WARBABY: get 'em while they're hot

1940 - 1941 BRC, MA, GP, Preproduction Prototypes. Knowledge Base NO EBAY or COMMERCIAL SALES.

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Re: WARBABY: get 'em while they're hot

Post by gerrykan » Wed Dec 21, 2016 3:38 pm

Regarding media mail shipping time.....

I was notified by my credit card provider that the charge was made 12/13/16 7:27 PM EST.
I will assume the soonest mailing would have been 12/14/16.
It arrived 12/21/16.
Probably not a bad time frame considering the Christmas rush.

I took the cheapskate route with media shipping for my books, but would advise against it for others.
The books arrived unscathed, but the tortuous wait reminded me of my childhood countdown from December 1st to Santa's arrival sometime during the night on Christmas eve!

Like Fred, I plan to delve into it this weekend, but my hat is off to you Bill for producing such a high quality book linking all the tidbits you and a few others have been feeding us over the last few years.
Thanks.
Roy


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Re: WARBABY: get 'em while they're hot

Post by George Hollins » Wed Dec 21, 2016 5:28 pm

I received my books yesterday. I agree with all the above comments. It is an accurate historical and pictorial story of the Bantam BRC. I encourage all jeep enthusiasts, not just BRC owners, to purchase this book. Thanks Bill for all your many years of hard work and research to create this book.
George

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Re: WARBABY: get 'em while they're hot

Post by Polar Roller » Wed Dec 21, 2016 8:36 pm

Thanks Gerrycan...just to present the other side...I think media mail is a real deal at seven bucks..it has been so trouble free I am thinking about dropping the insurance and going down further even to five! In this first initial rush credit card charges may not be an accurate descriptor as our account is in Alaska and our person there was out due to family issues. We just shipped and trusted the credit cards would be okay and charged them when we could. A few days wait for a 2500 mile trip at Christmas seems pretty good...anyway..suit yourselves...

Good way to put it..linking all the tidbits together. I sincerely hope the book provides a framework for others so that they can place the informTion and research they have in the context of the greater story...it really is a good story, and I hope everyone sees it is a revitalization and invitation to do more digging rather than any idea that it is the " last word" on anything.
Cheers
Bill

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Re: WARBABY: get 'em while they're hot

Post by HUMMERMAX » Sat Dec 24, 2016 7:09 am

" WARBABY landed in Italy.
The first copy of WARBABY landed in Bologna Italy at Museo Memoriale della Libertà.
Edo, opened the box with dear friends, passionate of the Jeep and his story since the beginning in Butler PA .
Here left to right, Andrea Gordini, Sonia Bonfiglioli, Edo Ansaloni, Massimo Cuschini and Giuseppe "Beppe" Gordini Sr, during the simple WELCOME party in honor of the very first copy. The Gordini are a family of racing off-roaders and Beppe was along with Edo cofounder of the very first off road Club, in 1969 in San Lazzaro di Savena (Bologna) Italy, still very active. Massimo Cuschini is a MV collector and a great expert on US military WWII rigs.
Sonia Bonfiglioli is graduated at the Bologna University in Mechanic Engineer and is running a multinational business with factories on the four corner of the world; is hobby now is to restore, along with his two sons, a MB WWII Jeep.
She was enthusiastic about the Bill Spear book, the content, and the lay out, very pleasant and inviting. Sonia declared that every serious lovers of not only the Jeep, but of all off roads rigs, since descendent from the Bantam BRC , should have in his library a copy of Warbaby!
Edo "

Many Thanks Bill!



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Re: WARBABY: get 'em while they're hot

Post by soniab » Sat Dec 24, 2016 9:03 am

Ciao G503 followers!!! It's really a very interesting book! Any model of jeep you have ( MB, GPW, CJs or ...actual) this is the beginning of the story! CONGRATS Bill!!!!!!
Sonia

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Re: WARBABY: get 'em while they're hot

Post by Hartofoak » Thu Dec 29, 2016 5:18 am

WARBABY landed in England yesterday in pristine condition. Got to bed way after midnight as I had to read as much as I could! Wonderful book that will be treasured. Nice to see my brother gets several mentions. Congratulations Bill.
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Re: WARBABY: get 'em while they're hot

Post by Joe Friday » Sat Dec 31, 2016 12:16 pm

I opened the box on Christmas morning and basically read the book from cover to cover in the first day or two.
The detail is amazing, and accurate.

There is an incredible amount of detail regarding what really happened, with images and excerpts of original documents seen by very few people in the last 70-75 years. The author makes certain to investigate several angles, and several sources before stating his findings.




