# Best Reads for Engine Lovers **URL:** \ **Category:** General Discussion\ **Created:** [September 25, 2014, 5:10pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/best-reads-for-engine-lovers/87357 "2014-09-25T17:10:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![poorteacher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9fc29f/32.png) [@poorteacher](https://community.cartalk.com/u/poorteacher)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2014, 5:10pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/best-reads-for-engine-lovers/87357/1 "2014-09-25T17:10:46Z")
Hello! I am a high school English teacher. I have a student who is very interested (borderline obsessed šŸ˜‰ with Diesel Engines. I am desperate to find something for this student to read that will interest him! I have always prided myself on being able to find the perfect book for my studentsā€¦ but this kid has me stumped. Any book lovers out there who might have a suggestion? Fiction or Non-Fiction? Magazine, Book, WHATEVER!!! ---
**Author:** ![jesmed1](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/jesmed1/32/2097_2.png) [@jesmed1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/jesmed1)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2014, 5:35pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/best-reads-for-engine-lovers/87357/2 "2014-09-25T17:35:16Z")
[Amazon.com](http://Amazon.com) has about 20,000 hits for ā€œdiesel engines,ā€ so your choice of books is quite broad. One possibility is a biography of Rudolph Diesel and the early history of his invention. The book is quite technical, which would likely appeal to your student, and not just a typical biography, so he might find it interesting: > **[001: Diesel's Engine: From Conception to 1918: C. Lyle, Jr. Cummins: 9780917308031: Amazon.com: Books](https://www.amazon.com/Diesels-Engine-From-Conception-1918/dp/0917308034/ref=pd_sim_sbs_b_3?ie=UTF8&refRID=1ZKCFXHKMRE4G4YF910Y)** > > Book by Cummins, C. Lyle, Jr. And hereā€™s another story about the Cummins Engine Company and the birth of the diesel truck industry in the U.S.: > **[The Diesel Odyssey of Clessie Cummins: C. Lyle Cummins Jr., James A. Henderson: 9780917308048: Amazon.com: Books](https://www.amazon.com/The-Diesel-Odyssey-Clessie-Cummins/dp/0917308042/ref=pd_sim_sbs_b_3?ie=UTF8&refRID=1YXK8NWTA7TKWPHCYT5H)** > > Engineer and historian Cummins' third book is about his father Clessie (1888-1968), a pioneer of the American diesel truck. He combines company records and other documents with Clessie's memoirs and h ... ---
**Author:** ![the\_same\_mountainbike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@the\_same\_mountainbike](https://community.cartalk.com/u/the_same_mountainbike)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2014, 5:51pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/best-reads-for-engine-lovers/87357/3 "2014-09-25T17:51:23Z")
A website for a school that offers a diesel engine program might have on their website in their current semester schedule titles, authors, and ISBN numbers for textbooks. And it should be easy to find. I know, I know, never start a sentence with a conjunction. But hey, I didnā€™t do well in English me. ---
**Author:** ![George\_San\_Jose1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e5b9ba/32.png) [@George\_San\_Jose1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/George_San_Jose1)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 7:47am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/best-reads-for-engine-lovers/87357/4 "2014-09-26T07:47:50Z")
Not about diesel engines, but thereā€™s a pretty good general-interest book about the very first automobile trip across America. They start in San Francisco an drive to NYC I think. Itā€™s a fun read, even more so for car enthusiasts. The problems of driving back then were a lot different than now. For example, they had to pre-plan to have their gasoline shipped to them by rail. > **[Horatio's Drive: America's First Road Trip: Dayton Duncan, Ken Burns: 9780375415364: Amazon.com: Books](https://www.amazon.com/Horatios-Drive-Americas-First-Road/dp/037541536X)** > > The companion volume to the PBS documentary film about the firstā€”and perhaps most astonishingā€”automobile trip across the United States. In 1903 there were only 150 miles of paved roads in the entire n ... ---
**Author:** ![DrRocket](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/drrocket/32/2603_2.png) [@DrRocket](https://community.cartalk.com/u/DrRocket)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 8:03am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/best-reads-for-engine-lovers/87357/5 "2014-09-26T08:03:24Z")
Hereā€™s one about Coventry Climax engine history. They werer popular racing engines in the '50s and '60s that powered many winning race cars. [http://www.motorbooks.com/books/Coventry-Climax-Racing-Engines/9781903706831](http://www.motorbooks.com/books/Coventry-Climax-Racing-Engines/9781903706831) Once youā€™re finshed looking at that one, go to the siteā€™s home page. Itā€™s a cornucopia of transportation literature. Just type in diesel in the search engine and youā€™ll see what I mean. ---
