Book cover titled 'Motor City Boomer' by Larry Lankton, featuring a vintage car and a neon sign, with a teal background and a stylized map.

ABOUT THE BOOK:

A vivid account of a boomer’s life in the driver’s seat.

Gear up for a motorized journey through post–World War II America! Blending history and personal memoir, Larry Lankton pays homage to the automobile, arguably the most important technological object of twentieth-century America. The omnipresence of cars shaped popular culture during the Golden Age of American prosperity and featured prominently in Lankton's own coming-of-age memories of family life and teenage (mis)adventures—especially in his 1964 GTO. Told in vivid detail, Lankton's recollections and his attention to the historical impact of the car industry of the 1950s and 1960s demonstrate how much boomers, and the generations that follow, owe to the American automobile.

  • “Part memoir, part cultural history, Motor City Boomer is a rollicking reminder of the importance of the auto in American culture. Larry Lankton's love for his boyhood Michigan home and the cars of his youth—from his family's 1956 Packard to his very own 1964 GTO—shine through on every page. Full of quirky and insightful details, this book is a must-read for anyone who cares about the automobile and the way it has shaped everything about America from restaurants to romances.”

    — Nancy A. Nichols, author of Women Behind the Wheel: An Unexpected and Personal History of the Car

  • "Part history, part 'auto biography,' Motor City Boomer draws on Lankton's own experiences to bring the automotive story of the 1950s and 1960s vividly to life. In so doing, it sheds important new light on what the car meant—and continues to mean—to an entire generation of Americans.”

    — David Lucsko, professor of history, Auburn University

  • "Motor City Boomer is a remarkable account blending automotive history, material culture, and coming-of-age in 1950s and '60s America. Detailed, factual, and—most significantly—personal, it resonated with me. His recollection of family, friends, community, cars, and especially a 1964 GTO mirrored much of my youth. A must-read for boomer gearheads and those interested in post–World War II history.”

    — John Heitmann, professor emeritus, University of Dayton

  • "Motor City Boomer is a fascinating trip in which the long and winding history of the automobile in America intersects with a personal journey of self-discovery and nostalgia. Along the way, Lankton convinces us that the car is both a ubiquitous and deeply personal object, transporting us through the history of our country and ourselves.”

    — Laura Walikainen Rouleau, teaching professor of history, Michigan Technological University

  • "Fasten your seatbelt for a thrilling ride through American car culture at its peak in the 1950s and 1960s. Larry Lankton takes the wheel with a two-tone combination of deeply personal memoir and meticulous automotive scholarship. "

    — Patrick M. Malone, professor emeritus of American studies and urban studies, Brown University

WHERE TO GET IT:

Motor City Boomer: The Car Culture that Defined a Generation is now available in bookstores and online. Check your local bookstore (Copper World and Grandpa’s Barn Books for local U.P. friends) or shop online at Wayne State University Press, Bookshop.org, or Amazon.