Best Driver's Education
Former Top Gear Stig and professional driver Ben Collins shares expert skills culled from a twenty year career as one of the best drivers in the world, famous for racing in the Le Mans series and NASCAR, piloting the Batmobile, and dodging bullets with James Bond. "You know how to drive, but if you really want to find out how to make the most of your time behind the wheel, we'd recommend consulting with former Top Gear Stig Ben Collins and his book, 'How to Drive: Real World Instruction and Advice from Hollywood's Top Driver.'. "Learn how to drive better and more safely not just in a sports car on a track, but in your daily driver with this excellent book from pro stunt and racecar driver Ben Collins, who has driven cars for the James Bond series, The Dark Knight Rises, and portrayed The Stig on Top Gear." Ben Collins has competed in motor racing since 1994, and his company Collins Autosport provides precision and stunt driving for film and television, including Top Gear , the James Bond films Quantum of Solace , Casino Royale , and Skyfall , and Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation .
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"It has something to offer just about every skill level, especially those who "Know it all" simply because they've been driving 10 or 20+ years."
"The hook is that Ben Collins is involved with Top Gear and so his bonafides are genuine."
"Last chapter(s) explain sort of how some driving stunts are done, but since it takes lots of practice to do those, and I'm not headed in that career direction, they were of only marginal interest to me."
"Experienced drivers will find most of the points to be common knowledge except for some of the more skilled maneuvers like performing a Rockford."
"Should be required reading for every teenager/new driver."
"If you are remotely interested in stunt driving, racing and the men and women behind the wheel, it's a great read."
"A bit too complex for the average teenager and yet the best of info for your child, you need to read it along or to them."
"This book is the best book on driving I have ever read."
Even after taking Driver's Ed and passing that dreaded road test, there are so many things new drivers need to learn about the practical aspects of driving that will only come from experience. “This book belongs in every library.” ― School Library Journal, starred review.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"got it for a first time driver alot of stuff thats not covered in the manual."
"Gift for a 15-year-old soon to be a driver I'm sure he will learn a lot."
"Great gift for the new driver."
"good present to New teen driver."
"Perfect gift for my "16 year olds" birthday!"
"A great read for a young teen driver!"
Motorcycle Roadcraft is the police handbook for rider training, used by all the emergency services and a key reference for all riding instructors.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Returning to motobiking after a few years off, this book was an excellent reminder about the perils of being an invisible, vulnerable, unstable speedster with two handprint-sized patches of rubber between me and oblivion."
"Solid review of motorcycle strategies and practice."
"This isn't a cornering manual but is a very effective guide to improving your survivability."
"Most comprehensive book on motorcycle safety. Ideal for countries that drive on the left hand side of the road eg Uk, Australia,etc."
"The concept of four riding aspects is helpful when planning a ride or assessing a situation (mental focus, ride objectives, traffic and machine capabilities)."
"This is going to be a cliche but this book is a "must-to-read" for "every" motorcylist."
"This book is a clear, well-written, and comprehensive guide to riding a motorcycle safely and effectively."
"A must read for anyone who rides or is looking to ride a motorcycle."
Best Transportation Reference
This Navigation Rules book contains a complete copy of the Inland and International Navigation Rules as presented by the United States Coast Guard. Transportation Dept., Coast Guard.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Good basic list of the rules and probably sufficient for a USCG inspection."
"I had a lot of previous experience at reading, understanding, being tested and using the rules - on the high sea and inland."
"If you want a handy to use, up-to-date (and easy to keep that way), and legible copy of the Navigation Rules, go with the Paradise Cay Publications Inc. version."
"The product is great."
"Hey, it's a Coast Guard publication."
"great book as a reference to the rules of the road for navigation."
"This is NOT the book you are looking for."
"My mistake for not reading the negative reviews as it looks like this item has been reviewed by the publishers instead of customers."
