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Book Review: The Jeep (book) by the Olyslager Organisation

• CATEGORIES: Bantam-FordGP-WillysMA-EarlyJPs, Books, Features, Unique Jeeps, Unusual • TAGS: This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

I don’t know when or where it came from, but at some point my parents obtained a book simply titled “The Jeep“.  It was mostly a picture book, which as a young kid was perfectly fine with me.  I open and looked through it many, many times. Ok, I still open it ….

However, it wasn’t just a book with a few pics of jeeps you see everyday.  Instead, it’s a slim book full of a wide range of pictures.  Of course, there’s the standard bantam, mb, seep, gpw, etc. But, there’s also, for example, 3 images of the Willys/Nuffied modified airborne jeep, seen to the right (though not from the book — it’s from a russian site — the book images of the Willys/Nuffield are at the bottom of this post).

I bring this up, as I ran across a copy of the book at the Boise Library today.  So, I snapped a few images of the pictures with my digital camera (hence the poor quality – purchase the book to see them sharply) and will post a some of them.

I haven’t asked for permission to post them (I TRIED to, but can’t find the contact info for them), so I’ll add this pitch for the book.  This book is a must for any jeep nut.  While it’s a fairly small book with only 64 pages, the collectors prices (at amazon) were hovering around $45. It’s a perfect size for your kids.  The organization responsible for publishing the book is the Olyslager Foundation (link?), which has published a number of other cool books listed at the Open Library Project.

Now for some cool, but poor quality pics to wet your appetite…

One of my favorite sections of the book show how quickly a crate jeep can be put together.  The book documents this particular group only took 3 minutes and 31 seconds to put it togther.

Check out the rest of the pics …..

Some drivers are content to get a boat or a Seep to travel the waters.  So, someone decided to put the largest paddle tires I’ve ever seen onto a flattie.

Here’s a conversion package to convert a jeep to a truck-like vehicle.

Here’s a jeep built for the kiddie rails.

And finally, two shots of the willys/nuffield airborne jeep

 

3 Comments on “Book Review: The Jeep (book) by the Olyslager Organisation

  1. Paul Wadas

    Dave, Thanks for the book review. I just ordered one from Amazon, it will make a good Christmas gift from my sons. My old favorite is Hail To The Jeep. I use to check that one out from the library but now I have an orignal of my own. Keep up the good work. -Paul Wadas-

  2. Paul Wadas

    Dave, I read the book from cover to cover. Anyone looking to learn the real history of the “Jeep” should consider obtaining this book. I had a chance a few years ago to look at one of the prototype Bantam Jeeps (BRC-40) at the Gilmore Auto Museum in Hickory Corners, Michigan. At the time, I didn’t realize what I was looking at. You can view pictures of this Bantam by going to: http://www.remarkablecars.com/ppads/showproduct.php/product/1713/cat/all

    Thanks again, Paul Wadas

  3. deilers

    Hi Paul,

    I couldn’t agree more. I’ve not run across more precise nor in-depth information about early jeeps anywhere else.

    Thanks for the link. I ran across that museum while looking for really good auto museums on the web. I’ve never visited it, but it’s on my ‘bucket’ list. Now that I know there’s a Bantam, that visit has climbed a few notches in importance 🙂

    Thanks,

    – Dave

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