love the cover design of this book... very well done.
OK, got this book in the mail to review for you and my official stance is that this would make a fine addition to my shelf and yours. I think it is certainly worth owning. That being said, I need to give a little more feedback.
Art of the Harley-Davidson Motorcycle might be slightly misleading. If you read it as I did at first, I imagined “fine art” images with the subject being Harley’s. What I got was more like slick, very well done, beautiful, ad/documentary style images of Harleys in environments that highlight the machines… which is not a bad thing at all, in fact, the images are very alluring… just not what I first expected.
Readers will find images of a particular model on every two-page spread, which makes it nice to pick up and put down whenever you have a moment and flip to a new page. Next to the beautiful side or ¾ view image of the bike (always from the “pretty” side), you will find a short statement about the bike and a set of stats. The stats are one of the things I find most interesting as it allows me to take a quick glance and find out the engine displacement, horsepower, and a couple other quick facts. Very nice touch.
To class up the joint even more, each spread has a smaller graphic that might be a drawing of the bike being showcased, or a vintage ad, or even a detail shot that could be more in line with what I had in mind with the title of this publication.
Back to my original statement, very well worth the purchase price. Harley enthusiasts will enjoy the statistical information and the layperson will enjoy the images. Well laid out and very inclusive of Harley’s history, I would say David Blattel and Dain Gingerelli have a winner on their hands.
Love, Respect, and Biker Books!
ArtBiker
Format: Hardcover
Publisher: Motorbooks Intl
ISBN-10: 0760341303
ISBN-13: 9780760341308
Buy.com Sku: 220899739
Publish Date: 10/22/2011
Dimensions: (in Inches) 10H x 12.25L x 1T
Pages: 192
From The Publisher:
Photographer David Blattel treats every photo shoot as a work of art. When his subjects are the works of art produced by the motorcycling maestros from Milwaukee, the results are doubly beautiful. Art of the Harley-Davidson Motorcycle pulls together the best of Blattel’s Harley-Davidson portraiture–over 100 stunning machines–resulting in a breathtaking review of Harley-Davidson’s greatest hits from the early 1900s to today. Harley-Davidson expert Dain Gingerelli puts each machine in historical and technical context with informed profiles. The result is a handsome, informative overview of Harley-Davidson’s 100-plus years of style and innovation.
About the Publisher:
Motorbooks, an imprint of Quayside Publishing Group, is the world’s leading publisher of automotive, motorcycle and motorsports books for enthusiasts. For 45 years, Motorbooks has published award-winning books by the world’s most talented motoring authors and photographers.
