Remember when a Beach Boys 45 had a surfing song on one side and a hot rod song on the other? Not to mention Jan & Dean? This was my generation--it was for us that Lee Iacocca later invented the Ford Mustang. Just picture if any of these guys was also an author, and you've got Henry Gregor Felsen. These stories are cautionary without being moralistic. They reminded us of the hazards of irresponsible driving, while avoiding condemning us in the manner of movies as "Hot Rods To Hell" and "Because They're Young". They represented an understanding, nurturing side of our WW II generation parents, who all too often seemed as if they hated and feared their own children. These books represented us as real people. Today we drive Tauruses, Luminas and minivans. It is our dog-eared copies of Felsen books, with the Beach Boys and Jan & Dean as a soundtrack, which take us back to our Deuce Coupe days. In his way, Felsen was the Mark Twain of Dead Man's Curve. Damn, I with they'd put these books back in print!

This collector's edition of six Henry Gregor Felsen novels for teens mixes in just the right proportions of teenage alienation, fascination with automobiles, danger, and morality to deliver a well-placed message to teen readers of the 1950's. A must for anyone who ever sipped iced tea on a screened-in porch with the prettiest girl in town by day and drove hard and fast on dangerous dirt county roads by night. Titles include: Hot Rod, Fever Heat, Street Rod, Rag Top, Crash Club, and Road Rocket. Classic hotrod cover art by Ken Eberts, Rich Boyd, Jack Juratovic, Steve Pasteiner, Bill Neale, and Bruce Kaiser.

I read this book years back (1984), when I was slated to go into the service. It was so special to me, as my Dad died when I was little and never had a Dad to answer questions or give advice. This book was perfect for me. It was fairly 1950's-ish but timeless in the advice and guidance it gave. I highly recommend it for a young man going into the world. The book really does speak to a boy as few fathers do (unfortunatley).

Reading level should be age 12 up, not baby to pre-school. A good story where the youth going bad is straightened out by caring adults. It's dated, maybe a little innocent for today's world, but kids who are already car nuts will probably like it. It's got several technical errors and many grammatical errors. It's probably a good book to give to kids in an eighth grade English class and have them find and correct the errors.

It's been twenty years since I read this book and I still remember the ending so clearly it scares me. The story is dated, but has many valuable lessons.

I first found the book among some of my fathers' things and well, I just couldn't put it down. I just finished it and what a book! The story of a 17 yr. old building his own Rod, which was his companion, friend, and enemy. Just him and his ride. Sounds a little like myself. The main character finds the rules of life the only way, the hard way.