JOHN L.LUMLEY
Table of Contents
Preface 1
1. Mostly early recollections 3
2. Adolescence 13
3. Freshman year 29
4. Sophomore year 35
5. Junior year 41
6. Senior year 45
7. Baltimore 48
8. Penn State 51
9. VW memories (mostly) 63
10. Armstrong Siddeley 78
11. Jaguar 102
12. Armstrong Siddeley again 108
13. Lagonda 132
14. Bentley 163
Index 183
Description
Most childhood fascinations are a passing fancy, but something about cars tends to capture the imagination forever. Witness the countless backyard weed-wrapped classics, rusted just shy of a shadow, slated one day for a return to glory; cloudy vacation memories of choking exhaust, deafening engines and blinding chrome; countless white-knuckled highway moments as the driver faces backwards to better glimpse some passing oddity spotted four lanes over. Somehow, cars have a way of getting into a kids blood. Any chronic condition requires a lifetime of maintenance. John Lumley caught the fever earlylikely from a midnight blue Hudsonand its been with him ever since.
This engaging memoir follows a life spent nursing an obsession with cars, fitting for a son of Detroits heyday. With occasional play in the garage of the Ford estate and an excursion to see Buckminster Fullers three-wheeled Dymaxion among his earliest memories, John Lumleys enduring love of cars is no surprise. From those childhood adventures followed a lifetime spent elbow-deep in enginesNash, Hupmobile, Mercury, Citroën, Triumph, Volkswagen, Lagonda, Armstrong-Siddeley, Bentley and more, many of them pictured. Though his career was devoted to loftier pursuits, the grease beneath his nails perhaps best sums up Lumleys lifelong love. Fifty-eight photographs and an index accompany the text.
About the Author
John L. Lumley is a professor emeritus of engineering at Cornell University, specializing in aerospace engineering and fluid mechanics. He lives in Ithaca, New York.
Reviews
Extraordinary...includes exotic vehicles...accurateOld Cars Weekly
Filled with vivid insights of the evolution of an auto buffMidwest Book Review
Charming...neglects no detail in his descriptionsSciTech Book News.
extraordinary...includes exotic vehicles...accurateOld Cars Weekly; filled with vivid insights of the evolution of an auto buffMidwest Book Review; charming...neglects no detail in his descriptionsSciTech Book News
