Hundred Years of Hogs
The Harley-Davidson Motor Company - A 100-Year History
-by David K. Wright
This is actually the 4th edition of a book that debuted in 1982. At that time, Wright explains that amidst all of the turmoil of the buyback from AMF, none of the H-D brass were particularly concerned about a young author rooting frantically about in the company archives for every snippet of minutiae he could find involving the goings on of the Motor Company. Believe me
This is not a puff piece on the glories of commandeering the nation's highways astride America's most (in)famous V-Twin. In fact, only 25 color photos adorn this 232-page book, which may prove a challenge for the USA TODAY readers in the audience. I actually found this to be somewhat of a curious decision considering the importance of the H-D's visual appeal to its popularity, but the focus of Wright's book is single-mindedly on documenting the bikes, events, and decisions that comprise the company's history. If you ever need to prep for the H-D category of Jeopardy, this would definitely be the place to start. An excerpt for example, "One source of income from 1933 through 19
37 was a licensing agreement arranged by one of its overseas representatives, Alfred Child. Child and a Japanese businessman signed a contract in 1932 that turned over blueprints for current H-D models to a Japanese consortium. The factory received $3,000 for the prints in 1933, followed by sums of $5,000, $8,000 and $10,000 in 1934, 1935, and 1936 respectively." For the man who thinks he knows everything about H-D, you have found your measuring stick.
Hardbound 232 pages 25 color photos, 260 black & white photos $19.95
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