My issue of The Car That Changed The World arrived yesterday... I never thought I would have this book, wasn't wanting to bid on one on T-Bay for 100+ bucks, but $ 19.99 plus free shipping is a great deal. I ordered the book the evening of the original post that it was being re-printed, Thank You who ever posted that info.... Spent an hour last night reading lots of the Documentation. Interesting when several of the changes took place. like 2 valve covers to one, the Made In USA stamped on the block, etc. etc. Jim Derocher AuGres, Michigan
I got mine yesterday too.......
LOTS of good reading there!
Could I get the address of the place where you ordered the book? Thank you. Bill
Bill, I ordered on nov 17, so if you go back to about nov 15 or so on this forum you will see the post,Bruces book re released or something close to that, and how to get 10 dollars of using Model T for the code for an early order if that still works. Old cars weekly was the site I think...Jim Derocher AuGres, MI
I got 10 copies today
To Bill, Jim and others - I entered the post about Bruce's book reprint. It was first listed on Tuesday, November 13th at 1:17pm. The thread title was: Bruce's book "The Model T Ford..." Reprint. There were a couple of corrections on the address and that the code must be put in with all capital letters and no spaces.
Anyway, the deadline for the 30% discount was November 22nd, but the book can still be ordered at the regular price of $29.99 with free shipping. This is still a good deal.
To those who have already received the book, how is the quality? Do the pictures have good detail?
Keith
The Model T Ford Club of America now has in stock the reprint of Bruce McCalley's book. You can order it online at www.mtfca.com or purchase it at the Model T Museum. It sells for $29.99. Or, if you wish to order it by phone, call the MTFCA office at 765-855-5248.
Thanks a million Keith for posting that..The Old Car Weekly website had lots of great stuff too! The print quality seems great, and as you say, 29.99 is a deal, about a nickle a page for info you'll never find anywhere ...Jim Derocher AuGres, MI
I guess if I HAD to critique something I wish the publisher had saturated the photos and illustrations more as they look somewhat washed out.
They're legible so don't get me wrong.......I just think they could have been better.
Call me crazy, but I've had a reprint version of this book for quite some time. I think I got it through one of the main part suppliers within the last 10 years. Am I just confused?
I think you may be talking about the Model T Encyclopedia, not Model T Ford: The Car That Changed the World.
I received a copy and am disappointed with the photos....as mentioned by someone previously. I have seen all of those photos in the Vintage Ford in many previous years and they were better. I am wondering what the photo quality is in the original version. Perhaps I should get an original.
Bruce and I chatted many times a year on various things and one chat was why not republish? Answer always was it was a pain in the butt, he could be more dynamic and current with an e-version, and....his comment that I never thought about until reading here..."you have to love the photos on a computer screen as unless you go through a lot with a printer...they always come out washed out!"
Now Bruce was talking about old style printing of course and was probably not thinking of the more modern methods. But coming back the other way, I can think what may be happening here. My guess and only a guess is that they are using a licensed original from the estate, that the licensed original is in PDF form as Bruce kept his working master, and...the native PDF setting was set for 72 lines per inch on the original page size used for formatting.
USA Today is somewhere around 120 lines per inch, Graphics on a corrugated box at the store might be 85 lines per inch so thank goodness we get black and white and they can print it as a gray-tone! But on a computer screen? 72 line and 96 line work G-R-E-A-T.
Not much can be done if this is the case, and I'm only guessing here that it is, but sure sounds like it. May he RIP, but I'm not sure that Bruce was even aware that making default setting PDF even had a line count buried in it and the standard default is low.
If my hunch is correct, someone would have to go through page by page, distill out all of the items, either change the graphics through other programs or preferrably reapply the native scans, and then reassemble a PDF at a much higher resolution 'save' as to lines per inch, and preferably one 'matched' to whoever the printer process is.
Gobblety gook speak yes...but...one huge, huge task and undertaking is the point unless the printer just erred on his process line match up which probably did not happen.
Dan:
You're not crazy.
I believe you refer to Bruce's first book.... "From Here to Obscurity". The original runs had pristine photo's.
The current re-prints look to be run off's of a old photostat printer...... lack detail, clarity and brightness.
I got my book last week. I thoroughly enjoy sitting and thumbing through and reading little tidbits. I have an argument with Bruce on one claim that he makes in the book but I'm not going to bring it up. I just don't feel like I'm in the mood for conflict today. And really my argument is worth worrying about when you consider the book is such a wonderful thing.
Mike, the book represents what Bruce thought 20 years ago. He did research and learned from others after that - so he may just agree with your argument now
(for his latest accessible views, see the updated CD version of the encyclopedia, available from his widow, Barbara McCalley, 308 Cottingham Court, Allison Park, Pa. 15101. Phone 412-364-0561 or email at:gourmetbarbara2@verizon.net. $50.00+ 5.15 priority shipping.)
Bruce was the co-author with Ray Miller for the book, "From Here to Obscurity", first published in 1971. That book represented the best available knowledge of Model T's at that time. Then bruce came out with "Model T -- The Car that Changed the World" in 1994. That book included material from the previous book, as well as new information learned in the interim, so it too was the best source for Model T info at the time. It also made mention of several details which were mentioned in the first book but had since been disproven, as research turned up more information. Then Bruce compiled the Encyclopedia on CD's, which is basically his second book with more info added.
As time goes by and more research is done, we now know that there are some errors in the Encyclopedia which were believed to be fact, just as in the two previous books. We are very fortunate to have the Benson Research center in which to do our research. Most other companies' archives have been lost over time, but a great deal of Ford's history is preserved there.
By the way, if you want a good laugh, thumb through some of Floyd Clymer's books from the 50's and 60's. Floyd was a noted "authority" on old cars in general and Fords in particular at that time. Just as Ray Miller and Bruce did, Floyd was reporting the accepted knowledge at the time.
As I said the book is a wonderful thing and I not only enjoy reading it I'm also very proud to own it.