The Indian: The History of a Classic American Motorcycle

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding illustrations of the different models
Review: I was fortunate to find a copy of this book in the close-out bin at a local bookstore. This was such a good book that I'm now looking at the author's other books.

One thing I like is that the book is profusely illustrated, and that all the background clutter has been cut away from the photos, so that all you see is the bike against a plain white background. Combined with the clear photography and printing, it really allows you to see machine details that would normally get lost.

Another nice characteristic of this book is that the emphasis is upon the bikes, with background information on the state of the company that helps to explain why the bikes evolved the way they did. This historical orientation was aided by the chronological orientation of the book. Related to this is that the book was about bikes, not lifestyles. I hope that when I get a copy of his book on Harleys that this will be true there as well (notice that most books on Harleys have more photos of "trailer trash" than they do of motorcycles, and that you rarely get a chance to see what the older bikes looked like from the factory? -- OK, rant mode off).

If you are fortunate to run across this book, buy it.

Now, if we could get books like this for all the major European and English manufacturers (hint, hint).