[eric johnson]

Originally Posted by Historybuff

I knew that someobody would eventually write the Ultimate Shelby book, and this is a good effort in that direction, especially in terms of the color pictures including historical ones and the black and white, also including some period photos instead of restored cars. The text is sufficient to be a words and picture book rather than just a picture book with captions.The author who buys and sells real Cobras and Shelby Mustangs shows off his expertise by including lists of serial numbers of significant cars such as FIA 289 Cobras, etc.

The author chose not to go into the background of why Ford did this or Shelby did that or why GM or Ford or Toyota tied in with Shelby--he sticks pretty close to the facts on the cars, their features, their production numbers and so forth. Following the background of decisions might have made a much longer book and delayed its production.

Mr. Comer includes chapters on the Dodge Shelbys, the Viper, the modern day replica Cobras, the modern day Shelbys, etc. and does not slight them in coverage because they aren't all Ford-based. His view is that all mechanical things created by Shelby will be possibly potential appreciators.

Where the book is a pleasure to own is the quality of printing, and the successful attempt to over the huge scope of ithe subject, covering as it does nearly 50 years of Shelby-created cars, and the rare photos which make it a keeper. Compare it to some of the same publisher's books on say, the Pontiac GTO, that don't have the same level of research or fact finding. Sad to say many "coffee table" books are only fit for the coffee table not for a serious library.

The Colin Comer book is available at Amazon.com for under $30, as a result of a price war with two book chains in which Amazon.com gives a hefty discount. The list price is $45, so there's enough money to order two or three other books in the same category, also at discount, if you were expecting to pay $45, the list price.

There might be heftier Shelby tomes to come (something,say 3 inches thick) but as far as value for the money, this one is a keeper at under $30...

Thanks for the nice review. How about GT40 content? How much? Anything new?

Eric