Dream Garages

My husband is building a detached shop, so I got him this book for Christmas. He absolutely loved it. The cars in the book are as great as the garages. I hope I didn't give him too many ideas for his own shop!

I received this book for Christmas and was just purchasing one for a friend. Kris Palmer strikes me as a guy that would abandon a comfy couch in front of a fire to bang his knuckles on rusty bolts in a cold garage.... just because. As the front lapel indicates, this book is a perfect fit for guys that are drawn to tinker in their garages because it's a book about "us". My garage itself might not be worthy of a cover shot, but what happens in it is no different than is described in each chapter of Dream Garages. Mr Palmer's book is a wonderful insight into how other enthusiasts have grown in their own garage, turning dreams into reality. I really enjoyed reading about the fruits of their love, it's not about the vehicle they're working on or where they hang their tools, it's about the passion we share to shape our projects within the walls known as the garage. Nice job Mr Palmer!

I like this book. It is not intended to be a "how to" for designing a garage. That subject has been well covered by other titles. This is about great cars and the people who own/collect them. I find its interesting to learn how serious car people get the bug and rearrange their lives to accommodate their passion for cars. This book spans a broad array of car people - from methodical collectors with expansive storage facilities, to the gear nuts whose space reflects their own personalities. Where else are you going to see a collection of every year Ford and Mercury woody produced up to the early fifties?

Dream Garages is disappointing. The book does not really focus on garages (like Ultimate Garages by Phil Berg), but has stories around somewhat interesting car people, with their garage only as an afterthought. I have all the garage-type books, and this one is my least favorite.