Author |
Message |
Lennert.vw Samba Member
Joined: May 12, 2020 Posts: 20 Location: Geel
|
Posted: Mon Feb 22, 2021 2:46 pm Post subject: Great books for the VW purist |
|
|
Hello my fellow VW enthousiasts,
I am very interested in the history of the beetle, mostly from 1934 until just after the war when the British took over. I spend a lot of time around this topic, reading books, making model cars of prototypes and wartime kdf's, collecting pictures and that kind of stuff. So I was wondering which books you would recommend when it comes to the early history of the beetle.
I already own 'The Birth of the Beetle' by Chris Barber, 'People's car' by Hans Ludwigsen, 'The first beetle, ressurecting a 1938 prototype' by Christian Grundmann, 'The Beetle' by Keith Seume and other that focus more about restoration and stuff.
I am curious to see your recommendations.
Thanks
Lennert vW |
|
Back to top |
|
|
Matt Wilson Samba Member
Joined: November 14, 2005 Posts: 2406 Location: Colorado
|
Posted: Mon Feb 22, 2021 3:44 pm Post subject: Re: Great books for the VW purist |
|
|
I really enjoyed:
Thinking Small: The Long, Strange Trip of the Volkswagen Beetle
by Andrea Hiott |
|
Back to top |
|
|
static Samba Member
Joined: March 22, 2002 Posts: 1830 Location: The High Desert
|
Posted: Tue Feb 23, 2021 8:07 am Post subject: Re: Great books for the VW purist |
|
|
Have you read Small Wonder? |
|
Back to top |
|
|
KTPhil Samba Member
Joined: April 06, 2006 Posts: 33883 Location: Conejo Valley, CA
|
Posted: Tue Feb 23, 2021 2:52 pm Post subject: Re: Great books for the VW purist |
|
|
You've seen this list, right?
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/archives/books/type1.php
"Small Wonder" is the closest thing to a VW-authorized history, in that it glosses over "uncomfortable" topics. Still a great read, but look elsewhere for the darker sides.
Postwar coverage is excellent in Karl Ludvigsen's "Battle for the Beetle." I've followed Karl's writing in Motor Trend and elsewhere since I was a kid, and he is always interesting without theatrics.
Last edited by KTPhil on Tue Feb 23, 2021 9:44 pm; edited 2 times in total |
|
Back to top |
|
|
Lennert.vw Samba Member
Joined: May 12, 2020 Posts: 20 Location: Geel
|
Posted: Tue Feb 23, 2021 3:03 pm Post subject: Re: Great books for the VW purist |
|
|
Thanks for the replies, my next book will definitely be Small Winder, heard a lot of good things about it. I was also thinking about 'Der Käfer 2' by Hans Rüdiger Etzhold and many others, I definitely find the early history interesting because of the protypes and all the thought and development that went into the car we all love today. |
|
Back to top |
|
|
Joe 20 Samba Member
Joined: August 27, 2005 Posts: 655 Location: Ohio
|
Posted: Tue Feb 23, 2021 8:46 pm Post subject: Re: Great books for the VW purist |
|
|
Didn't dealers used to give out "Small Wonder" when you bought a VW? _________________ "Someday the world is gonna be populated by nothing but Volkswagens'" Corporal Klairvoy |
|
Back to top |
|
|
|