We review the latest and greatest books in the Corvette hobby, and we're starting with a "Coffee table book" that's recommended for better coffee tables only--yours!

Mike Mueller’s The Complete Book Of Corvette: Every Model Since 1953 is what it says—a complete and detailed look at each generation and each year of Corvette, going all the way back to the creation of the prototype EX-122 for the 1953 General Motors Motorama.

The lavish illustrations, which include dozens of original Chevrolet and GM photographs, are worth getting this book for all by itself—especially the image of the original mahogany body buck! You’ll see lots of pictures of original, rare and restored Vettes of every year—perhaps the one(s) you’ve been dreaming about? Plus, there’s an appendix that lists the Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Prices (MSRP’s) and production totals of each year production Corvette, as well as the prices and production totals of the factory-installed options offered each year.

There’s also plenty of text and photos covering the famous Corvettes that weren’t production models, like the Corvette SS and original Sting Ray, the Grand Sports, the Corvette Experimental Research Vehicles (CERV’s) and the various XP prototypes that had car magazine cover-blurb writers breathlessly asking, “Is THIS The Next Corvette?”

It’s a large-format book whose size puts it squarely in the “coffee-table book” category—and the sub-category “Books Worth Building A Coffee Table For.”

GET IT:

The Complete Book Of Corvette: Every Model Since 1953

Motorbooks 800/826-6600,  www.motorbooks.com

List price: $50.00 + shipping