Earl Swift is the author of the New York Times bestseller Chesapeake Requiem, which was named to ten best-of-the-year lists. His other books include Across the Airless Wilds, Auto Biography, The Big Roads, and Where They Lay. A former reporter for the Virginian-Pilot and a contributor to Outside and other publications, he is a fellow of Virginia Humanities at the University of Virginia. He lives in the Blue Ridge mountains west of Charlottesville.
"The best contemporary book I've read about automobiles." -- Matt Hardigree, Jalopnik"I've never met Earl Swift, but from the very first page of this book I like him. Auto Biography is exuberant, big-spirited, and more than occasionally profound." -- TRACY KIDDER, Pulitzer Prize winning author of Mountains Beyond Mountains"Earl Swift has done something astonishing. He has let us see the unwinding of the American Dream through the windshield of a single 1957 Chevy-and through the stories of every one of its owners. Auto Biography is funny and sad and wise, an ingenious joyride of a book." -- BILL MORRIS, author of Motor City Burning"Fascinating... The author tells Arney's story deftly and with great, often raw, humor, and it rarely loses momentum." -- Booklist"A true tall tale that doubles as a complicated fable, Auto Biography is the wild and woolly saga of a 1957 Chevrolet station wagon, its 13 owners, and Tommy Arney, the appetite-forward, contradictorily honorable character who restores the four-door chariot to a glory even greater than its original." -- Christian Science Monitor"[A] must read ... It's the bromance of the ages: a ruined man and and a ruined '57 Chevy find happiness in each other's arms." -- New York Post"Engrossing and entertaining.... The narrative tactfully unfolds with deeply human stories of struggle, ambition, hopes, dreams.... Swift is a wonderful guide and the stories he relates are engaging in their own right." -- Publishers Weekly"Dazzling. ... Many readers likely will feel the description Swift paints of Arney in the first page and a half of the book is worth the $26.99 price tag alone." -- Daily Progress (Charlottesville, VA)"A good fun read. ... There's rust, havoc, renovation and redemption, for the car and several of its owners. ... The car talk is interesting and accurate; an easy and well written read. Swift is a big name, award-winning writer, and his chops show well here." -- Matt Stone, former editor, Motor Trend Classic"A fresh, personal perspective on America's love affair with the automobile." -- Joe Bargmann, of Popular Mechanics, Road & Truck, and the wildly popular blog, "Backseat Driver""Full of crackerjack reporting and fuel-injected mirth... Swift's lengthy step-by-step description of the disassembly and recreation process is as nail-biting as any drugstore action-thriller. It's hard to conceive of a more riveting (or unriveting) work on the subject than Auto Biography." -- Atlanta Journal-Constitution"Swift delivers on the ambitious scope of his subtitle, and will capture the imagination of classic car fans and non-fans alike. Highly recommended." -- Jason Fogelson of Forbes"Entertaining and enlightening." -- Fort Worth Star-Telegram"Swift negotiates a phrase like a car with a tight turning radius." -- The Durham Herald Sun"An entertaining, surprisingly informative and action-packed tale." -- Houston Chronicle"Swift excels at such descriptions of autos and people, as well as observations on society and pop culture." -- Dallas Morning News"A great read, with the cast, dialogue and drama of a novel." -- Detroit Free Press
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