{"id":133996,"date":"2019-08-11T11:30:53","date_gmt":"2019-08-11T15:30:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.automoblog.com\/\/?p=133996"},"modified":"2023-08-13T10:38:12","modified_gmt":"2023-08-13T14:38:12","slug":"automoblog-book-garage-complete-book-porsche-911","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.automoblog.com\/automoblog-book-garage-complete-book-porsche-911\/","title":{"rendered":"The Complete Book of Porsche 911 is More Than Just a Coffee Table Book"},"content":{"rendered":"

Affiliate Disclosure:<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0As an Amazon Associate, Automoblog earns from qualifying purchases, including the books featured here. These commissions come to us at no additional cost to you. Our\u00a0Book Garage series<\/a> showcases what every enthusiast should add to their library.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Icon is a word thrown around all too easily these days. You find undeserving people in the music business baptized icons, half-baked actors christened icons, and, as far as we’re concerned, souped-up econo-boxes now dubbed automotive icons. It dilutes the word if you overuse it like that. People call the Porsche 911 an icon, and in this case, they are 100 percent right. And in case you doubt it, you should pick up and read Randy Leffingwell’s tome, The Complete Book of Porsche 911: Every Model Since 1964<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

A Big Bundle of Porsche Goodness<\/h2>\n

I live in an old house, a church, actually, that was built in 1906. One of the more distinguishing features, besides being church-shaped and having the dry-wood combustibility of a box of matches, is the front door. It’s this\u00a0huge<\/em>, red-painted oak situation supported by iron hinges most likely sourced from Minas Tirith. The whole thing must weigh as much as a VW Jetta, being it’s four inches thick. It is, to use the parlance, impressive<\/em>. It pivots open on iron hinges with a creaking and groaning and cracking of reports like something out of a vintage horror movie.<\/p>\n

But the other day, it didn’t.<\/p>\n

I was going to do something prosaic like buy milk, and when I went to open the door; it made it about 10 inches then softly thudded to a stop. I took another run at it, and again it softly thudded to a stop. I could just fit my head out to see what was up, and there was this huge <\/em>yellow-padded envelope. Whatever resided within had enough weight and mass to stop the door like a wedged battle ax.<\/p>\n

“The heck is that?” I mumbled to myself as I walked to the far side of the place, using a different door to leave. I got to the front, hefted the package up (thought it might contain a manhole cover), and tore it open to find a new copy of Leffingwell’s, The Complete Book of Porsche 911 – Every Model Since 1964<\/em>. This is what was blocking my door. It’s not exactly a big book either at 345 pages. All I can think of is that its mass is down to the quality of the paper.<\/p>\n

And the quality of the content.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
The Complete Book of Porsche 911, Page 232. Photo:\u00a0Randy Leffingwell.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Visual Delight<\/h2>\n

Everything about this book is well-thought-out and beautifully executed. From the inner front cover, which is done up in the same psychedelic warped checkerboard pattern that graced the seats of late 60s Porsches, to the carbon fiber style end cover. Visually speaking, the book’s two covers alone give you an idea of the framework within. Sprawling across the intervening pages is a well-told and very well-photographed story of a true automotive icon: The Porsche 911.<\/p>\n

Most of the early photographs have this wonderful palladium tone to their black and white printing. At first, I thought they were vintage shots from back in the day, but then I realized there were modern buildings in the background. Apart from the occasional credit to a specific photographer or to Porsche Press, Leffingwell himself did the bulk of the shooting here. Bravo!<\/p>\n