Best Teen & Young Adult Technology Nonfiction eBooks
You will learn how to configure hardware and software, develop your own sketches, work with built-in and custom Arduino libraries, and explore the Internet of Things—all with no prior programming experience required! Simon Monk has a degree in cybernetics and computer science and a Ph.D. in software engineering.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Unfortunately, the usual books for "helping" with Arduino give sketches and explain bits and pieces without ever doing an overview of the system. Just got it today and have read over half of it; I've marked it up with pen to remind myself of crucial facts that I wish I had known a few months back. It's written at just the right level for beginners who are just learning about Arduino and microprocessors in general, and he points you to all the resources on the web for further information. So instead of having to copy and paste everyone else's code all the time, read this book to understand at least the basics of WHY things work in an Arduino the way they do."
"I bought this book to just to have the first book along side the "Next Steps" book."
"The explanations seem good to me but I may not be the best judge having forty years of programming experience."
"Nice programming guide for Arduino but was hoping for something more kid friendly."
"Great little book, excellent place to get started with Arduino."
"A good book to get you started with Arduino programming!"
"Useful lecture for introducing yourself in this world."
"Easy to understand and get familiar with Arduino world."
Best Automotive Customization
Explains how the EFI system determines engine operation and how the calibrator can change the controlling parameters to optimize engine performance taking engine-tuning techniques to the next level. "In Engine Management: Advanced Tuning , author and calibration engineer Greg Banish provides the reader with the insight required to understand and tune modern EFI systems." As tools for tuning modern engines have become more powerful and sophisticated in recent years, the need for in-depth knowledge of engine management systems and tuning techniques has grown. This book explains how the EFI system determines engine operation and how the calibrator can change the controlling parameters to optimize actual engine performance.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Great product and service."
"Really very good presentation of the ideas on how to tune the engine for best performance."
"Unfortunately assumes the builder has access to a chassis dyno for calibration."
"Well written and organized."
"An awesome read."
Best Trucks & Vans
Going far beyond the myth of the American road trip, he whisks readers down the I-95 Powerlane, across the Florida Everglades, in and out of the truck stops of the Midwest, and through the steep grades of the Rocky Mountains. Through it all, Murphy tells poignant, funny, and often haunting stories of the people he encounters on the job: a feisty hoarder in New Hampshire; a Virginia homeowner raging when Murphy’s truck accidentally runs down a stand of trees; an ex-banker in Colorado who treats Finn and his crew with undisguised contempt; a widow who needs Murphy to bring her archeologist husband’s remains and relics to a Navajo burial ceremony in New Mexico. "There's nothing semi about Finn Murphy's trucking tales of The Long Haul."
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Here's a sample: "A Jake brake...sounds like a machine gun beneath my feet as it works to keep 70,000 pounds of steel and rubber under control." Also, this: "I was running north in a convoy with nine other trucks...We flew together for 130 miles doing 65 the whole way...it was wonderful...We all fell into a groove. He was a smart, thoughtful, and defeated man caught in the amber of class, education, and diminished expectations for himself and his progeny.""
"WOW!"
"Learned so much from this book....about big trucks....truckers and truck stops.....generous and mean people......and about professionalism and compassion applied to a profession that meets customers at high points of anxiety in their lives."
"Very interesting stories and a fun book to read."
"I've moved several times in my life and it was enjoyable to read the movers side of the story."
"Quick and interesting read about the unsung people we share the roads with and who transport our life essentials."
"Great book."
"Humor mixed with reality on the road."
Best Automotive Repair
Total Control provides you with the information you need to stay on the healthy side of that line, providing a training course developed and perfected through decades of professional training in Lee Parks' Total Control Advanced Riding Clinic. This is the perfect book for riders who want to take their street riding skills to a higher level. He also finished 2nd in the 1994 AMA 125GP national championship in its exhibition year.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"After you read this you will be more informed than 90 percent of those squibs on the streets."
"The competitive high speed info is good to know but not really for street riding nor my style of riding at this stage and age."
