Automobile - March 2010
Porsche Bookshelf

You'd expect a sixty-six chapter, three-volume tome by the venerable Karl Ludvigsen to be definitive, and it is. First published in 1977, the latest edition offers in-depth information on everything Porsche, from the Type 356 through the yet-to-be-introduced Panamera Hybrid. But while other authors focus only on the cars, Ludvigsen crafts wonderful prose about the people - executives, designers, and engineers - who make the company that builds the cars. Even if it's too daunting to read cover-to-cover, you can open to any page and expect to learn something new every time with this unimaginably complete work.

The only shortcoming is that Ludvigsen's narrative concludes just before Porsche's shocking financial collapse and takeover by Volkswagen this past summer. We can only assume that this will provide plenty of grist for Ludvigsen's insider storytelling in a future revision.