Synopses & Reviews
andlt;Bandgt;A narrative like no other: a cultural history that explores how cars have both propelled and reflected the American experienceand#8212; from the Model T to the Prius.andlt;/Bandgt; andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;From the assembly lines of Henry Ford to the open roads of Route 66, from the lore of Jack Kerouac to the sex appeal of the Hot Rod, Americaand#8217;s history is a vehicular historyand#8212;an idea brought brilliantly to life in this major work by Pulitzer Prizeand#8211;winning journalist Paul Ingrassia. andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Ingrassia offers a wondrous epic in fifteen automobiles, including the Corvette, the Beetle, and the Chevy Corvair, as well as the personalities and tales behind them: Robert McNamaraand#8217;s unlikely role in Lee Iacoccaand#8217;s Mustang, John Z. DeLoreanand#8217;s Pontiac GTO , Henry Fordand#8217;s Model T, as well as Hondaand#8217;s Accord, the BMW 3 Series, and the Jeep, among others. andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Through these cars and these characters, Ingrassia shows how the car has expressed the particularly American tension between the lure of freedom and the obligations of utility. He also takes us through the rise of American manufacturing, the suburbanization of the country, the birth of the hippie and the yuppie, the emancipation of women, and many more fateful episodes and eras, including the carand#8217;s unintended consequences: trial lawyers, energy crises, and urban sprawl. Narrative history of the highest caliber, andlt;Iandgt;Engines of Change andlt;/Iandgt;is an entirely edifying new way to look at the American story.
Review
and#8220;You will never look at a car the same way after reading andlt;iandgt;Engines of Changeandlt;/iandgt;and#8212;as I strongly recommend to anyone who relishes great storytelling that combines biography, social and political history, science, and romance. Having driven and virtually lived in a 1953 Plymouth on a yearand#8217;s journey across Eisenhowerand#8217;s America, and having followed that up many driving years later by writing on the innovations of Henry Ford, I thought I knew something of the history of cars. I was all the more surprisedand#8212;and vastly entertainedand#8212;by the riches in Ingrassiaand#8217;s stories of fifteen vehicles embodying the American dream from the Model T to the Beetle, the Corvair, the Corvette, and the Mustang to the pickups and the Prius (driven by the Pious). Even readers who cannot tell a camshaft from a cami-knicker will find fascination in a gallery of characters depicted by Ingrassia with vivacity and wit.and#8221;andlt;bandgt;and#8212;Sir Harold Evansandlt;/bandgt;
Review
andlt;divandgt;"The whole country in 15 cars--that's crowded! And andlt;iandgt;Engines of Changeandlt;/iandgt;
Review
"The prose is lapidary, the tone informed by humor.Paul Ingrassia has written an automobile book that goes beyond the genre;it's for anyone interested in modernity and what led us to where we are."andlt;Bandgt;and#8212;Miles Collier, The Revs Institute for Automotive Researchandlt;/Bandgt;
Review
andlt;divandgt;"Paul Ingrassia knows where the bodies are buried, or maybe where the keys to the American car business got lost. With a swift, sure scalpel honed by years as andlt;iandgt;theandlt;/iandgt;
Review
and#8220;Ingrassia succeeds in fashioning well-researched, swift-paced narratives around each of these 15 select automobiles. Using colorful detail, he effectively recasts these significant driving machines in their respective cultural contexts and brings to life the eras they influenced.and#8221;andlt;Bandgt;and#8212;andlt;iandgt;Kirkus Reviewsandlt;/iandgt;andlt;/Bandgt;
Review
and#8220;A must for anyone with a passion for cars, history, or simply an interest in Americaand#8217;s story." andlt;Bandgt;and#8212;andlt;/Bandgt;andlt;bandgt;andlt;iandgt;Bask andlt;/iandgt;Magazineandlt;/bandgt;
Review
"Highly entertaining... lucid... Engines of Change informed and charmed me..."—Joseph Epstein, The Wall Street Journal
Review
andlt;divandgt;"Sure, cars suck up gas, and they promote suburban sprawl, but they also help drive the economy, and drive families from home to school to soccer field. And, of course, cars fire our imaginations.
