Scenicruising


Book Description

BUSES magazine "This is truly an extraordinary history ... authoritative, painstakingly researched and highly readable... Paul von Fange tells this and much more in this masterpiece, which is one of the best-researched and written bus books ever to cross the editorial desk. You do not need to have a prior interest in American buses to enjoy it, but if you do, you will find it especially irresistible." BUS RIDER magazine "Paul von Fange writes the book on Scenicruisers ... [it] is a phenomenal research effort ... [a] must read ... Bill Luke ... took honor in providing the foreword, commending von Fange for his penchant for detail in providing the most complete and accurate history on one of the most iconic vehicles the industry has ever seen." From Raymond Loewy's original design to the radically modified GX-2 until the 1954 production of the PD-4501, the Greyhound Scenicruiser has been an American icon and remains so to this day, especially in the hearts and minds of those who keep them going. This is that story.




Greyhound Scenicruiser


Book Description

When we deem things iconic, they have naturally become part of history and have earned a permanent status of importance to us—one such object is a particular intercity coach, the Greyhound PD-4501 Scenicruiser bus, built by the GM Corporation during 1954-‘56. After nearly 60 years, its popularity, even today, is almost cult-like. Throughout the history of intercity coaches in the U.S., there have not been more toys, advertising pieces, souvenirs, or memorabilia centered on any other bus. The Scenicruiser starred in several movies, was featured on record album covers, and appeared on endless TV shows through the years. Starting with prototypes, this book covers all the various models of the Scenicruiser’s heritage, and even highlights many of the restored and still operating legends today.




A Confederacy of Dunces


Book Description

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize “A masterwork . . . the novel astonishes with its inventiveness . . . it is nothing less than a grand comic fugue.”—The New York Times Book Review A Confederacy of Dunces is an American comic masterpiece. John Kennedy Toole's hero, one Ignatius J. Reilly, is "huge, obese, fractious, fastidious, a latter-day Gargantua, a Don Quixote of the French Quarter. His story bursts with wholly original characters, denizens of New Orleans' lower depths, incredibly true-to-life dialogue, and the zaniest series of high and low comic adventures" (Henry Kisor, Chicago Sun-Times).




The Big Book of Real Trucks


Book Description

Descriptions of different kinds of trucks and what they are used for.










Traveling With Greyhound


Book Description

Bringing Americans together by bus for 100 years, Greyhound is one of the top iconic names of the Twentieth Century with their running dog logo. It all started with Carl Wickman and partners when they offered a fare of 15 cents one way or 25 cents round-trip between Alice and Hibbing Minnesota, in a large Hupmobile -which was a hit amongst the iron mine workers. The business quickly prospered and eventually became the empire that it is today. Greyhound's goal of providing city to city service helped lead the country in bus travel, allowing the public a chance to sight-see coast-to-coast and border-to-border, visit far-away loved ones, or escape to vaster lands with greener pastures. By expanding bus lines, building bus depots and Post Houses, and with outstanding promotional efforts, Greyhound pioneered an industry. As the full story of the Greyhound company unfolds, the book is illustrated with wonderful old bus photos, artistic ads and timetables that depict a more fanciful era (one that made riding on a Greyhound romantic) and then takes a journey through the eras that follow (like the one with the famous Scenicruiser) and into today's modern buses.




Hounds of the Road


Book Description

The bus system that came to be known as the Greyhound Bus Company was founded by Carl Eric Wickman, an enterprising Swede of Hibbing, Minnesota. The first bus was a seven-passenger Hupmobile touring car that was used to transport miners across the Mesaba Iron Range to and from work. Wickman was soon joined by another Swede, Andrew Anderson, and they began operating in earnest the route from a saloon in Hibbing to the fire-hall in Alice. From this lowly beginning grew the Greyhound Corporation, a multi-million dollar company which, through the years, has owned everything from a chain of hamburger restaurants to a soap company.




Greyhound Buses


Book Description

When Americans think of buses, the name Greyhound inevitably comes to mind. Avid bus enthusiast and historian, William A. Luke compiles ten dozen fascinating photographs depicting the great variety of buses the company has used from its beginning in 1914 to present. In addition to standard models from the Big Gray Dog's fleet there are examples of experimental models, unusual types operated at the 1933 Chicago World's Fair and the 1940 New York World's Fair, and timetables and sales brochures.




Mobile Mansions


Book Description

What do Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, Mae West, Howard Hughes, John Madden, the Partridge Family, Ken Kesey, The Who, and Barbie have in common? Each had a home on wheels-be it an old converted school bus, a massive RV cruiser, or elegant house car. These celebrity motorhomes are only the frosting on the cake in Douglas Keister's entertaining and informative new book Mobile Mansions. From the eclectic to the exquisite, the luxurious to the rare, Keister's incredible photography showcases the history and diversity of some of the most historic and lovingly restored RVs on the road today. Keister documents an amazing range of vehicles, including small camp cars from the 1920s, house cars from the 1930s, campers from the 1950s and finally modern-day motorhomes that first emerged in the 1960s. Well-known brands like Winnebago, GMC, and Travco are featured as well as one-of-a-kind vehicles like the Lamsteed Kampcar, built by Anheuser Busch, the Zeppelin House Car, and Buckminster Fuller's Dymaxion car. Step inside a wide variety of motorhomes, from diminutive camp cars to diesel-belching, lumbering leviathans complete with saunas, balconies, and gourmet kitchens. Mobile Mansions details this fascinating chapter of America's history with lively text, luscious full color photographs, rare vintage photographs and offers a concise history of the recreational vehicle.