UPDATE:  I completed the book.  There are some good stories of jeeping and others having nothing to do with jeeps.  If you like adventure and travel, or African travel, or the challenges of border crossing, give this book a read.  One favorite anecdote Andy writes about was a boss of his who at one time was Willys Overland Salesman in Africa during the 1940s.  One of his sales strategies was roll them down a hill, tip them upright, and drive them away to demonstrate how hardy they were.

Andy’s website is here.  You can follow his travels via sailboat as well http://www.rson.ca/index.php

I was on Amazon yesterday ordering a book called  “Jumping Fire: A Smokejumper’s Memoir of Fighting Wildfire” (which has a fascinating story about how smoke jumpers used a willys wagon).  One thing led to another and I ran across a second book called “African Wanderlust: Across Colonial Africa by Jeep”.   Never having heard of that book, I ordered it and will report on it once I read it.

African Wanderlust: Across Colonial Africa by Jeep

Looks like a good price for all of them.

“Jeep 4×4 Performance Handbook
High Performance Jeep TJs Builders Guide 1997-2006
You & Your Suzuki 4×4
How to Modify Suzuki 4×4 for Serious Off-Road Action
Illustrated Jeep Buyers Guide
Mopar Jeep Engines
The Story of Jeep
The Jeep Bible
Classic Jeeps
Jeep The Unstoppable Legend
Jeep CJ5 & CJ6
Jeep Chassis and Suspension”

http://pittsburgh.craigslist.org/bks/3122519197.html

I’m not sure what all is here, but someone might be interested.

“Willys parts manual, newletters accessory catalog etc, plus wheel clips
Keen to sell,OFFERS 604 872 2766”

http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/nvn/pts/2440545960.html

Before there were jeeps, drivers had to amuse themselves with vehicles somehow. Before there was Willys Overland there was just Overland.  In 1907, wondering where 500 cars he ordered were, John North Willys found himself having to ask friends to inject cash into Overland after he discovered he wouldn’t get his cars if he didn’t (the company would have gone bankrupt).   So, in 1920 you have an Overland (maybe the 1918 Overland 90 Touring model) made by Willys Overland, what can you do with it if you don’t have four wheel drive?

You jump it of course!  On September 5, 1920, the driver below, Henry Alegria, a Basque Pioneer in Idaho, drove this four cylinder Overland touring car over an 18 foot gap between two ramps.  I’m assuming he survived the jump.  It looks pretty crazy, given the driver probably had no seat belt.  I found the photo in a book by Arthur A. Hart called Life in Old Boise that someone gave me recently.  The book has some great pics, which are more enjoyable if you know Boise, Idaho, at all.

I found a link to this fascinating book from the Olive Drab Site.  Click on this link so they’ll get credit for the purchase from Amazon and view some of the pages.  There are pics of early jeeps I’ve never seen before and I’ve been spending some time collecting pics for various histories I’m putting together.  I’m adding it to my list of books to purchase.

Ok, this has nothing to do with jeeps, but the recipe was unusual enough that I thought I’d write about it …..

One of the first things I do when I move to a new place (and I’ve moved a lot) is that I get myself a library card.  I love to read and pretty much exclusively checkout non-fiction books.  I try to read about 5 a month or 60 a year, which I suppose makes me a book worm compared with the national average of 4 books a year.  However, my reading pales in comparison to someone like Teddy Roosevelt (I highly recommend this book about TR), who even as president would read several books a day in multiple languages, reading 10s of thousands of books during his lifetime. Even more amazing, with his photographic memory, apparently he had an astounding ability to recall details of what he read even years later.

So, last night before going to sleep  I was reading a book called The World of Caffeine, a history of caffeine (coffee, tea, chocolate).  As I read through the book, I came across this recipe for something I had never heard of before, Beer Soup, a popular breakfast dish up through the 18th century.  As a former chef, an interesting recipe always catches my eye.  This recipe was unusual enough, some might say gross enough,  that I thought I’d share this treat(?).

BEER SOUP RECIPE from rural Germany in the 18th century:

“Heat the beer in a saucepan; in a separate small pot beat a couple of eggs.  Add a chunk of butter to the hot beer.  Stir in some cold beer to cool it, then pour over the eggs.  Add a bit of salt, and finally mix all the ingredients together, whisking it well to keep it from curdling.  Finally, cut up a roll, white bread, or other good bread, and pour the soup over it.  You may also sweeten to taste with sugar.”

Now you know ….

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