Ed "Big Daddy" Roth: His Life, Time, Cars, and Art

Rating:
Summary: A real renaissance man of the 1960s
Review: Ed "Big Daddy" Roth was a real renaissance man of the 1960s: creator of Rat Fink, builder of creative custom cars, and a Mormon beatnick who refused to fit in anyone's mold. Ed "Big Daddy" Roth: His Life, Time, Cars, and Art is an engaging and informative biography that charts his rise to fame in general and his skills building custom cars in particular, and comes from an author who met Ed in the mid-1970s and regularly covered his exploits. Nearly 300 photos - many new to this collection-charts his creations and his art, and will appeal to any who know his name.

Rating:
Summary: A real renaissance man of the 1960s
Review: Ed "Big Daddy" Roth was a real renaissance man of the 1960s: creator of Rat Fink, builder of creative custom cars, and a Mormon beatnick who refused to fit in anyone's mold. Ed "Big Daddy" Roth: His Life, Time, Cars, and Art is an engaging and informative biography that charts his rise to fame in general and his skills building custom cars in particular, and comes from an author who met Ed in the mid-1970s and regularly covered his exploits. Nearly 300 photos - many new to this collection-charts his creations and his art, and will appeal to any who know his name.

Rating:
Summary: Good story on Big Daddy and his creations
Review: I was the primary audience for Roth's work back in the '60's -- my friends and I would have sleepover parties where we'd read car magazines and build model cars all night long. Roth's creations were just so outrageous at the time and they brought a lot of excitement to the hot rod scene. I remember first seeing the "Rat Fink" and thinking how over the top it was, and wondering what my mom would say if I brought home a Rat Fink model or T-shirt.

I had to get this book as soon as I saw it and I'm glad I did. It brings back so many good memories of those times. While not a true biography of Big Daddy, it does a great job of covering his life and has plenty of detail on all of his cars and other works. The book also has lots of great photos; the author spent a lot of time gathering as many existing photos of the Roth empire as he could. The author also interviewed as many people as he could find who were associated with Roth, and they have some funny and interesting stories to tell.

If you're at all interested in hot rods or hot rod history and the effect that Roth had on the culture, this book is recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Good story on Big Daddy and his creations
Review: I was the primary audience for Roth's work back in the '60's -- my friends and I would have sleepover parties where we'd read car magazines and build model cars all night long. Roth's creations were just so outrageous at the time and they brought a lot of excitement to the hot rod scene. I remember first seeing the "Rat Fink" and thinking how over the top it was, and wondering what my mom would say if I brought home a Rat Fink model or T-shirt.

I had to get this book as soon as I saw it and I'm glad I did. It brings back so many good memories of those times. While not a true biography of Big Daddy, it does a great job of covering his life and has plenty of detail on all of his cars and other works. The book also has lots of great photos; the author spent a lot of time gathering as many existing photos of the Roth empire as he could. The author also interviewed as many people as he could find who were associated with Roth, and they have some funny and interesting stories to tell.

If you're at all interested in hot rods or hot rod history and the effect that Roth had on the culture, this book is recommended.