Wheely great reads for Father's Day

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Looking down the road over either the handlebars or the steering wheel, Father’s Day (June 20) is fast approaching. If dad loves all things mechanical and has a bookshelf ‘not quite’ filled with motorcycle and automotive titles, he should enjoy any of these recommendations. Support a local bookstore if you can, otherwise, all titles appear to be available on Amazon.ca.

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Henry von Wartenberg is an Argentinian photographer who has spent his life capturing images of motorcyclists. His latest book, The Riders: Motorcycle Adventurers, Cruisers, Outlaws and Racers the World Over is a tribute to all who are passionate about riding.

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Von Wartenberg’s images, 150 of them, fill 192 pages of this hardcover book released by Motorbooks. It’s been a lifetime in the making. He started riding at 11 years old when his mother bought him a Honda PC50 moped. Several other machines followed.

When he turned 17, von Wartenberg bought an Olympus OM camera and taught himself how to shoot. He’s worked for several magazines and newspapers, but regardless of what his assignments have been, he’s always been ‘distracted’, as he says, by motorcycles and their riders. He writes, “Motorcycles have allowed me to combine my favorite toy and my most useful tool in a perfect way. I wouldn’t be able to say whether the motorcycle is an extension of my lens or my camera is an extension of my motorcycle.”

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From images of daredevils riding the motorcycle wall of death to salesmen using the machine as a workhorse, this book is intensely visually engaging. However, it also contains essays from well-known writers including Paul d’Orleans, Peter Egan, Andy Goldfine and Dave Nichols. Each of them shares insight into just what the rider means to a motorcycle, and what the motorcycle means to the rider.

Zen and the Art of Collecting Old Cars was penned by Bruce Valley of Rye, New Hampshire (brucevalley.com). Valley, a man of many talents including having been a naval officer, test pilot and Washington speechwriter has spent decades finding, restoring, and driving a wide range of unique vehicles.

Engaging stories include recounting how, as a young teenager in the early 1950s, he was caught attempting to liberate a heater motor from a car in Ralph’s Truck Junkyard. He escaped the wrath of the yard’s owner, but in his haste to flee, left many of his father’s tools in the car. The lesson learned? Find a car farther from the yard’s office and bring more friends to stand watch.

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All his stories are enjoyable and almost mystical as he recounts how many of his adventures with cars and the people who populate the hobby interconnect. For example, in one of the first chapters, The Pontiac GTO: Redline Reverie & GTO Redux, Valley recounts how he bought a brand new 1966 GTO convertible and kept it for years.

He wrote a short story about the car called Redline Reverie and it appeared in an issue of High-Performance Pontiac. Years later, when Valley decided to sell his car, in a twist of fate, the buyer showed up at the door holding a copy of High-Performance Pontiac and pointed to Redline Reverie as his reason for wanting the GTO. Little did he know he was buying the exact car that inspired the short story, and tears flow.

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At 220 pages, it’s an easy read and would appeal to hobbyists and collectors who have ‘been there and done that’, or to those who simply dream about old cars.

Motorbooks has launched Volkswagen Beetles and Buses: Smaller and Smarter. Written by Russell Hayes of London, England, this 176-page hardcover book is filled with 200 photographs, including archival images and period literature.

Hayes is an acknowledged automotive journalist and has written several history books, including Lotus: A Genius for Innovation and Ford Cortina: The Complete History. While filled with early development details, Hayes’s Volkswagen Beetles and Buses is not too dense. However, he does share some information about two of the world’s most beloved air-cooled vehicles that even an ardent fan might not have known.

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There are several sidebar-style inserts, too, including one that looks at the unique advertising campaign originated by DDB, the U.S.-based company hired by Volkswagen in the early 1960s to promote their vehicles in America.

The book also includes a chapter called Screen and Gallery, highlighting Beetles and Buses in movies such as Herbie the Love Bug and the Transformer’s offshoot, Bumblebee, and discusses VW’s role in the world of art.

Hayes’s writing style is engaging and will be enjoyed by those who are fans of Volkswagen, and the book is entertaining enough that dads could share it with younger enthusiasts.

Greg Williams is a member of the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC). Have a column tip? Contact him at 403-287-1067 or gregwilliams@shaw.ca