Product Description

The postwar era marked the emergence of all things American, and in the 1950s, cars led the way. The brilliant colors-pinks, blues, yellows, and reds-soaring tailfins, and grinning, wide-mouthed grilles of the 1953 Buick Skylark, 1957 Ford Skyliner, 1953 Firebird III, and 1959 Cadillac tore up the country's pristine superhighways and dotted the parking lots of new suburban shopping malls. These and many other striking models, which expressed the national optimism and pride of 1950s America, are featured in this elegant volume of images by renowned automobile photographer Michael Furman.

The book contains more than 150 stunning photographs of these motoring icons, many never before published. An informative text and an illustrated index of technical information describe the unique qualities of these spectacular cars, each more imposing in design, size, and power than the preceding models. Furman's technical virtuosity and exacting eye for detail make this unparalleled collection of photographs an eye-popping delight, an invitation for car lovers of all kinds to rediscover an era when the American automobile was king. AUTHOR BIO: Michael Furman is a nationally recognized specialist in automobile photography. For more than 25 years he has photographed important launches of such vehicles as the Nissan Altima and Quest, the Mercedes CLK, and the BMW-7 series. He is also the author of Abrams' Motor Cars of the Classic Era.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #350626 in Books
• Published on: 2004-11-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 272 pages

Amazon.com
Michael Furman is perhaps the most in-demand photographer of automobiles today, and after one peek inside this large, fetishized monument to the great flowering of the auto industry after WW II, it's easy to see why. Huge fins, bright gleaming chrome, and colorfully glowing paint speak of incredible optimism and consumption of natural resources. A swell companion piece to his Motorcars of the Classic Era, Furman is capable of focusing on details that really make a particular car stand out while never losing sight of the importance of the overall design. There are things you totally expect to see here, like the fin from a 1959 Cadillac Eldorado Seville or the deco/ Futurist "angel in flight" hood ornament for the 1947 Nash Ambassador Suburban as well as full side views of the 1951 Buick LeSabre and 1959 Firebird III (which still look like they came from the future for rides to the moon in total comfort). But even the biggest car aficionado will see these immaculately-restored museum quality rides in a different light through the clearly obsessed lens of Furman, whether it be the fin and light detail of the 1956 De Soto Adventurer or the oil cap on a 1959 Fiat Abarth Record Monza Bialbero Zagato! It's hard to think of a better gift for a fan of cars from this era, aside from one of the cars. --Mike McGonigal

About the Author
Michael Furman is a nationally recognized specialist in automobile photography. For more than 25 years he has photographed important launches of such vehicles as the Nissan Altima and Quest, the Mercedes CLK, and the BMW-7 series. He is also the author of Abrams' Motor Cars of the Classic Era.

Customer Reviews

Five star pictures in a three star frame
Have autos looked any better than Michael Furman's stunning photos, I doubt it. These vehicles look just perfect with liquid looking bodywork and perfect chrome, in fact they probably look better than ones just off the assembly line. This is fine art photography and if you wonder how the 'Furman look' is achieved there is a clue on his website. Click on BIO and you'll see a shot of his studio with an amazing looking light panel hovering over what looks like a very small car. It seems to me that his controlled lighting source is the key and when digital images are printed on quality paper with a 200dpi screen you'll see the perfect picture as on these pages.

The choice of cars seems rather arbitrary, classics like the 56 Austin-Healy, the 58 Ferrari Testa Rosa or the 59 Cadillac Eldorado are a few page turns from possibly the ugliest chrome grill ever of the 51 Hudson Hornet or the bubblegum styling and color scheme of the 56 Ford Crown Skyliner. As well as whole cars there are plenty of lovely close-ups of logos and styling features, the fins of the 48 and 59 Cadillacs, a Buick 49 Dyna-Flow trunk handle or the hood ornament of a 57 Oldsmobile Super 88. Furman's photography can make any vehicle sparkle.

Awe-inspiring as all these photos are I was very disappointed with the book because it is the wrong shape. There are seventy-one side shots of cars and they clearly don't fit an upright page. They rightly have generous margins left and right which means they are even smaller still on the page. If the book had been turned sideways into a landscape format it would perfectly complement these profile photos so instead of being small and surrounded by too much white space the existing ones would be three or four times larger. Another advantage would be to avoid the middle of the book splitting those shots that do extend over a spread. Also, for a lavish photobook it has the usual conceit of placing all the captions on back pages but because of the wrong shape there is plenty of white space on each page for the captions to be set in some elegant typography.

Michael Furman takes beautiful auto photographs and it is unfortunate that this book does not give them the exposure they rightly deserve.

***FOR AN INSIDE LOOK click 'customer images' under the cover.

Mike Does It Again!!
This book is another loving tribute to those classic autos that can send shivers up your spine sometimes, they're so cool. I simply cannot see how Mike's photography can be improved upon in any way, shape or form. Buy this; you won't regreat it, promise.

beautiful!!!!
Micheal Furman created an amazing collection of car photography. You're taken by the beauty of the different design of the era. Excellent gift for any car enthusiast.