**Author:** ![DrRocket](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/drrocket/32/2603_2.png) [@DrRocket](https://community.cartalk.com/u/DrRocket)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 8:12am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/best-reads-for-engine-lovers/87357/6 "2014-09-26T08:12:21Z")
Hereā€™s another one for aircraft engines. > **[History of Aircraft Piston Engines : Aircraft Piston Engines from the Manly Balzer to the Continental Tiara (McGraw-Hill Series in Aviation): Herschel Smith: 8580000848649: Amazon.com: Books](https://www.amazon.com/History-Aircraft-Piston-Engines-Continental/dp/0897450795)** > > Shows the development of aircraft piston engines from the earliest to more recent ones by brand. Nice diagrams, many details ---
**Author:** ![DrRocket](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/drrocket/32/2603_2.png) [@DrRocket](https://community.cartalk.com/u/DrRocket)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 8:13am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/best-reads-for-engine-lovers/87357/7 "2014-09-26T08:13:41Z")
Hereā€™s one about diesel engine and gas turbine history. > **[Prime Movers of Globalization: The History and Impact of Diesel Engines and Gas Turbines (MIT Press): Vaclav Smil: 9780262518765: Amazon.com: Books](https://www.amazon.com/Prime-Movers-Globalization-History-Turbines/dp/0262518767)** > > The story of how diesel engines and gas turbines, used to power cargo ships and jet airplanes, made today's globally integrated economy possible. The many books on globalization published over the pas ... And personally, I think thatā€™s a pretty good price. Hopefully, that will be a good start for you. I like that kid!! šŸ™‚ ---
**Author:** ![the\_same\_mountainbike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@the\_same\_mountainbike](https://community.cartalk.com/u/the_same_mountainbike)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 8:16am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/best-reads-for-engine-lovers/87357/8 "2014-09-26T08:16:25Z")
You might also want to direct the student toward a curricula strong in physics, math, and sciences. A good foundation in these subjects can go a long way in understanding how engines work. By the way, it sure feels good to hear from a teacher who actually cares about the students. I tip my hat to you. ---
**Author:** ![DrRocket](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/drrocket/32/2603_2.png) [@DrRocket](https://community.cartalk.com/u/DrRocket)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 8:23am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/best-reads-for-engine-lovers/87357/9 "2014-09-26T08:23:33Z")
Hereā€™s another one on Offenhauser racing engines, a legendary racing engine that powered many many successful race cars. > **[Offenhauser: The Legendary Racing Engine and the Men Who Built It: Gordon Eliot White: 9781626540415: Amazon.com: Books](https://www.amazon.com/Offenhauser-Legendary-Racing-Engine-Built/dp/0879388838)** > > Domination. No other word so accurately describes the Offenhauser engine's six-decade reign over American auto racing. On small urban tracks, state fair dirt circuits, and Indy's brick oval, "Offy" wa ... I echo TSMBs sentiments! Salute! ---
**Author:** ![Yosemite](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/yosemite/32/643_2.png) [@Yosemite](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Yosemite)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 5:06pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/best-reads-for-engine-lovers/87357/10 "2014-09-26T17:06:03Z")
@poorteacher; I commend you for taking the time to find something of interest for one lone student. I was one of those student that hated reading. Iā€™m still that way today. Give me a book and I couldnā€™t tell you what was on the preceding page that I just finished. It all just went in one eyeball and out the other. Give me a volume of the encylopedia and I can find something of interest on every few pages. This has nothing to do with Diesel engines, but the only complete book I ever read was ā€œThe Raftā€. about some fliers, shot down in the Pacific in WWII and how they survived. > **[The Raft: The Courageous Struggle of Three Naval Airmen Against the Sea: Robert Trumbull: 9781557508270: Amazon.com: Books](https://www.amazon.com/Raft-Courageous-Struggle-Airmen-Against/dp/1557508275/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1411736896&sr=8-3&keywords=The+Raft)** > > This is a pre-1923 historical reproduction that was curated for quality. Quality assurance was conducted on each of these books in an attempt to remove books with imperfections introduced by the digit ... Yosemite ---