"The push with the left to turn left and not use any input from the right hand is a comcept well explained and I am eager to experience how it will positively impact my cornering habits at my upcoming track days."
"Great book!"
"Excellent book, getting many tips."
"Going to his school so a must read for all riders."
"Of course, reading a book cannot replace practice in the seat, but it can definitely put some good thoughts in your head to work out when you hit the street or track."
"Yes mental fortitude is extremely important but personally I'd prefer to learn what is expected of me before being told what will be intimidating."
Best Automotive History
Go Like Hell. tells the remarkable story of how Henry Ford II, with the help of a young visionary named Lee Iacocca and a former racing champion turned engineer, Carroll Shelby, concocted a scheme to reinvent the Ford company. Meanwhile, Enzo Ferrari, whose cars epitomized style, lorded it over the European racing scene. Go Like Hell tells the remarkable story of how Henry Ford II, with the help of a young visionary named Lee Iacocca and a former racing champion turned engineer, Carroll Shelby, concocted a scheme to reinvent the Ford company. They would design, build, and race a car that could beat Ferrari at his own game at the most prestigious and brutal race in the world, something no American car had ever done. Answer: No one has ever successfully written a book about cars and racing that can be easily enjoyed by someone who doesn't know a thing about cars and racing. Specifically, no one has ever written about this story with such a focus on the business side: why it happened in the first place, how Henry Ford II had a vision to create the first pan-European auto company in the 1960s, selling Ford cars from London to the border of Russia. A: For starters, I did dozens of interviews: Carroll Shelby, Lee Iacocca, Phil Hill, Mario Andretti, A. J. Foyt, Dan Gurney, John Surtees, Edsel Ford II (son of Henry Ford II), Piero Ferrari (son of Enzo Ferrari), Lloyd Ruby, plus engineers, mechanics, PR men, executives, and on and on. In the 1950s and '60s, the 24 hours of Le Mans in France were not just a race but, according to Playboy editor Baime, œthe most magnificent marketing tool the sports car industry had ever known. It was also incredibly dangerous, the site of the biggest tragedy in racing history—Pierre Levegh's Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR slamming into an embankment and leaving at least 75 dead in 1955. Baime's narrative culminates in the 1966 Le Mans race—where Ford cars placed first, second and third—and the fierce competition between Ford and Ferrari. Ford head Henry Ford II realized that in order to compete in the world market, his cars had to win races—and he could accomplish both by winning at Le Mans.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Then as it starts to give you some background on Mr. Shelby you realize why history unfold in the matter that it did."
"I give it the highest recommendation to one and all -- and particularly to my fellow gearheads! When the Ford Board of Directors visited Shelby American at the airport facility, I piloted a GT350 around our "race track" with Henry Ford II as a passenger -- along with many of the other Board members and executives."
"The popularity of the race as waned over the years, but I've been to 2 Super Bowls, they are dwarfed by comparison to this 1966 event."
"I used to read for about 30 mins everyday only because of work but I always looked forward to my train ride next day to catch up on another chapter."
"Henry Ford II saw Ferrari as giving him the ultimate disrespect, and Ford, being an automotive mogul who controlled billions in technology fought back the best way he could...by challenging Ferrari's technical dominance in their premier events. Truly a clash of titans, fought in the design centers, build shops, pits and of course on the track."
"He goes way beyond mere historical narrative, he goes into the minds of these powerful industry legends: Ford, Ferrari, Shelby, Iaccoca, MacLaren, etc.., describing in detail their emotions, motivations, bad habits and even their favorite foods."
"I ordered the book knowing some of the history of Ford and Ferrari."
"Great read, based on research that reveals new facets of rhe great era."