Review
"Entertaining and instructive..."—George Will, The Washington Post
Review
and#8220;Ingrassia takes great pleasure in historical irony, and the unpredictable conclusion of each carand#8217;s story is so fascinating even those who prefer their MetroCard to the BQE will appreciate the inherent paradoxes of the vehicleand#8217;s road to glory.and#8221;and#8212;andlt;iandgt;andlt;Bandgt;New York Daily Newsandlt;/Bandgt;andlt;/iandgt;
Review
"Highly entertaining... lucid... andlt;Iandgt;Engines of Changeandlt;/Iandgt; informed and charmed me..."andlt;Bandgt;and#8212;Joseph Epstein, andlt;Iandgt;The Wall Street Journalandlt;/Iandgt;andlt;/Bandgt;
Review
"Entertaining and instructive..."andlt;Bandgt;and#8212;George Will, andlt;Iandgt;The Washington Postandlt;/Iandgt;andlt;/Bandgt;
Review
and#8220;Paul Ingrassiaand#8230;is probably the best broadsheet reporter ever to cover the car businessand#8230;Picking 15 vehicles as tent poles for this sprawling canvas was a good idea, and Ingrassia chose welland#8230;Any book on a topic so overwhelming as the car in America has to be more of a goad to, than a proof of, argument. And here Ingrassia has succeeded.and#8221;and#8212;andlt;iandgt;andlt;Bandgt;Weekly Standardandlt;/Bandgt;andlt;/iandgt;
Review
"In this new book, Ingrassia traces the history of some iconic cars and how those models reflected shifts in politics, culture, and technology. He also takes readers inside the industry, skillfully navigating among the soaring tail fins, egomaniacal visionaries, and corporate intrigue that surrounded the creation of these vehicles."and#8212;andlt;iandgt;andlt;Bandgt;Boston Globeandlt;/Bandgt;andlt;/iandgt;
Review
"Paul Ingrassiaand#8217;s andlt;iandgt;Engines of Change: A History of the American Dream in Fifteen Cars andlt;/iandgt;ranges as widely and quirkily as the title suggests among the people, passions and foibles ofandlt;BRandgt; the automotive industry. As a journalist for the andlt;iandgt;Wall Street Journalandlt;/iandgt;, Ingrassia shared a 1993 Pulitzer Prize for writing on General Motors Co. In this book he lets out the journalistic stays, enjoying the freedom to openly needle an industry and admire its pioneers without any loss of the good reporterand#8217;s delight in detail and a fine tale."andlt;Bandgt;and#8212;Jeffrey Burke, andlt;iandgt;Bloomberg BusinessWeekandlt;/iandgt;andlt;/Bandgt;
Review
"In andlt;iandgt;Engines of Change,andlt;/iandgt; Mr. Ingrassia arguably does for cars and culture what David Halberstam did for a decade in andlt;iandgt;The Fiftiesandlt;/iandgt;. History well researched, made alive, relevant and eminently readable."and#8212;andlt;bandgt;John Lamm, andlt;iandgt;The New York Timesandlt;/iandgt;andlt;/bandgt;
Review
and#8220;Using his nimble narrative gifts, Mr. Ingrassia turns the creation stories behind the Prius and other cars into gripping accounts of how visionary design, corporate competition and inventive engineering combined to produce automobiles that would come to represent an era or a mind-set.and#8221;andlt;bandgt;and#8212;Michiko Kakutani, andlt;iandgt;The New York Timesandlt;/iandgt;andlt;/bandgt;
Review
"The whole country in 15 carsand#8212;that's crowded! And andlt;iandgt;Engines of Changeandlt;/iandgt; is indeed packed from rocker panels to sunroof with good stories and salient facts about the automobiles that shaped America, from the oddity of the Model T to the oddballs driving the Prius."andlt;Bandgt;and#8212;P.J. O'Rourkeandlt;/Bandgt;
Review
"Paul Ingrassia knows where the bodies are buried, or maybe where the keys to the American car business got lost. With a swift, sure scalpel honed by years as andlt;iandgt;theandlt;/iandgt; industry reporter, he anatomizes Detroit in all its glory and inglorious decline. A thoughtful, propulsive assay of themachine that changed a nation, a world."andlt;Bandgt;and#8212;Dan Neil, car critic, andlt;iandgt;The Wall Street Journalandlt;/iandgt;andlt;/Bandgt;
Review
"Sure, cars suck up gas, and they promote suburban sprawl, but they also help drive the economy, and drive families from home to school to soccer field. And, of course, cars fire our imaginations. Paul Ingrassia, who won a Pulitzer Prize for reporting from Detroit for andlt;Iandgt;The Wall Street Journalandlt;/Iandgt;, has written a book about cars that may not all be cherished classics or engineering marvels, but have earned a place in America's scrapbook."andlt;Bandgt;and#8212;Scott Simon, National Public Radioandlt;/Bandgt;
Synopsis
From Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Paul Ingrassia comes a narrative of America like no other: a cultural history that explores how cars have both propelled and reflected the national experience--from the Model T to the Prius.
