Berta Benz & The Motorwagen

Berta Benz & The Motorwagen

by Mindy Bingham,

Somewhat wacky but at the same time delightfully refreshing. It's the story in comical but true terms of the first motor vehicle. It took place in Germany in 1888 when a German housewife, named Berta Benz and her two sons took her husband, Karl''s invention -- a three-wheeled car -- on a trip to her mother's home sixty miles away. For three years Karl had been trying to "sell" his idea and his "car" but no businessman or manufacturer would go for it. "Silly," they all said. "No practical purpose." How's that again, Mr. Cadillac and Mr. Buick and Mr. Ford? Anyway, the car worked. The big thing at first was finding water along the way to cool the engine. It required an injection of water about every 12 miles. The book is for children, really, but many adults will find it quite appealing. It is a large-size charmingly illustrated book, written in an engagingly humorous vein. Guess where the Benz family got a new cable when one broke on the trip? Hmmm. Just read and see.

Hard Cover with dust jacket/12.3x9.4/46 Pages. Ages 5-12