For Love of the Automobile - Looking Back into the History of Our Desires (Electronic book text)

In his cultural analysis of the motor car in Germany, the author starts from the assumption that the automobile is more than a means of transportation and that its history cannot be understood merely as a triumphant march of technological innovation. Instead, he examines the history of the automobile from the late 1880s until today for evidence on the nature of dreams and desires embedded in modern culture. Illustrated with cartoons, advertisements, newspaper stories and propaganda, this book explores the nature of Germany's love-affair with the automobile. This is a history of our desires for speed, wealth, violence, glamour, progress, and power - as refracted through images of the automobile.