bulk out the pages the definition of a bus is stretched, for example, on page 76 a photo of some Chrysler limos and on page 80 a Mack truck that just happens to have seats added. There is an index and bibliography.

I was disappointed by the dull layout (why is it that these fan orientated titles always look so bland?) because most of the photos are to predetermined widths there are plenty of large empty spaces and it is a shame that the publishers did not care to put a bit more creative effort into the layout.

Still, this book will be good start to your bus library.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Oh S**** ! There Goes The Charabanc, August 18, 2005

By	MopedLad (los angeles) - See all my reviews

A recent inclusion to my bus and coach book collection. Author Donald F. Wood has painted his subject matter with a very broad brush, to the extent that for most bus folks, the inclusion of some of the vehicles such as limos etc is a bit of a stretch (pun intended). Wood justifies this in the introduction by citing obscure government regulations that define a bus as any vehicle carrying ten or more passengers. The non-bus buses are a minor distraction though in this otherwise deftly researched book. The photographs are all black and white, but they offer a facinating retrospective to the material in conjunction with the well written text. Not all the buses are American, though all discussed operate or did operate in the USA. All in all good value for money and well worth adding to the shelf.