**Author:** ![chunkyazian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7993a0/32.png) [@chunkyazian](https://community.cartalk.com/u/chunkyazian)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 6:56pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/best-reads-for-engine-lovers/87357/11 "2014-09-26T18:56:35Z")
This isnā€™t about cars, but how is it that you can assigned text based on student interest? When I took the ap English in my junior year, our curriculum had us read the Scarlet letter, the great Gatsby, the grapes of wrath. Much of those texts had obscure imageries and symbols, so I was told, that I just couldnā€™t grasp. I would have taken ap English again if we could read Wittgenstein, Marxism, and Machiavelli, but I watched movies about Macbeth in regular strength English instead. After ap English, I thought I would never be a liberal arts major in college. However, I finished with degrees in philosophy and mechanical engineering ---
**Author:** ![Whitey](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/whitey/32/24680_2.png) [@Whitey](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Whitey)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 7:54pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/best-reads-for-engine-lovers/87357/12 "2014-09-26T19:54:12Z")
> **[Car and vehicle racing-\>Teen fiction, Sports - Teen Fiction, Books](https://www.barnesandnoble.com/b/books/sports-teen-fiction/car-and-vehicle-racing-teen-fiction/_/N-8q8Z1a38)** > > Explore our list of Car and vehicle racing-\>Teen fiction Books at Barnes & NobleĀ®. Shop now & receive FREE Shipping on orders $25 & up! [http://www.popularrestorations.com/Articles/Article806.htm](http://www.popularrestorations.com/Articles/Article806.htm) > **[10 Books for Your Inner Speed Demon](http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/how-to/g1797/10-racing-books-to-channel-your-inner-speed-demon/)** > > These are the best ways in print that we know to get hooked on racing cars. [http://www.popularrestorations.com/Articles/Article807.htm](http://www.popularrestorations.com/Articles/Article807.htm) ---
**Author:** ![George\_San\_Jose1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e5b9ba/32.png) [@George\_San\_Jose1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/George_San_Jose1)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2014, 2:34am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/best-reads-for-engine-lovers/87357/13 "2014-09-27T02:34:26Z")
Another idea for a teenager interested in engines but not so much in English class, perhaps turn the focus to the importance of clearly stated technical writing. For those of us who repair our own cars, one the biggest frustrations is ambiguity in language used in the service manuals. One of the most common errors is the technical writer attempts to tell us step-by-step what to do, but fails to explain why that sequence is the best method; i.e. the writer fails to present an overview of the process first, with pros and cons of doing the task in different ways. The English instructor could read a chapter from the teenagerā€™s favorite technical manual, for example if the teenager had a manual for servicing VW diesel engines. Then ask the student to re-write a section that you didnā€™t understand, or had ambiguous wording, so that it was more clearly stated. Whatā€™s more, learning technical writing skills would be a good way for a student to find an actual good paying job in the industry, either as a technical writer, or as a scientist/design engineer/manufacturing engineer . ---
**Author:** ![the\_same\_mountainbike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@the\_same\_mountainbike](https://community.cartalk.com/u/the_same_mountainbike)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2014, 7:50am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/best-reads-for-engine-lovers/87357/14 "2014-09-27T07:50:29Z")
When I was a kid I hated reading Edgar Allen Poe, and Machiavelli, and all the other ā€œclassicsā€ we had to read. Yet I used to sit at home for entire evenings reading science books about the universe, physics, the human body, etc. Even today my bookshelves are filled with books on science and technology. Thereā€™s only one novel, an old leather-bound copy of ā€œA Christmas Carolā€. 17 years at a college taught me how abysmal the writing and reading comprehension skills are in far too many high school graduates. There are far too many teachers who simply follow the program blindly. And far too many administrators focused on teaching students _what_ to think rather than _how_ to think. I cannot tell you how great it is to hear from a teacher who actually cares and is looking for something that will motivate the student. To this day I cannot tell you how little I care about dangling a participle (whatever that is). And I routinely start sentences with conjunctions. But I think Iā€™m fairly articulate and able to communicate a point better than many. And my reading comprehension ainā€™t bad either. I got these skills largely by deeply studying the stuff that I loved, not from ā€œThe Pit and The Pendulumā€. No disrespect to those who love novels. Reading skills can be honed by many different types of writing. English Lit majors probably would all be marginally literate if they were forced to read only technical books, much as I probably not be literate if Iā€™d been forced to read only the ā€œclassicsā€. Just an aside; during my last years in academia I kept a copy of ā€œThe Priceā€ prominently displayed on my desk, just as a private joke/comment on the unadulterated politics in the college administration. Very, very few people actually noticed. I suspect that very few actually knew what the subject of the book was. ---
