Don "The Snake" Prudhomme reveals for the first time ever his incredible life and career on and off of the drag strip.

Imagine spending a year with Don "The Snake" Prudhomme, having coffee together and talking about his life, his racing, his friends, and his family. He’d tell you about how he rose from being a high school drop-out who was painting cars to a respected Top Fuel dragster driver and successful businessman. You’d hear how he toured the country with Tommy Ivo and "The Hawaiian" Roland Leong, racing all the legends from "Big Daddy" Don Garlits to "The Golden Greek" [Chris] Karamesines. He'd say how he met Tom McEwen and recall how they became the Snake and the Mongoose, leading to a career in Funny Cars that netted him four championships in a row. He'd talk about the thrill of first wins and owning his own teams but also the struggles of bad seasons, crashes and fires, broken parts, and broken contracts. Along the way, he’d speak about the people in his life, such as engine-builder Keith Black and NHRA president Wally Parks, and those who were killed in the wild and unpredictable sport of nitro racing. It wouldn’t be only racing, though. Prudhomme would share lessons he learned about business and life from such varied sources as a neighbor in Granada Hills to Ford GT40 driver Dan Gurney. He also would talk about the importance of family: how his wife, Lynn, and daughter, Donna, changed his world and how finding out about his African-American roots opened his eyes to a culture and inheritance he’d always wanted. This is the experience you’ll get in Don "The Snake" Prudhomme: My Life Beyond the 1320.

Carrera Panamericana: the Mexican Road Race. In its day it was the longest, fastest and likely wildest international automobile race ever staged. A World Championship event along with Le Mans, the Mille Miglia, Nüburgring and the Tourist Trophy, most drivers considered it the best-and the worst-of them all. From 1950 to 1954, it was witnessed by ten million spectators along a nearly 2,000-mile course that featured deserts where the faster cars could reach 180 mph and 10,000-foot mountain passes requiring first-gear operation. Carrera Panamericana influenced engineering and marketing from Michigan to Modena. Ferrari designed and named a model specifically for the race. Lincoln emerged as a high-performance sedan and Porsche's Carrera was named in honor of its wins. The Pan-Am was so unconventional and fascinating that it came to hold the world's attention for a full week each year. It was one of the last of the great open road events and the first in which European and American cars could be compared and marked the return of US factory support to racing in America.

Get the behind the scenes view of arguably the most iconic automotive movie car and scene in history. Ask any automotive enthusiast what his or her favorite chase scene to appear in a movie is, and the majority will respond with "Bullitt." It has made the top 5 in every list covering the best automotive chase scenes in history. But the appeal isn’t just about the chase scene. Shot entirely on location in picturesque San Francisco in 1968, the movie not only features the historic chase scene but also many outdoor scenes filled with cars and architecture of the period that are filmed in crisp clear color. The movie was the fifth-highest-grossing film for 1968, it was well received by critics, and the chase scene won Franks P. Keller an Oscar for editing. In Bullitt: The Cars and People Behind Steve McQueen, you will get the complete behind the scenes picture of how all the action was coordinated and filmed. Included are the ideas behind the making of the movie, an interview with Director Peter Yates, production stills, and the planning for the scene. Also covered is the cast, the building of the cars used in the film, and the how and why the stunts were choreographed and filmed. To round out the story, an examination of what happened to the cars is included as well as coverage of the multiple Bullitt Edition cars released by Ford after the film, including the latest 2019 edition. While several books have been published about Steve McQueen, the "King of Cool," never before has there been a thorough examination of this specific film and these specific cars. This edition is a welcome addition to the library of any McQueen, Mustang, or automotive film history fan.

Grumpy's Toys: The Legendary Cars of Bill Grumpy Jenkins stands as a full and complete history of Jenkins' career to date as told through his cars, and has been heartily authorized by the man himself (Jenkins wrote the book's foreword.) Author Doug Boyce has been following Jenkins throughout his racing career, and amassed an impressive collection of vintage photography which is shared on the pages. Through his own knowledge, extensive research, and by working with Grumpy himself, Grumpy's Toys offers readers an unparalleled look behind the man and his machines.

The life-story of Lady Lucy Houston DBE must surely be one of the most romantic and dramatic epics of the last one hundred and fifty years, yet nowadays she is a woman unknown. She was a renowned beauty with a sharp intelligence, and over the years she would exploit her charismatic charm, first as a teenager to entice a wealthy lover, and subsequently to lead three husbands to the altar.She was an ardent and productive campaigner for womens rights, conducting outstanding works of charity during the Great War, such as providing a convalescent home for nurses returning from the front line. In recognition of these endeavours, she was made a Dame of the British Empire in 1917. After the death of her third husband, a known misogynist, under mysterious circumstances, she was temporarily certified mad, but his Will was to make her the richest woman in England. During the rest of her eventful and eccentric lifetime, she spent her fortune on a vast number of charitable causes, whilst waging a feisty political campaign against weak British politicians of all parties. As a great admirer of how Mussolini had restored Italys patriotic self-esteem, she championed men like Winston Churchill as the future saviour of her own beloved country. But her greatest legacy arose from her steadfast support for the Royal Air Force, whose finances were being crippled. She funded the 1931 Schneider Trophy Race as well as the Houston-Mount Everest Expedition of 1933. This funding had a crucial bearing on the development of the Merlin engine and the Spitfire aircraft, essentially kick starting the chain of events that would ultimately end in allied victory during the Battle of Britain. She died before the cataclysmic war that she so accurately predicted however, her death being precipitated by an infatuation with Edward, Prince of Wales.In spite of her many eccentricities, the enchanting, infuriating, inspiring and endlessly controversial Lucy Houston deserves to be remembered as a very patriotic lady indeed.