A narrative like no other: a cultural history that explores how cars have both propelled and reflected the American experience-- from the Model T to the Prius.
From the assembly lines of Henry Ford to the open roads of Route 66, from the lore of Jack Kerouac to the sex appeal of the Hot Rod, America's history is a vehicular history--an idea brought brilliantly to life in this major work by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Paul Ingrassia.
Ingrassia offers a wondrous epic in fifteen automobiles, including the Corvette, the Beetle, and the Chevy Corvair, as well as the personalities and tales behind them: Robert McNamara's unlikely role in Lee Iacocca's Mustang, John Z. DeLorean's Pontiac GTO, Henry Ford's Model T, as well as Honda's Accord, the BMW 3 Series, and the Jeep, among others.
Through these cars and these characters, Ingrassia shows how the car has expressed the particularly American tension between the lure of freedom and the obligations of utility. He also takes us through the rise of American manufacturing, the suburbanization of the country, the birth of the hippie and the yuppie, the emancipation of women, and many more fateful episodes and eras, including the car's unintended consequences: trial lawyers, energy crises, and urban sprawl. Narrative history of the highest caliber, Engines of Change is an entirely edifying new way to look at the American story.
Synopsis
A narrative like no other: a cultural history that explores how cars have both propelled and reflected the American experience— from the Model T to the Prius. From the assembly lines of Henry Ford to the open roads of Route 66, from the lore of Jack Kerouac to the sex appeal of the Hot Rod, Americas history is a vehicular history—an idea brought brilliantly to life in this major work by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Paul Ingrassia.
Ingrassia offers a wondrous epic in fifteen automobiles, including the Corvette, the Beetle, and the Chevy Corvair, as well as the personalities and tales behind them: Robert McNamaras unlikely role in Lee Iacoccas Mustang, John Z. DeLoreans Pontiac GTO , Henry Fords Model T, as well as Hondas Accord, the BMW 3 Series, and the Jeep, among others.
Through these cars and these characters, Ingrassia shows how the car has expressed the particularly American tension between the lure of freedom and the obligations of utility. He also takes us through the rise of American manufacturing, the suburbanization of the country, the birth of the hippie and the yuppie, the emancipation of women, and many more fateful episodes and eras, including the cars unintended consequences: trial lawyers, energy crises, and urban sprawl. Narrative history of the highest caliber, Engines of Change is an entirely edifying new way to look at the American story.
About the Author
andlt;bandgt;Paul Ingrassiaandlt;/bandgt;, formerly the Detroit bureau chief for andlt;iandgt;The Wall Street Journalandlt;/iandgt; and later the president of Dow Jones Newswire, is the deputy editor-in-chief of Reuters. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize in 1993 (with Joseph B. White) for reporting on management crises at General Motors, he is the author of andlt;iandgt;Crash Course: The American Automobile Industryand#8217;s Road from Glory to Disasterandlt;/iandgt;.