Martyn Schorr, one of America’s most accomplished automotive writers, has another great new book, this one called Day One: An Automotive Journalist’s Muscle Car Memoir. Here’s a closer look. 

With an incredible career spanning more than half a century, Martyn Schorr is one of the most senior and accomplished automotive journalists in the biz. As writer and editor for CARS magazine and other titles for New York publisher Magnum Royal Publications, Martyn was a front-lines participant in the muscle car wars of the 1960s, when horsepower was king and the youth market drove the Motor City’s PR battles. He saw it all and lived it all, driving and reporting on all the most outrageous machines of the decade, from Fuelie Corvettes to factory lightweights—and even racing them, both on the streets and in official competition. As MCG, in wonderment, often says to Martyn (and Martyn always agrees) he and his comrades had a lot more fun than car writers today.

Not long ago we reviewed Mr. Schorr’s recent work, Ford Total Performance, an expert’s first-hand look back at the the company’s glorious racing programs of the 1960s. Now he’s back with another book that includes all the manufacturers on the performance scene in that amazing decade, and his own personal recollections of the cars and projects. Appropriately enough, it’s called Day One, since Martyn was there from the start.

Imagine what it might be like to drive around the streets of New York for a week in a Ramchargers Dodge Super Stocker, complete with candy-striped paint and lettering. Or to have open access to all the big-block Chevy muscle monsters hand-built by the Baldwin-Motion crew. Or to be tossed the keys to a custom-built ’66 Olds Toronado with engines both front and rear. These are just a few of the priceless stories in Day One, accompanied by a stunning collection of period photos that have seldom if ever been published before. Cutting to the chase, this is a must-have books for fans of the muscle car era. You’ll be educated and enthralled—we guarantee it.

Day One: An Automotive Journalist’s Muscle-Car Memoir by Martyn L. Schorr; foreword by Joe Oldham; 208 pages, 275 illustrations; Motorbooks $45.00. Also available at Amazon.