I received the book, Hot Rod Model Kits, by Terry Jessee for Christmas, and it carries a heavy memory charge for me. It covers the scale model car kits that had their golden age in the 60s and 70s -- I know I built my share, even getting into scratch building with leftover parts. The core of the book is solid coverage of the history of the major kit companies (Revell, Monogram, AMT, etc.), with inside stories from the designers, production engineers and enthusiasts. Loaded with color photos that had me saying, "Hey! I built that one!" every couple of pages. It really brings that whole experience back to me, from the visual, to the tactile, to the smells of the paints and glues (yeah, right, insert your own glue sniffin' joke here), to more subtly, the fresh plastic aroma of a newly opened box (insert Gravity's Rainbow joke here). Or at Christmas time, shaking the wrapped packages and identifying the models by that distinctive rattle of the kit parts on their trees. Sigh. I'm definitely going to have to pick up a cool kit, some glue and paint for a little nostalgia build (the Boot Hill Express would be a gas). The scene may not be quite as day-glo candy-apple metalflake vibrant as in those golden days, but it's still around and quite healthy, with several magazines, bitchen fansites and even a national museum.