A photo-heavy guide through the history of car safety.

This is an interesting take on the history of cars from a safety point of view, but I felt that it missed a couple points.

The book begins by imagining a self-driving car and then introducing the crash-test dummies that helped make cars safer - with the supervision of humans of course. The basic introduction to a car shows the parts - engine, brake, tire, battery, etc. and then the parts that make it safe - crumple-zone, seat belts, mirrors, and airbags. It explains the function of a safety designer and how crash test dummies are used as well as showing the range (male, female, and children) that are the basic designs.

The main section of the book introduces the evolution of safety apparatus in cars; bumpers, seat belts, brakes, airbags, and mirrors. Swanson traces the history of cars from their beginning, when these things did not exist, to how they are used today. Along the way, she shows how crash-test dummies have evolved and are used. The final chapter focuses on self-driving or autonomous cars and looks at their safety records and the work still to be done.

Back matter was not included in this galley, but from the contents it will include notes, photo credits, and an index. There is a brief section on page 62-63 that discusses the "new members of the family" in adding to the crash-test dummies. This does briefly address that the "average" human dummy created in the 1980s, was based on a male at the time and overlooked women, the elderly, etc. However, it fails to address the pervasive and dangerous misogyny in safety tests around cars. There is data on this if you look for it, as well as a recent article here that covers it in a variety of industries, including car safety, voice-recognition, etc. The implication of the article is that now there are "female" dummies and heavier dummies of both genders, these issues are solved and they... are not.

Verdict: Despite the gap in addressing women, this is an interesting book that takes on a unique subject. It's full of bits of auto history and science, past and present, and is sure to intrigue your mechanically-minded readers.

ISBN: 9781682630228; Published October 2019 by Peachtree; Galley provided by publisher