Top 10 Ferrari books (vintage)

First:

And then:

I have this and have read much of it.It is a MUST. The author starts from the time he was a teenager and was intimately involved with Ferrari and some ot the other great constructors of the post WWII period. There are a few controversial issues surrounding his collecting.Nothing really unusual.His story telling is what makes this volume stand out.Don't miss this one.tonga's crew

Is this the book (from Amazon):

Ferrari Fever: A Lifetime Collecting, Restoring & Racing the Rarest Italian AutomobilesJan 31, 2014
by Paul Schouwenburg and Nick Mason
$1,874.19new(2 offers)
$1,874.19used(1 offer)

You guys are rich.

 

My top 10 would include:

The Complete Ferrari by Godfrey Eaton (1986). I used to pour over this every time I wanted to learn about a vintage Ferrari.

Ferrari 250 LM by Marcel Massini (1983). The 250 LM is my favorite Ferrari and when it comes to Ferrari facts and details, you can't do better than Marcel Marssini.

Cheers,

Keith

 

Marcel's books, the Prunet books, Fitzgerald and Merritt and Jess Pourret's 250 GT Comp are the titles that I use most frequently; also Hil Raab's Serial Number books. A few titles that might be less familiar to many, but I find very worthwhile:

Inside Ferrari by Michael Dregni, a small but delightful snapshot of the factory behind the scenes; also Dean Batchelor's softbound books on the early competition cars, concise and pretty accurate--and written decades ago.

The Dino Compendium by Matthias Bartz is indispensable for the Dino enthusiast. It raises the bar to new heights, really a remarkable book.

 

Since I am stranded in Vienna airport I can take the time to put the record straight:

A common friend introduced me to Paul in June 2012 when he was looking for someone to rework his autobiography text and get it published.

I flew to Holland summer 2012, was amazed at the energy, drive behind his passion and by the amazing family photo archive
he has of his life with cars, mostly red ones. We came to an agreement for me to rework his text -a diamond in the rough in what I nicknamed Schouwenburgian dialect to tease him, I put him in touch with my publisher Doug Blair of Eau Rouge Publishing. Then I got busy with the text.
It was a monumental task but I am very happy with how it came out. It is neither his language nor his profession -he is a brain surgeon!- but what he gave me was truly excellent it just needed sorting out, editing, deleting, adding a few things, adding a chapter on his career etc.

In November that year Paul and his wife came from Holland to my house in Burgundy with a Mercedes station wagon filled to the roof with photo albums and we spent 3 mad days selecting from thousands of photos: "chapter 7 quarter page chapter 2 half page, potential cover" etc. To me text is what matters most -even more so in this shallow decadent photo video driven era- but good photos help and he had them in droves. In January 2013 I went back to his house in Holland for some final selection and edits and then my task was over.
Then I convinced Nick Mason to write the foreword. He is not a co author, he just kindly wrote the foreword which we really appreciated.

Finally Doug Blair and his team did a sterling job putting the finished product together.

Do not buy via Amazon they do not have inventory (by the way those prices are nonsense the book is about 100 or so see the site) buy via
directly. I am not involved with sales at all and was paid long ago just setting the record straight.


Best regards,

Marc

 

Grew up with the Pourret, Prunet, Fitgerald & Merrit books, love making a difference too.

Far too many Ferrari books out there though which is why I do other things.

Best regards,

MS

 

I completely agree. Matthias created a book that every Dino enthusiast wishes they could have written but it required a special kind of anorak and collector to do it right!

Keith

 

Wow was I fortunate. Bought my copy direct from Eau Rouge Publishing Feb 6, 2014 just after the publishing date of January 2014 for BP115 .Are copies actually selling for these prices prices?I can find no indication of the number of copies issued. All I can add to this is I have all of the "great ones" and most of the "others" and in my opinion this is one of the "great ones". There aren't enough superlatives to describe this history of great automobile collecting. My guess is a story like won't ever happen again. tong's crew

 

See ElWayne above. He was right. I have not got the book yet.

Eau Rouge Publishing
[email protected]

Description Unit price Qty Amount
Ferrari Fever
Item# 24 £85.00 GBP 1 £85.00 GBP
Subtotal £85.00 GBP
Shipping and handling £20.00 GBP
Total £105.00 GBP

 

Check out my post on the Ferrari Chat Vintage section. This is an ongoing project which is not quite half way completed. It seems to be quite popular with almost 33,000 hits.New reviews are posted frequently. Enjoy, tonga;s crew

 

A recent but absolutely extraordinary book is "Ferrari Rex" written by Luca dal Monte and centered on the figure of Enzo Ferrari.

 

Absolutely! Relialbe historiography in the context of the era ('Biografia di un grande italiano del Novecento) ... unique among all the perpetuate tecnical, picture and chassis number books.

 

Another worthwhile title(though Italian language only) is Una Vita Per l'Automobile.
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

My top Ferrari books
- The Ferrari Legend 250 GT Competition (Jess G. Pourret)
- Ferrari by Vignale (Marcel Massini)
- Émotion Ferrari (Maurice Louche)
- Ferrari Automobili 1947-1953 (C. Millanta, L. Orsini, F. Zagari)
- Ferrari Testa Rossa V-12 (Joel E. Finn)
- Making a Difference (Angelo Tito Anselmi Marcel Massini)
- Ferrari Catalogue Raisonné Opera Omnia 1946-1990 (Bruno Alfieri)
andFerrari Catalogue Raisonné Opera Omnia 1990-1995
- Formula Ferrari 1948-2002 (Paolo D'Alessio)
- Ferrari by Mailander (Karl Ludvigson)
- Inside Ferrari (Michael Dregni)
- Red Arrows (Giannino Marzotto)
- Ferrari 250 GTO (Keith Bluemel Jess G. Pourret)

Gr
Xander

 

One of the best of these is "Origins of the Ferrari Legend" by Gioachino Colombo. I have yet to get to this one in my "Brief Book Reports" post but if you are interested in the title do get this one. For what it is there really nothing in one volume to equal this. tonga's crew

 

Great thread. Keep them coming.

 

I did buy this book and it is wonderful.

But where can I find

Making a Difference (Angelo Tito Anselmi Marcel Massini)

for a reasonable price?

 

A small correction: My copy is bilingual English and Italian.

Jonathan

 

You are correct, my mistake.

 

Contact Ben Horton or Andy Massen of Horton's Books in the UK.

[email protected]

Marcel Massini

 

Also do a saved search on eBay, copies turn up from time to time.

 

Thanks;that's the plan tonga's crew

 

Anyone want to redo their Top 10 Vintage Ferrari book list 5 years on ?

 

In no particular order:

Ferrari in Camera
Inside Track
Ferrari: The Man, The Machines
Enzo Ferrari (Dal Monte)
Enzo Ferrari (Williams)
Ferrari Fever
Emotion Ferrari
Ferrari (Setright....for the prose)
Klemataski & Ferrari
Sharknose//V6
Bonus: Ferrari (6th. edition, Tanner and Nye)

 

Again, in no particular order after the first book which is a clear standout:

Ferrari in Camera

Klementaski & Ferrari
Making a Difference
Ferrari- Forty Years on the Road
Le Ferrari di Pininfarina
Ferrari by Malander
Rebel Rebel: Breadvan
Ferrari Berlinetta
Dino Compendium
Red Arrows