The Car

The Car by Bryan Appleyard. This comprehensive book is a history of, well the car. The author takes us from the early 1800s when the horse was dominant, through the present day and the advent of the electric car. In many ways this is a rehash of stories that we have heard before if you followed the story of autos, Benz, Ford, Chevy, all the names we know. But the writing style is friendly and engaging. Every age has its issues, from the tons of horse manure that inundated cities before the car, to the environmental issues that are coming to light with the rise of the electric car. This book is best read while sitting in front of a computer so you can google the names of cars that the author brings up for different eras. Cars in culture, as status symbols, as liberating machines, in war, as style setters, cars in film, as changing the makeup of how we live and work. While there may be nothing new in this volume, it is comprehensive and weaves together a story that is ever changing and that we are in the middle of living.