A Convergence of Hot Rod Covers

Whether the goal is escapist entertainment or ambitious self-betterment, digging into a good book can be one of life’s great pleasures.

This week’s Automobiles section samples a half-dozen recently published volumes, offering a glimpse into genres including anthology, biography, history — even a hard-bitten enthusiast’s look at a single model, the Chevrolet Corvette. A look at the book reviews might even result in a couple of check marks on your holiday shopping list.

As much as those volumes would make fine additions to any enthusiast’s library, we should also note that availability of alternatives. Our lives don’t always want or need for every moment to be filled with meaningful knowledge acquisition; sometimes it’s nice to just flip through the pages, look at the pictures and digest, in small bites, some explanatory captions.

One recent arrival in that category is “Hot Rod Magazine: All the Covers” (Motorbooks, 256 pages, $35), a collection of six decades of magazine fronts from the grandaddy of customizer publications. Arranged in chronological order with colorful, appealing page designs, the book mixes cover sizes, inside spreads and text to provide readers with a good feel for eras -– and vast industry changes –- that Hot Rod reported on.

At the end of the 1940s, attention focused on the dry-lakes roadsters. As the pages are turned, covers and inside spreads turn exuberant with the spread of color printing presses. Flamed customs, drag-race funny cars, compact pickups — all the crazes that visited Southern California are captured for the magazine’s readers.

Many of the covers -– cultural snapshots of the automotive world — will trigger memories and incite deeper research. But overwhelmingly, the Hot Rod sampler, requiring little commitment but presenting an open invitation for repeat visits, will be just the right serving of information and nostalgia trip

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