Corvette Stingray: The Mid-Engine Revolution looks like a book that will be pleasing to both the eye and the mind. I say that tentatively because, well, I don't know for sure.

I got a review copy (thank you very much Motorbooks and Netgalley) that is not complete, it is a selection that serves a couple of purposes, but leaves some important aspects unknown to a reviewer. The sample was selected from throughout the book and one thing it highlights well is the organization of the book and what bases are touched in each section. I saw someone complain that there wasn't enough history from C1 to C8, but that isn't what this book claims to be. There are plenty of good books that cover the history of the production models (usually with some glimpses at what didn't make it into the production models). This is a history of how Corvette finally made a production mid-engine car, which is not really the story of each of the previous generations. The story is more about the research and internal debates about making such a model available. So the talk is more about this vehicles predecessors, which are almost exclusively prototypes, not production vehicles.

One of the things this review sampler really make difficult is offering a potential reader any insight into how well the history is written. Some pages begin and end mid sentence, with neither the previous nor the following page available in the review copy. So, does the history answer most questions I have? I don't know. Is the writing good? Most of what I saw is, but even with what I saw there was some inconsistency, likely because of different writers or because the writer has certain areas in which he/she is more comfortable. So I can't speak to whether the writing is worth the price of the book.

While I enjoyed the pictures very much, so many pages were left out I don't know if I saw most of the nicer pictures, which would make the book a bit more of a disappointment, or do most of the other pages have a similar number and quality of pictures, which would make the book a wonderful coffee table book. I just don't know.

I fall some place between the extremes of people who likely have an interest in this book. People who love Corvettes will love the book because, well, Corvettes. Then there are people who simply love cars, especially sports cars, and the Vette is a wonderful car. They are more likely to want to know some of the things about the book I can't tell them. I am a former Corvette owner ('63 split window back in the early 70s) but never really became a diehard Vette lover, thus my place somewhere in the middle.

Ultimately, I gave a more favorable rating because I think, repeat - think, the book will be more consistent than less with what I have seen. In other words, I would still buy it based only on what I have seen. That said, I am not comfortable recommending others do the same since I can't defend my stand except on the select pages I saw. So wait until you see a physical copy and can skim it yourself. Or, if you know and trust someone who has read the entire book and they recommend it, feel free to buy sight unseen. My apologies for having to give a half-a, well, you know, review but I can only comment on what I saw.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley. ( )