Thus Spake David E.: The Collected Wit and Wisdom of the Most Influential Automotive Journalist of Our Time (Car and Driver & Automobile Magazine)

Hear this: "Thus Spake David E." is not about cars -- it's about people, life, and the art of living. Dare I say it, DED is the Fangio of the typewriter, and we're all better for it. Where else would you find the advice, "Get rich. Get rich, then you can sleep till noon and screw 'em all". Words to live by, indeed.


David E. Speaks About Life and Cars   April 28, 2000
 5 out of 5 found this review helpful

After I read this book, I wanted to go back to school and get a degree in Jornalism, so I could try to pursue a career driving and writing about the world's finest Automobiles. David E. Davis does such a fine job at this, and he backs it up with poignant and contemplative musings on so many other topics (food, travel, beautiful women, even the deaths of friends and associates), that I would definitely recommend it to any "car guy", and I think that almost anyone would enjoy it. Unlike some other reviewers, I think that it works well as a compilation, partly because it provides an evolving historical perspective on the Automotive industry, and partly because David's unorthodox writing style and sense of humor take some getting used to, and are better enjoyed in this format. Whether of not you agree with Mr. Davis' opinions, you will likely enjoy his egotistical but still somehow self-conscious musings on various topics, particularly if you are the kind of person who appreciates automobiles beyond their capacity to convey us conveniently from point A to point B.


Great Gifts   April 26, 2000
This always entertaining book makes for good bedside reading by the very nature of it's column format. You can read a chapter or two, and pick it up the next day or week without having lost anything. Fathers Day seems like a good enough reason to get this book in your library. There is enough non automotive stuff in Davis' writing for the whole family. Davis tribute to his father is absolutely wonderful. The man can sure write!


On the Road with the Zeus of Car Writers   March 22, 2000
 1 out of 1 found this review helpful

A terrific book by a man who sees into the heart of cars and has the words to share what he sees there. Anyone who loves cars will love this book. But you don't have to love cars to enjoy it because the book is as much about good times, great food, travel to exotic places with intriguing people, and the joys of living life to the fullest wherever and whenever you find it.


Interesting, not fascinating   December 30, 1999
 5 out of 5 found this review helpful

I'd read most of this book before, in the magazines in which the columns originally appeared. Reading them in book form, one after another, is different. There actually is some sort of narrative advancement; one learns about changes in the auto industry (and in the magazine industry) from the contemporary point of view.

You either love or hate David E.; this book gives you a surprising amount of insight into his personality, but (since it's a bunch of reprinted columns) you don't really learn anything you didn't know before. This is a good read. David E. is an excellent writer who really ought to write a more-conventional biography. *That* would be compelling.

(I'll second a previous reviewer's suggestion that Patrick Bedard should do a book like this, and I'd pay good money for a complete collection of Tom McCahill's road tests from Mechanix Illustrated!)