McQueen's Machines: The Cars and Bikes of a Hollywood Icon

McQueen's Machines: The Cars and Bikes of a Hollywood Icon
by Matt Stone

McQueen's Machines: The Cars and Bikes of a Hollywood Icon
List Price: $26.95
Our Price: $10.90
You Save: $16.05 (60%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $10.85 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions


(Click here)
Buy this book at online book store in your country
Canada | UK | Germany | France

Book Summary Information

Author: Matt Stone
Foreword: Chad McQueen
Edition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2007-11-15
ISBN: 0760328668
Number of pages: 176
Publisher: Motorbooks
Product features:

Book Reviews of McQueen's Machines: The Cars and Bikes of a Hollywood Icon

Book Review: Very uncomprehensive, but good for start learning on McQ's cars
Summary: 2 Stars

I was expecting more than a quick "run through the specs" book and then a relatively short note on McQueens relation with each car. I looked forward to more in both quantity and comprehensiveness of stories and anecdotes concerning each particular car in McQueen's life, such as the races that he and the late James Coburn did with McQueen's Ferrari Lusso and Coburn's Ferrari California (recently sold at an auction for a world record 10 million bucks, if memory serves) around Solar Drive in Los Angeles, where McQ lived.
I think that this was a great oportunity to do a more well-researched and detailed book, specially, since it had the blessing with a foreword, many pictures and cars lent by McQueen's own son, Chad.
We barely have a few and very overlooked and uncomprehensive paragraphs dedicated to some very special cars and their related stories, such as the Bullitt Mustang or the Le Mans 917s, in which more than two years of production gave for another full book for itself (A French Kiss With Death, highly recommended, by the way).
Also, most of the pictures shown have already been seen on other books, like Taschen's "Steve McQueen" by William Claxton (a close friend and photographer of McQ) or are easily found on the internet, making this book for a very poor effort on research.
In all of the above mentioned books and in McQ's biography by Chris Sandford you will find more of what this book lacks: stories with McQ at the set in the Great Escape, Bullitt, Le Mans,... also racing with cars and bikes with his friends, etc. And most important of all, giving the stories some personality, which this book clearly lacks, as if other than getting a mediocre job done was all that was required.
Both the pictures and the content of the book seem to have been done by a person not really used to do proper research and make stories interesting, being some parts even heavy to read due to the lack of anecdotes told on each car and bike.
Maybe I'm being a bit harsh on this book, which is not all that bad, and has some before unseen info on some less well known cars on McQ, but again in very brief form. It could and should have been a lot better only by adding maybe 10-20 pages of more great stories that are out there waiting to be told on the cooler king at the wheel of the cars he had and drove like a maniac on most cases.
This book will appeal to any McQueen fan (as I consider myself) who want to get a very general view of his life with cars (if you like McQ it'd be odd if you don't already knew about 90% of the cars in the book, anyway) or, particularly, to those who are starting to learn about his cars and bikes, it will give a starting point on listing the most significant ones he had.

Summary of McQueen's Machines: The Cars and Bikes of a Hollywood Icon

He made movies best remembered for their wild car chases, mad motorcycle dashes, and hair-raising races, but no one forgets the man at the wheel--Steve McQueen, the King of Cool. No other Hollywood star has been so closely linked with cars and bikes. It is this connection that McQueens Machines explores, giving readers a close-up look at the cars and motorcycles McQueen drove in movies, those he owned, and others he raced.

From the 1968 Ford Mustang GT Fastback he drove in Bullitt (in the greatest car chase of all time) to his Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow in "The Thomas Crown Affair", from the Triumph motorcycle of "The Great Escape" to the Gulf-Porsche 917K he actually raced in "Le Mans", the cars and bikes that McQueen made famous in films make another appearance here.

The book also features the cars, motorcycles, and even airplanes that McQueen owned over the years, including two motorcycles that fetched record prices at a recent auction: a 1937 Crocker "Hemi-head" V-Twin and a 1920 Indian Powerplus Daytona. Among notable cars profiled in the book are a 1959 Porsche Speedster bought new by McQueen, a 1957 Jaguar XKSS, a 1963 Ferrari 250 Lusso, a 1953 Siata 208S, a 1965 Ferrari 275 NART Spyder, and a 1969 "Le Mans" Porsche 911S.

With a foreword by Steve's son, Chad McQueen, and a wealth of details about the stars amateur racing career, his movie stunt work, and his car and motorcycle collecting, McQueens Machines draws a fascinating picture of one outsized mans driving passion.

