Life is a Highway

I picked up a book the other day called Life is a Highway. It’s a compilation of car related essays, stories and columns by various writers like Ken Purdy, David E. Davis, Ted West, Peter Egan, Tom McCahill, Brock Yates, Pat Bedard, L.J.K. Setright, etc. (oh yes, and Scott Lear too). I like the concept of a collection of short car-related articles like this. It’s perfect if you only have a few minutes to spare for reading an article or two from a good or at least a well-known writer. You get a complete story in one sitting. So far I've only read one piece in it. Has anybody else read this book?

I haven't. But I'd be interested to know what you think about it after you've read more. Sounds like it could be good.

I read it on the plane en route to the 2010 NASA Championships a few weeks back, and not just because it included one of my articles. I was extremely flattered to have been included in a compilation alongside the world's renowned automotive journalists, to say nothing of the likes of Jack Kerouac and Stephen King. I was very fortunate to be able to interview Peter Brock, and he was a completely entertaining and thoroughly knowledgeable fellow, I just hope the story conveys that. It actually struck me as odd to see the story without the photos, I'm just so used to our magazine format. (The article they used initially ran in the August 2009 issue of Grassroots Motorsports.)

The book was great airplane fare, easy for jumping in and out of the wide variety of stories. I really liked the early articles, as they show the car's transition from oddity to luxury to necessity from the point of view of popular journalism. My standout favorite piece, however, was Robert Daly's 2005 account of Phil Hill.

My dad's comment the family was, "Now I for one never doubted that the day would come when my son and J. Edgar Hoover would be published in the same book." It's amazing how long he can keep a straight face after saying something like that.

Shameless plug:

http://www.qbookshop.com/products/149686/9780760338582/Life-is-a-Highway.html

I'll add this book to my holiday reading list. If you haven't read Tom Cotter's series of books "The Cobra in the Barn, "Hemi in the Barn", "Corvette in the Barn" you might enjoy them as well. Each book is comprised of many short stories of barn finds that all gear heads love to hear about.

Dougie