If you’ve never taken the time to listen to stories of what members of The Greatest Generation did with their free time in the 30s, 40s and 50s, you ought to. Seriously, just call up your parents or grandparents and let ’em talk. Rest assured, there will be rambling incoherence, and the stories may be a little out of order, but you’ll also hear some pretty incredible stuff. Octogenarians have a knack for focusing on odd minutia, then mentioning mind-blowing stuff as an aside. Merchants of Speed is 232 large, glossy pages of mind-blowing asides. Residents of Los Angeles can take special pride while reading Merchants of Speed, as almost all of the original shops of these hot rod legends are garages that still exist today. I’m considering putting together an old-school hot rod driving tour of LA based on the locations named in the book. Merchants of Speed is required reading (and great coffee-table material) for its ability to take you back to the origins of it all: the birth of the idea that no matter what the big manufacturers were selling, ingenuity and a willingness to try new things could always improve upon it. Merchants of Speed at Motorbooks.com Book was provided by the publisher for the purposes of review.