[.ca] Cars of the Fabulous 50s: A Decade of High Style and ... (ISBN 078534375X)

Chrome two-tone dreams:
The Fifties was a great time for Detroit and the look of their products reflected the carmakers optimism for the good times that were sweeping over the middle classes during the decade. Never mind racial tensions and the Cold War didn't everybody deserve to drive around in a flamboyant dream on wheels. Books about autos of the period are steady sellers but I think this volume can't be beat. To get over sixteen hundred color photos and graphics in one book is pretty impressive. I like the editorial format, too, with each model getting a page per year. The mix of car company PR shots, period ads and graphics, dealer showroom and gas station photos plus the captions makes the pages sparkle. There is a very comprehensive index in the back, which makes Cars of the Fabulous 50s probably the best reference book available. Another book (by the same publisher) 'American Cars of the 1950s (ISBN 1412711568) covers the same ground but has an interesting twist in only using car graphics from ads and brochures for the picture content. It's also a square, chunky 320-page book. This publisher has put out the same two books covering cars of the Sixties.