Best Classic Cars
The breakout star of Discovery’s hit automotive restoration show Fast N’ Loud takes readers on an entertaining ride through his wild life and behind the scenes of his hit show in this memoir and automotive handbook, revving with outrageous details and jaw-dropping stories, and injected with the quick-witted, foul-mouthed charm viewers love. “If we’re gonna have fun, it better have a motor!”. From getting shot defending his beloved 1965 Mustang fastback from carjackers, to blowing out of town Fear and Loathing style in his youth, to eventually founding Gas Monkey Garage and starring in Discovery's hit automotive-restoration series Fast N' Loud , Rawlings has got some stories to tell. Rawlings then heads into Fast N' Loud , the series, sharing new details on everything from the toughest builds to run-ins with his most die-hard fans, along with travel and auto shop anecdotes featuring Aaron Kaufman and the rest of the Gas Monkey gang. RICHARD RAWLINGS , a native of Fort Worth, Texas, developed a passion for automobiles from an early age, attending professional car shows with his dad and buying and selling multiple vehicles in his teens.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"By the way, there is some business sense in the book as well."
"Richard's a successful guy and his story is an interesting read."
"I'm a Richard Rawlings & GMG fan, so of course I loved this book."
"As a fan of the show, I had an idea of how the book would read."
"Rawlings is clearly a special person and seems to have achieved that often elusive quality of being true to yourself."
"We are diehard "Gas Monkey Garage" watchers and knew Richard's story, but hearing it in basically his words, it was so much better and if it was in his voice--"Boom!""
"A decent, very quick read."
"He wanted this book and I bought it because GOOD GOD HE WANTS TO READ."
Best Pictorial Automotive Books
This comprehensive volume includes over eighty sous vide recipes to incorporate all your daily meals, from breakfast to cocktails.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Sous Vide is a new term for me, I have known that it is a French term which means 'under vacuum - vacuum sealing'."
"But once you read through its pages, you will find that these dishes are quite achievable and doable by even someone like me who isn't a master chef."
"I was so impressed when I saw this book because it contains a lot of awesome recipes that I am pretty sure you would love it a lot."
"I was so impressed when I saw this book because it contains a lot of awesome recipes that I am pretty sure you would love it a lot."
"Extraordinary book for those new to sous vide."
"Many individuals these days can see even on individuals' forms of non-verbal communication dialects so this book is an unquestionable requirement have."
"Guys, don’t miss your chance to read this book and learn these recipes."
"Have had a Sous Vide cooker for a while, and tried some other fancier cookbooks. Also this book will be good for beginners and more advanced users."
Best Motorcycles
Author Philip Buonpastore, a motorcycle journalist and retired US Air Force photographer, helps readers gear up to get back on a motorcycle (or get on one for the first time). The foreword to the book is provided by best-selling motorcycle author David Hough (author of I-5 Press’s Proficient Motorcycling and Mastering the Ride). "[Proficient Motorcycling] contains all the information needed to become and remain a safe rider." Author David L. Hough is known around the world as an expert in safe street riding techniques and is a reknown celebrity with U.S. and Canadian bikers for his contributions to life-saving techniques that help bikers be safe while maximizing their ride.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Highly recommend for people who ride a lot, or want to learn to ride better and safer."
"This book gave me a more realistic idea of how much work it is to learn to ride well and ride safe."
"Perhaps this should be required reading for anyone (like me) wanting to ride again... or even for the first time."
"Every time I read it, I get out on my bike and look, learn and listen based on the information provided by Proficient Motorcycling, then read it again, and get back out on my bike and learn some more."
"Use this book along with your knowledge from an approved Rider Safety Course that you can take locally in your area and enjoy riding your motorcycle safely."
"David Hough's book is the best compilation of information on how to survive on the streets."
"Several months later I'm still trying not to overthink every turn. That's more a reflection of me than the book though... just something to be aware of for readers who might have the same tendency to overthink things."
"I stay pretty up to date with my local motorcycle training programs, I didn't expect to learn much from this, but it taught me how to prepare for extreme climates, and different (and more logical) views on emergency evasion techniques."