Bill exercised great restraint while describing the inconsistencies in the previous 'Probst' version of the story. For those of you with better things to do than spend the day on google patent searches, allow me to point out that the Probst patent immediately previous to his involvement at Bantam was for the mechanism for an oscillating office fan. Clearly a skilled engineer, the first Probst patent I found for a multiple speed rear axle was 1910. I did laugh out loud when I read the line about his reputation as a skilled draftsman. (skilled craftsman maybe). Anyone that has reviewed a large quantity of his drawings would tell you they look like they were done with a dull crayon. It is an interesting comparison to his very skilled and detailed bill of materials and purchase orders for the Kaiser projects however.
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Re: WARBABY: get 'em while they're hot

Post by Jim Gilmore » Sat Dec 31, 2016 1:05 pm

I enjoyed Edo's photos of him and his friends enjoying wine and the book........

I had the same idea when my book arrived......but....the dilemma .....what wine would worthy to drink while absorbing all the writing of this fine book???

A search in my wine cellar (closet) found the one and only wine that would do this event justice......

My bottle of Ford GP wine given to me by Bill Raush way back in December 1995..........!

Jim Gilmore

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Re: WARBABY: get 'em while they're hot

Post by Polar Roller » Sat Dec 31, 2016 8:35 pm

Well, Joe Friday has me breathing a little easier wrt what you guys who actually read the book might see...But, I am gonna be losin' a lot of sleep wondering what kind of review I am gonna get out of Jim as he struggles through the hangover that jug is likely to give him :~) :D

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Re: WARBABY: get 'em while they're hot

Post by 19OlllllllO41 » Tue Jan 03, 2017 12:43 pm

I got my book on Thursday the 29th, and I have got to say this is one magnificent book! Amazing... so worth every penny! Thanks again!
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Re: WARBABY: get 'em while they're hot

Post by Fred Coldwell » Sun Jan 08, 2017 11:22 am

Now that I have finally finished reading this book, here are my thoughts. I love this book! At nearly 400 beautiful pages, “WARBABY – The True Story of the Original Jeep” by William Spear is a highly significant new book that thoroughly explores the origin of the very first ¼ ton 4x4 vehicle, the Bantam Reconnaissance Car. It is a thick and delicious banquet of early jeep facts and images that is a treat to consume. The book itself is striking, from its thick embossed hard bound cover to the clear text and sharp images reproduced on its pages. Handling it is a sensual pleasure; reading it feeds the brain.

The creation of the very first jeep is a human story. The author introduces us to a whole cast of characters through brief biographies and photographs. Their contributions or roadblocks, and their opinions and recollections, are set forth in their own words and thoughts as gleaned from biographies, correspondence, memoirs and testimony given in government proceedings. Each character comes alive as their likely emotions and motivations are fleshed out based on the written word and some informed speculation.

The book is very fact based, and the author goes out of his way to distinguish fact from speculation. The facts are laid out chronologically as the story unfolds and the BRC develops. In a calm and detailed chronological analysis, the author makes the case that two men were primarily responsible for the creation and design of the BRC. They are Bantam’s independent sales representative, Harry Payne, whose persistence solidified an amorphous desire for a new light weight vehicle within segments of the U.S. Army; and Bantam’s modest factory manager, Harold Crist, whose track-honed midget car racing knowledge guided the design and construction of the first BRC, as well as subsequent production.

Milestones are often depicted by photographs of material events, or ideas through sketches and engineering drawings. Primary reference source materials are the transcripts of various government proceedings conducted during and after WW II, which capture the facts and recollections of many participants while still fresh in their minds. Numerous direct quotations of theirs taken from these proceeding's transcripts inform our opinions of them because we hear the participants speak in their own words.

Though long and dense with facts and images, WARBABY is written in many small chapters and verses so can be picked up and read in snippets at one’s leisure. It contains many delightful photos of different Bantam jeeps being tested and evaluated at camps and forts all over the U.S.A., which when viewed transport us back to that time.

The research and scholarship that went into this book is absolutely first rate. The presentation is more than fair to other views. The main thesis is understated, making it all the more convincing. The author’s imputation and speculation is clearly identified and distinguished from uncontested facts. Earlier accounts of the Bantam story are analyzed and gently found inaccurate or misleading, while the author flags a few areas deserving of further research to answer some open questions.

This book is fantastic reading for anyone interested in learning about the true origin of the very first Bantam ¼ ton 4x4 car that became known as the jeep. The story is as compelling as it is fresh and informative.
Happy Jeep Trails,

Fred Coldwell
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Re: WARBABY: get 'em while they're hot

Post by Joe Friday » Mon Jan 09, 2017 7:14 pm

Fred- I think your review literally falls into the category of I couldn't have said it better myself. Really, I couldn't.

