Seymour Simon's Book of Trucks

Truckspush and pull. They dig and dump. They sweep and shovel, They carry and crush. Every day. Everywhere

Big Rigs of the 1950s
by Ron Adams

America in the 1950s - the post-war economy boomed, television became an established facet of daily life, a growing population began its expansion into newly created suburbs, and the newborn interstate highway system steadily extended its tendrils across the vast landscape. Geographic space became condensed in this era of increasing connectivity, and people from coast to coast demanded goods more quickly. Who would get them there?

This was the era in which trucks and the trucking industry came of age. The new highways allowed you do progress from point A to point B with unprecedented speed. They also provided a path for semi trucks hauling the necessary pieces of a country growing lightning-fast.

In Big Rigs of the 1950s, Ron Adams has combed his extensive archive for images of the trucks that hauled America. Big manufacturers like GMC, Chevrolet, Ford, Dodge, International, Mack, White Freightliner, Peterbilt and Kenworth are represented here, along with rare and unusual makes like Diamond T, Autocar, Brockway, Sterling, Marmon and others.

Each manufacturer has its own chapter, with an impressive array of years and variations represented. With a total of over 200 exciting photographs, you will find everything from car haulers to refrigerated produce trailers in these pages. Anyone who loves vintage semi trucks, or whoever marveled at the massive vehicles lumbering down the interstate every day, will appreciate this book