There are a lot of Corvette books and that market segment is hard to crack.

When we were planning a ‘Vette book, book sellers told us that those that sell

best are “coffee table” books that ‘Vette owners buy to impress people. Later, we

were involved with a thick, impressive coffee table book that focused on specialty

Corvettes like experimental versions and customs and such.

The author personally pushed out a lot of copies of that book through fact-to-face sales, but in the wider market, the demand for it was lower. It seems that Corvette owners and collectors like books that show cars like theirs-not “dream machines” they’ll never own.

This leaves me wondering what kind of pop Randy Leffingwell’s latest release from MBI will get. Legendary Corvettes: ‘Vettes Made Famous on Track and Screen is the title of this 9-1/2 x 11-in. 176-page hardcover that’s filled with some fabulous photos by Dave Wendt. These pictures are truly impressive and it’s definitely a coffee table book, but the idea is to show us all the great cars we can’t ever have. So historians are bound to love this book, but we wonder how Corvette owners will take to it?

Only time will tell, but we would recommend that they at least go to the book store, leaf through a copy and absorb the awesome photos of cars like the ’56 Sebring Racer, the Super Sport with its “upholstered torpedo” headrest, the CERV 1 with its side-draft carbs, the Kevin Mackay restored Penske Sunoco racer and Mike Yager’s “Corvette Summer” movie car next to an eerily lit Effingham cornfield.

We think that ‘Vette fans will find the high impact of the photos alone to be worth the $35 “price of admission” on this book. Yes, their neighbors will like them, too, even if they know nothing about cars or Corvettes. This book is simply an artwork combining masterful wordsmithing with camera art of the highest level. And as you can guess, it’s late-August Corvettes @ Carlisle release makes it a perfect item for holiday giving.

To learn more about the book or other MBI titles visit www.Qbookshop.com.