I might add that there was another book on the subject in the last few years that also 'included' many of the original documents. I recognized many profound differences. One of them was that Bill analyzed each document, where the other book just presented an image of an excerpt. Another difference was that when Bill presented or quoted the FTC testimony, he did that after reviewing the prosecuting attorneys correspondence with the witnesses when they were coaching the witnesses. These are not in the National Archive, but are out there.

There were a few references to All American Wonder by Wade Wells also. Bill appropriately points out that was a book paid for and published by Willys.
In actuality, Ward Canaday came to Willys from the American Advertising Company. His brother Frank worked hand in hand with Wade Wells to put All American Wonder together.
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Re: WARBABY: get 'em while they're hot

Post by Polar Roller » Mon Jan 09, 2017 8:44 pm

Well, I haven't responded to Fred's note because frankly, I have been kind of been just enjoying the high. :D it is a great honor to get that kind of response out of someone who actually knows what he is talking about, and, no mAtter what happens with the book, that is what makes it all worth while. So Fred, thank you very much for your very generous remarks and taking the time to post them.

And, Joe Friday as most know is an inveterate and deep researcher, and his remarks and kind observations are equally well appreciated. I am pretty sure he will be next up at bat with new material because i know he has a ton of stuff that I just could not fit in..about Spicer and Probst and a host of other things.

I just wanted to say as you guys begin to read this that, I did not ever intend this to be the "bible" or any kind of " last word" on the subject. Rather I hope you see it as a Kind of tourist guide, pointing out the highlights and establishing the times and personalities we know about now, as foot holds for further information. In short I wanted to inspire more interest and curiosity, not end the story.

In this regard, I KNOW, some parts of my carefully constructed wall will get knocked down..I mean I hope they will. It will of course to be painful to face the fact that I was off center on this or that, but, the whole purpose of this kind of thing is to move the story along, if, over the next few years I can get this book out there, I am sure it will get people rooting around in attics and garages and memories to provide more detail. I am hoping we might even find a car or two.

I delibeately did not go into the Ford and Willys histories because there are so many more knowledgeable people and already written things. I can't rmember if I said that exactly about the PR aspects of Willys-Overland as Joe Friday says, but every company has a "soul" that informs their actions and history. Willys had lost their genius founder John North Willys..and Bantams own Roy Evans had basically owned the company in 1935, selling off a huge backlog of inventory for them. When they revitalized, it is true there were a lot of PR people and lawyers involved...but, they did what they did with brilliance, a story you can read in Fred's book. The Bantam guys were hardly even a car company...I liken them to the seven Samurai..or, the magnificent seven...a group of guys with individual skills coming togehter to do something. An entirely different soul. I doubt they would have EVER glorified the jeep in advertising the way willys did...so ask yourself, how would we regard the jeep today but for the advertising? Interesting question,

While acknowledging contributions, let me just state flat out that what Ron has done in putting this group togehter is really rmarkable, and I would not be honest if I did not say that my reall interest in this subject was inspired right here on the G, and I have to apologize for all my overly cranked up sword fighting in the beginning, and cringe to think what the archives will reveal. But I got a huge amount of help and inspiration from many of you here on the prototype forum, have made many friends and thank you for it, including, the comtributions of my many worthy debating opponents from whom I got a lot of direction and leads. Thanks to all.

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Re: WARBABY: get 'em while they're hot

Post by cblynch » Fri Jan 13, 2017 11:57 am

Keith Buckley, Fred Colwell, and Jim Gilmore......... wow, ultimate stalwarts of the Jeep hobby.....no higher praise than from those three.
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Re: WARBABY: get 'em while they're hot

Post by Polar Roller » Thu Jan 26, 2017 5:14 pm

You guys could really do me a favor .....I finally figured out how to get WARBABY on Amazon...for those who got books and liked them it would be a huge help to build its status on Amazon..you could go to the page and rate the book and or even write something about it. :lol: The site below will take you right to the page (which is still a little rough, but works).

It would be nice (added bonus) for you to pretend you are just looking for the book as a civilian and do a search for it just using keywords or names that you think would work to find a book like this...Search engines for some reason do not want to do a search for the actual name of the book ..one word all caps WARBABY...however if you put it in quotes "WARBABY" it comes right up. war-baby, war baby and some others do work...

If you do this, one thing is to go to the 'search criteria' and arrange the results of your search for "most recently listed" (not lowest priced or whatever) ...often it will come up first that way, but otherwise, be at the bottom of dozens of of other books or products...If you can't find it here is the cite. When you get there think of General McArthur or Eisenhowers epaulets! :~) :twisted:

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_st_date ... -desc-rank

Another point..for those actually buying the book, we are still holding on our introductory price on our own website, so, it is a few dollars cheaper there, for the time being anyway. Thanks for any help. I am really looking forward to these things becoming collectors items :D


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