Actors & Actresses Books

Book Subjects
Most talked about in Trains, Planes, Cars, and Trucks!
Car Talk Field Guide to the North American Wacko ImageCar Talk Field Guide to the North American Wacko
by Tom Magliozzi, Ray Magliozzi
HighBridge Company; Published: 2008-05-06; Audio CD; Book
Best price: $16.75
Price in other shops: $29.95
The Call of Trains: Railroad Photographs by Jim Shaughnessy ImageThe Call of Trains: Railroad Photographs by Jim Shaughnessy
by Jeff Brouws
W.W. Norton & Co.; Published: 2008-11-17; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $40.92
Price in other shops: $65.00
McQueen's Machines: The Cars and Bikes of a Hollywood Icon ImageMcQueen's Machines: The Cars and Bikes of a Hollywood Icon
by Matt Stone
Motorbooks; Published: 2007-11-15; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $13.72
Price in other shops: $26.95
Car Talk: The Greatest Stories Ever Told: Once Upon a Car Fire... ImageCar Talk: The Greatest Stories Ever Told: Once Upon a Car Fire...
by Tom Magliozzi, Ray Magliozzi
Highbridge Audio; Published: 2006-10-05; Audio CD; Book
Best price: $7.50
Price in other shops: $14.95
Build Your Own Electric Vehicle ImageBuild Your Own Electric Vehicle
by Seth Leitman, Bob Brant
McGraw-Hill/TAB Electronics; Published: 2008-09-23; Paperback; Book
Best price: $15.76
Price in other shops: $29.95
The Encyclopedia of Modern Aircraft: From Civilian Airliners to Military Superfighters ImageThe Encyclopedia of Modern Aircraft: From Civilian Airliners to Military Superfighters
by Jim Winchester
Thunder Bay Press; Published: 2006-07-29; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $18.78
Price in other shops: $29.95
Driving A Big Truck, The Adventure Continues From A Different Perspective ImageDriving A Big Truck, The Adventure Continues From A Different Perspective
by Steve Richards
Outskirts Press; Published: 2008-12-04; Paperback; Book
Best price: $13.45
Price in other shops: $14.95
Flight: 100 Years of Aviation ImageFlight: 100 Years of Aviation
by R. G. Grant
DK Publishing; Published: 2007-03-19; Paperback; Book
Best price: $12.07
Price in other shops: $29.95
Porsche Sixty Years ImagePorsche Sixty Years
by Randy Leffingwell
Motorbooks; Published: 2008-10-21; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $37.80
Price in other shops: $60.00
Big Bigger Biggest Trucks and Diggers - With DVD (Caterpillar) ImageBig Bigger Biggest Trucks and Diggers - With DVD (Caterpillar)
by Chronicle Books
Chronicle Books; Published: 2008-09-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $8.84
Price in other shops: $14.99
Similar Books and other products
The Hemi in the Barn: More Great Stories of Automotive Archaeology ImageThe Hemi in the Barn: More Great Stories of Automotive Archaeology
by Tom Cotter
Motorbooks; Published: 2007-10-15; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $16.27
Price in other shops: $25.95
Shelby: The Man, The Cars, The Legend ImageShelby: The Man, The Cars, The Legend
by Wallace A. Wyss
Iconografix, Inc.; Published: 2007-04-27; Paperback; Book
Best price: $12.56
Price in other shops: $19.95
Le Mans ImageLe Mans
Team Marketing; Release date: 2003-04-29; DVD
Best price: $8.07
Price in other shops: $14.98
Steve McQueen: The Last Mile ImageSteve McQueen: The Last Mile
by Barbara McQueen, Marshall Terrill
Dalton Watson; Published: 2008-06-15; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $32.18
Price in other shops: $49.00
My Husband, My Friend: A Memoir ImageMy Husband, My Friend: A Memoir
by Neile McQueen Toffel
AuthorHouse; Published: 2006-11-09; Paperback; Book
Best price: $13.85
Price in other shops: $17.99
Unforgettable Steve McQueen ImageUnforgettable Steve McQueen
powerHouse Books; Published: 2008-09-16; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $35.97
Price in other shops: $60.00
Winning: The Racing Life of Paul Newman ImageWinning: The Racing Life of Paul Newman
by Matt Stone, Preston Lerner
Motorbooks; Published: 2009-10-09; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $18.50
Price in other shops: $30.00
Steve McQueen: A Life in Pictures ImageSteve McQueen: A Life in Pictures
by Yann-Brice Dherbier
Pavilion; Published: 2008-07-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $17.99
Price in other shops: $40.00
McQueen: The Biography ImageMcQueen: The Biography
by Christopher Sandford
Taylor Trade Publishing; Published: 2003-05-25; Paperback; Book
Best price: $13.12
Price in other shops: $22.95
Steve McQueen (25th Anniversary Special Edtn) ImageSteve McQueen (25th Anniversary Special Edtn)
Taschen; Published: 2008-08-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $10.11
Price in other shops: $14.99
Book store. Illustrated catalog of books on different categories