Books - Books About Cars Make Good Gifts for Automotive Enthusiasts - Review - NYTimes.com Ladies and gentlemen, start your engines. Two recent books take readers behind the scenes at the Le Mans and Daytona endurance races; another chronicles Paul Newman's successes as a racecar driver. And then there are three varied but comprehensive histories - one an exhaustive three-volume set on every model Porsche has ever made, the second on 20th-century automobile ads and the third on a pioneering muscle-car builder on Long Island. The Complete History of Types and Models By Jürgen Barth and Gustav Büsing. 3 volumes. 2,012 photographs and 99 illustrations. 1,504 pages. David Bull Publishing. $299.95. If there's anything more scrumptious than a coffee-table book about Porsches, it's a three-volume set. Better yet, "The Porsche Book" was written largely by Jürgen Barth, who grew up in the Porsche company. A longtime test driver, as his father was, Mr. Barth won the 1977 Le Mans 24-hour race with two star co-drivers, Jacky Ickx and Hurley Haywood. There's nothing like a chronicle by someone who lived many of the company's racing victories and witnessed its product introductions. Originally written in German by Mr. Barth and Lothar Boschen and published in 1977, "The Porsche Book" was translated into English by Paul Frère and Peter Albrecht. This latest version has been updated by Mr. Barth and Gustav Büsing to include more recent models, right up to the four-door Panamera. Although a number of authoritative writers were involved, it reads in a largely uniform, matter-of-fact style. Along with many familiar archival photos, "The Porsche Book" includes many shots not seen before, some of which are rare images of cars with Edgar Barth, the author's father, at the wheel. Smartly packaged in a sturdy slipcase, the three volumes are organized logically. The first book covers the rear-engine models that made Porsches famous - the 356 and the 911. Volume 2 looks at the more recent mid- and front-engine Porsches like the 914, 944 and Boxster, while the third book focuses exclusively on the vast procession of innovative Porsche racecars. Perhaps it was best summed up in Ferry Porsche's foreword of 1977: "The authors have succeeded in compiling a work which should be of interest to everyone, not just to insiders." The Definitive History of America's GreatestEndurance Race By J. J. O'Malley. Foreword by Hurley Haywood. 384 color and 94 black-and-white photographs. 452 pages. David Bull Publishing. $99.95. Although some racing enthusiasts may take issue with its description of Daytona's endurance race as America's greatest - let's not forget the 12-hour race at Sebring - this updated and expanded book, first published in 2003, does belong in the category of comprehensive histories. There are complete box scores for every race, beginning with the first one in 1962 (a three-hour event, as was the next, which in turn was followed by 12-hour races in 1964 and 1965), along with an index of every driver who competed in them. The early chapters are probably the ones that will interest history buffs the most, especially with their generous selection of photos. When Daytona began, drivers didn't consider themselves too specialized to try their hand at endurance racing, so the earliest Daytona sports car races often looked like all-star events, with drivers from all racing disciplines: Dan Gurney, Phil Hill, Stirling Moss, Jim Clark, A. J. Foyt, Rodger Ward and Fireball Roberts. We can only imagine a starting lineup like that in a race nowadays. Reading Mr. O'Malley's book makes the imagining a little easier, at least. 100 Years of Automotive Ads By Phil Patton. Edited by Jim Heimann. Approximately 960 color and black-and-white illustrations. 480 pages. Taschen. $39.99. If hearing the phrases "Somewhere west of Laramie" or "Think small" makes your pulse race as much as hearing the engine of a GTO or a 911 Carrera, "20th Century Classic Cars: 100 Years of Automotive Ads" is for you. Phil Patton, a frequent contributor to these pages, and Jim Heimann, executive editor of Taschen America, take readers for a brisk spin down a Madison Avenue memory lane, automotive division. They offer a retrospective, a decade at a time, of the special brand of hucksterism that sold Americans everything from Acuras to Zephyrs. For instance, those who believe celebrity endorsements are a recent development can see a Buick ad featuring cast members of the film "Gold Diggers of 1935." And fans of "Mad Men" will chortle at ads like the one with this headline: "She's married - She's happy - She drives a Mercury." The book is well organized, and the color photographs are beautiful. Alas, the look back is confined to print ads; examples of commercials would have provided a more complete picture of how cars are peddled. And as much fun as it is to pore over wide-track Pontiacs and ill-fated Edsels, the author and editor have made some curious decisions. There is only a tiny version of the famous 1915 Cadillac ad, "The penalty of leadership," rendering the text unreadable. And the Volkswagen Beetle "Lemon" ad is mentioned but not included (although there are other Beetle ads like "Think small"). Still, this is a worthwhile addition to the library of anyone interested in autos, ads or auto ads. Tales of a Muscle Car Builder By Martyn L. Schorr. Foreword by Joe Oldham. 310 photographs. 176 pages. Motorbooks. $35. The last nail in the coffin of the classic American muscle car came in 1974, courtesy of the United States Justice Department. The government's nine-pound hammer was the Clean Air Act. Rather than Carroll Shelby or other high-profile producers of "super muscle cars," a young Long Island drag racer named Joel Rosen was chosen for the landmark cease-and-desist order.