Man, I haven't written a book report in about 25 years.  And most of the ones I did back then were either stuff I just wrote by reading the dust jacket of a book, or by not even reading a book at all, I would just make up a book and a fake author, and go from there.  This is a report on a book that I actually READ.  Well, here it goes........

I heard talk of this book a few days ago on a Hot Wheels email group that I moderate.  Sounded kind of interesting to me, from what little information I was able to find out about it.  I was in Target yesterday, and saw the book there, for the very reasonable price of $17.95, so I picked one up.  The book is written as a history of Hot Wheels, with a year by year description of the vehicles that were offered, and some history and stories of how they came to be.  The book is only about the cars in the basic line, no Sizzlers or Steering Rigs or any of the other products that have carried the Hot Wheels name throughout the years.

There is a wheel chart towards the front of the book that I like, because it shows actual pictures of the wheels, rather then drawings.  There is also a redline Spectraflame color guide, which gives a good outline of most of the colors, but fails to include some colors like ice blue, for one.  On the upside though, it does acknowledge the shades of pink, as well as antifreeze.  I found the information in the book to be accurate, based on what I know.  Reading the book, I got the feeling that the author cared more about the actual cars themselves, than the values of the cars.  I like that.  A lot.  Too many "collectors" these days seem to be more interested in what cars are worth, and not the cars themselves.

Contrary to what I first heard about the book, that being that it does not have a price guide, it does.  About a page and a half.  But, to see that the newer castings (2000 FE Lincoln Continental for one) were given a value of $1.00, I didn't mind it so much.  The focus of the book is definitely about HW's themselves, and not the values.  As a matter of fact, you really have to look hard to even find the price guide.

The pictures in the book are great.  The cars used in the photos are from the authors personal collection, as well as from the collection of veteran collector Lance Joseph.  Included in the book are some nice crisp close-up pictures of such rarities as the prototype clip on gas tanks for the open wheeled redline Grand Prix cars, and a prototype black-fendered Police Cruiser, to name a few.  All the pictures are rather large, and really show the details of the cars quite nicely.

It's a nice looking book over all.  The kind of book you'd want to leave out on your coffee table as a conversation piece.  Actually, let me re-phrase that: The kind of book you'll have to keep putting out on your coffee table because your wife keeps putting it away.  You know how it goes boys.

I like this book a lot.  Don't get me wrong, Tomarts is a great book, but I just never cared for the price guide part of it.  The photos are great, but the price guide, or any price guide for that matter, just never sat right with me.  Anyone who's been in this hobby for any length of time and has been on the internet knows all too well that "The Great Tomarts Price Guide Debate" makes the rounds on the boards at least once or twice a year.

From now on, when I meet a new collector and I'm asked for some tips or sources of info, this book will be the one that I tell them to get.  It gives a good, solid history of Hot Wheels, without any major price guides that might lead a new collector to think that collecting Hot Wheels is just about investing your money.  It's not, it's about the CARS themselves.  And that's pretty much what this book is all about.  If you're new to the hobby, buy this book and read it FIRST.

In closing, I think it's a great book, at a great price.  Worth picking up if you've just started collecting Hot Wheels, or if you've been chasing them down for years.  It would make a great gift too. 

FINALLY, someone has taken a step in the right direction by writing a book where the emphasis is on the history of the cars we collect, NOT in their value.  And for that, I applaud Mr. Ragan.

And that folks, is my book report.......

    Mike(^RacerX^)