**Author:** ![Marnet](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/marnet/32/41_2.png) [@Marnet](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Marnet)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2014, 9:19am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/best-reads-for-engine-lovers/87357/15 "2014-09-27T09:19:03Z")
++1 for GeorgeSanJose!!! ---
**Author:** ![insightful](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/insightful/32/2732_2.png) [@insightful](https://community.cartalk.com/u/insightful)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2014, 10:46pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/best-reads-for-engine-lovers/87357/16 "2014-09-27T22:46:24Z")
" ā€¦I kept a copy of ā€œThe Priceā€ prominently displayedā€¦" Possibly, _The Prince_? ---
**Author:** ![George\_San\_Jose1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e5b9ba/32.png) [@George\_San\_Jose1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/George_San_Jose1)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2014, 4:25am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/best-reads-for-engine-lovers/87357/17 "2014-09-28T04:25:41Z")
@Yosemite ā€¦ have you ever tried talking books on CD? I never liked to read fiction books, it seemed time consuming and tedious. Then one day I tried listening to a fiction book with the audio CD version of the book. Itā€™s a heck of a lot easier and way more entertaining. Just sit back and let someone else read the story to you. I just finished a non-fiction biography titled ā€œUnbrokenā€ that way. Iā€™d have never read it as a printed book. But as a talking book it is a great story about an Olympic-level long distance runner who enters WWII in the Air Force and has a really bad string of luck. ---
**Author:** ![B.L.E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/848f3c/32.png) [@B.L.E](https://community.cartalk.com/u/B.L.E)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2014, 6:43am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/best-reads-for-engine-lovers/87357/18 "2014-09-28T06:43:23Z")
I used to pick up Cycle World just to read Kevin Cameronā€™s ā€œTDCā€ columns. His collected stories are now available in a book. He has a lot to say about engine design and theory and stories about the people who did the development. > **[Top Dead Center: The Best of Kevin Cameron from Cycle World Magazine: Kevin Cameron, Cook Neilson: 9780760327272: Amazon.com: Books](https://www.amazon.com/Top-Dead-Center-Cameron-Magazine/dp/0760327270)** > > Kevin Cameron is one of the most widely read motorcycle journalists in the world--for reasons that this collection makes immediately and undeniably clear. Here are the feature articles and columns tha ... Kevin also writes about turbo diesel engines. > **[RAM Cummins Diesel Forum at Turbo Diesel Register](https://www.turbodieselregister.com/content/460-Kevin-Cameron-Collection)** > > The Turbo Diesel Register. Dodge diesel owners, you have found the number one resource for Dodge Cummins trucks! ---
**Author:** ![the\_same\_mountainbike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@the\_same\_mountainbike](https://community.cartalk.com/u/the_same_mountainbike)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2014, 7:06am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/best-reads-for-engine-lovers/87357/19 "2014-09-28T07:06:34Z")
Oops. Nice catch insightful. Yup, it should have read ā€œThe Princeā€. ---
**Author:** ![ok4450](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e9bcb4/32.png) [@ok4450](https://community.cartalk.com/u/ok4450)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2014, 7:27am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/best-reads-for-engine-lovers/87357/20 "2014-09-28T07:27:35Z")
Others have covered the bases on this but one thing does come to my mind anyway. The student is described as having an obsession with diesel engines and this is a high school English class. What I wonder about is how this student stands academically with their grades. If theyā€™re in a HS English class and having to struggle with the course then how is shifting the focus to diesels going to help anything unless that student is going to become a diesel wrench? My assumption is that the student is fine and Iā€™m just pointing out a what-if. Lord, I hated HS English and English Literature even though Iā€™m a lifelong bookworm and absorb printed words like a sponge. [Next page](https://community.cartalk.com/t/best-reads-for-engine-lovers/87357.md?page=2)