Book Reviews for Porschephiles

BY BRUCE HERRINGTON, ORANGE COAST REGION

Secrets of the Barn Find Hunter

Despite the title, only one chapter (of 16) deals expressly with tips and tricks of how to be a successful barn finder. The rest of the book consists of stories and anecdotes of barn finding.

There is Porsche content in this book because it starts out with the story of a thirteen year old McKeel Hagerty and the ‘67 Porsche 911S he and his father dragged out of two snow banks, one winter. There are two brief mentions of cruising in a 356, and a picture of a 912 in a pasture. Other than that though, this book deals with the barn finding process as much as with specific finds. When the process is told as it is in this book, with specific examples of hard earned practical experience, it makes for a very interesting read. It is more of an anthology of anecdotes (numerous other individuals have articles included) than a how-to book, though the how is clearly derivable from the experiences, good and bad, related in these pages. The very readable and sometimes fascinating stories are more about the hunts than the results. There are a few ‘side bars’ inserted into the text which tell specifics about specific cars and their finding.

The Prologue explains the relationship between this book, the Barn Find Hunter TV series and Hagerty Group, LLC. To some degree, this book appears to be a printed version of The Barn Find Hunter TV show. Having never watched that show, this reviewer cannot attest to the similarities or differences between the show and the book. These tips are presented as interesting first-person anecdotes illustrating the value of the tip. Like everything else in the book, the anecdotes are short, concise and self-contained. They make for interesting and engaging reading whenever a dull moment presents itself.

Like the other books by Tom Cotton published by Motorbooks (The Cobra in the Barn, The Corvette in the Barn, etc.), this is a book with no real plot, no characters to keep track of. It presents a number of short self-contained articles, mostly about 2 minutes worth of reading. The only constant theme is finding old cars, mostly “Detroit Iron”, and their stories. A variety of authors tell a variety of stories, all presented an a very readable, first-person, chatty style. Dealing as it does with several people who search out old cars, and with the people who own them, it is almost as much a book about people as it is about cars.

There are lots of pictures, lots of white space and bright colorful graphic accents. It is a cheerful book, mentally and visually. It is readable, informative, and most of all, entertaining.

Secrets of the Barn Find Hunter by Tom Cotter,

published April 2022 by Motorbooks, Beverly, MA. is hardbound with a photographic cover and contains 208, 7 x 9 inch matte pages. There are 120 photographs and decent index. By the time you read this, it should be available for $30.00 from your favorite book seller (ask for it), or from QuartoKnows.com.

Perhaps the meat or heart of Secrets of the Barn Find Hunter is Chapter 4, Top 25 Barn Finding Pro Tips.