The pickup truck can do a lot more than just haul. Sure, you've seen them everywhere with a bunch of two by fours hanging out the back, anc chances are, if you've ever been on a hayride, you've even ridden in one. Pickups are America's favorite trucks!

Here's a photographic tribute to the American dream. The pickup can be used in a thousand ways. Park it next to a skinny-dipping hole and you've got a sundeck. Lower the tailgate and you've got a diving board. Pull up to football field and invite a crowd for lunch. Back it up at any Fourth of July parade and you've got an instant bandstand.

And on the road, a pickup truck means business! No matter what the weather, you'll arrive at your destination safe and secure. Fun, functional - once you own a pickup truck, you'll wonder how you ever got along without one.

From the first Model C of 1905 (only 10 were made and they sold for $950 each) to the customized racing pickups in hot colors and monster pickups that leap and crush, you'll see them all here. Not only the shiny pickups, freshly waxed and posed in front of a scenic backdrop, but working pickups - mean muddy and ready for action.

Michael Benson is the editor of Stock Car Spectacular and Super Truck Spectacular magazines. His other books include Vintage Science Fiction Films, Ballparks of North America, Dream Teams, Who's Who in the JFK Assassination, and from Crescent Books, Monster Trucks and Stock Car Spectacular. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife and daughter.

Synopsis from the publisher

Demonstrating the craftmanship and power of the pickup truck, an enthusiast's gift book which features full-color photographs throughout, important statistical and historical data, and a special focus on modified racing machines and monster trucks.

Review from Amazon.com

A perfect gift book for a truck enthusiast. Only describes American models (i.e., Chevy, Dodge and Ford).

Review from the Pickup Truck Virtual Bookstore

• Introduction: Pickups mean freedom
• A history of pickup trucks: A year-by-year guide
• New trucks: They still have that smell
• Pickup love: It's a beautiful thing
• Trucks at work: Just doin' what they do
• Monster pickups: Beasts that leap and crush
• Customized trucks: Low riders in hot colors
• Racing trucks: From the backroad to the superspeedway
• Index