Best Ferrari Coffee Table Book?

Over the years, it seems that Hans Tanner's book has often gotten the nod, but it depends on where your interests lie. As a racing fan, my choice is Phil Hill's magnificent book.

 

IMHO the Tanner book doesn't cut it as a coffee-table book. Try the following;
"Ferrari in Camera" by Nye/Goddard - mainly racing
"Ferrari" by Clarkson - road cars
"Ferrari Berlinetta" by Grohs - road cars
"Ferrari" by Schlegemilch - good value - road cars
Also look through this thread - http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=200937
Nathan

 

I currently like the Winston Goodfellow book for it's many color illustrations and the fact that it includes biographies of the coachbuilders and engineers, as well as sections of F1 and sports racing.

Great picture of a 275 on the cover as well.

 

"A Champion's View" is indeed very well done...

Another one I read over and over, while not Ferrari specific is Nick Mason's "At the Limit" where he drives his whole collection, which does indeed include many very important Ferraris as well as his hilarious tongue in cheek narrative of how they all came to live at HIS house....


I can totally relate to all that....

I really don't think any one book will cut it besides the ex wife has my coffee table anyway....

 

I would pass on Clarkson's book, not even Clarkson liked it.

If you are a more serious collector, Ferrari in Camera, but I wouldn't keep it on a magazine table for fear of spills and damage.

I was very impressed by my copy of Red Cars by David Kronenberg about the sharknose Ferraris; beautiful aluminum cover and beautiful art.

Lewandowski's Ferrari GTO book is stunning.

And then there is always "Ferrari Opus" by Kraken

 

Not so quick - as a 'coffee table' book it ticks the right boxes. It's large size, 360+ pages, full colour, beautiful red silk cover. It's not very interesting to read, and Clarkson hardly wrote any of it anyway, but as a coffee table book ...........

And you've got at least a year to save up for that one. But it will be the ultimate Ferrari coffee table book. If you've seen an Opus you'll know what I mean. They have a shop in Covent Garden, London where their current books (mainly about football teams) are on sale. Picture a book - page size 50cm x 50cm - so 1m wide when open - 800 pages, and weighing in excess of 35kilos. That's a coffee table book because your shelves aren't strong enough .
Nathan

 

This is a nice, big and heavy coffee table book. Includes pretty much all of the early history and all of the road cars to the F-50.
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And, for what it's worth, Schlegelmilch also did a companion volume called "Ferrari Formula 1"......

 

I think Schlegelmilch and Lehbrink's book is the one they have at Books-a-Million near me, with a different dust jacket. IIRC it's a closeup of--wait for it--the prancing horse badge on a red car. Like they said in The Devil Wears Prada: "groundbreaking." This edition is copyright 2004 and goes up to the 612, doesn't have the 430 or 699, but the photography is first-rate, to my untrained eye, and it's a fun way to learn the classics.

Cover price is $30 and I've probably paid the Books-a-Million coffee bar several times that, buying coffee and cookies and reading the book for "free."

 

I agree. This is a great book. Also good reads are these three. I have also included a photo of a few of my other books.
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The John Lamm 'Legends' book is a great read, but I'm going to have to check out some of these other suggestions as well!

 

As a professional photojournalist, I would agree with your taste. Schlegemilch is with out a doubt the greatest overall Ferrari photographer in history. John Lamm was a magazine photographer and his work always stood out from the other American magazines.

 

+1
If you had to have one table book, I agree Schlegelmilch and Lehbrink.

 

They did one on Monaco, as well, I found it very reasonably priced at some discount place...

 

I'll watch for it, IIRC I ran across it at Tuesday Morning or someplace strange like that.....Half Price Books is another place but I'm sure any of the big outfits can find it, check Amazon!

 

Thread resurrection! So where does the coffee table book situation stand these days? Anything new?

 

I reckon the Ferrari Calendar Images book by Gunther Raupp might make a good coffee table book. My reasoning being that non-car people seem magnetically attracted to it whenever I leave it lying around.

 

That's a good shout.
Nathan