readables


The Electroline Diaries $42.00 (new)	Von Dutch, The Art, The Myth, The Legend $48.00(new)
If you haven’t noticed, traditional hot rodding is back in a big way. Among the scene’s biggest players are the members of an exclusive club known as the Burbank Choppers. The Choppers gained prominence recently with an appearance on the TLC show RIDES, but this recent fame belies the fact that they’ve been living and promoting their brand of traditional hot rod and custom car philosophy for more than 15 years. The Choppers – Aaron Kahan, Deron Wright, Jon Fisher, Keith Weesner, Sandy Wachs, and Verne Hammond – have appeared in every major hot rodding magazine and fanzine, including Rod and Custom, The Rodder’s Journal, Car Kulture Deluxe, and many more, building a worldwide reputation. In The Electroline Diaries, author Laurent Bagnard follows the Choppers through southern California, Las Vegas, and even a huge hot rod show in Yokohama, Japan, where the Choppers were guests of Mooneyes, the famed speed parts company. He captures the Choppers in their element – hanging out with fellow hot rodders, catching their favorite bands, traveling to car shows far and wide, and cruising in their cars. This book is a window into the unique lifestyle of the Choppers that has influenced gearhead culture around the world. Bagnard shot more than 3,000 photographs during his travels with the Choppers and has selected the best 275 images for this book. You can’t get this close to the real hot rod life unless you’re sitting in a chopped coupe with a flathead under your right foot’s command. The Electroline Diaries is sure to become a landmark of car and pop culture, circa mid-00’s.	Von Dutch is one of the most interesting characters in hot rod and popular culture history. Considered the founder of “modern” pinstriping, he was a prominent character in many of the rodding magazines of the late ‘50s, and his fame endured long after he apparently tired of it. Besides being a striper, he was a gifted artist, machinist, and gun- and knife-smith. Using stories and quotes culled from interviews, vintage photos, and images of the art and other works he left behind, this book chronicles Kenneth Howard’s life from pinstriping beatnik to bus-dwelling hermit. Where it can, this book sets the record straight on Von Dutch the man, but in many cases conflicting stories will serve to illustrate the contrary, colorful, and sometimes difficult nature of Von Dutch the legend. This book is a must-have for fans of hot rodding and hot rod culture!

Ed Roth, His Life, Times, Cars and Art $48.00 (new)
Foreword by artist Robert Williams Who was Ed Roth? The answer depends on who you ask, and when they knew him. To some, he was a counter-culture, greasy-fingernailed, renaissance man of the mid 20th Century. To others, he's the creator of Rat Fink and builder of some of the most creative custom cars ever to get a coat of candy paint -- cars like the Beatnik Bandit, the Mysterion, and the Outlaw. Some knew him as a devout Mormon, and others recall a Harley-riding hellion with a devilish glint in his eye. He was a force of nature and a creative genius whose work had a profound influence on popular culture and helped spawn numerous subcultures. Ed's rise to fame began in the '50s, and peaked with the custom car boom of the early '60s -- every kid in America knew who Rat Fink was, and many built models of his custom cars and wore his "monster" T-shirts. As custom cars went out of style, Ed turned to other pursuits, but a growing interest in hot rod history in the '90s brought him back to the fore, and he was more popular than ever. To say his life was interesting is an understatement -- and this book covers it all, from art to custom cars, monster shirts to VW-powered trikes, and the wild life that brought it all together.