Thinking Small: The Long, Strange Trip of the Volkswagen Beetle

I received this book through LibraryThing's Early Reviewer program. This book covers the story of the early years of the Volkswagen company through various angles, including the founder, Ferdinand Porsche, but also through the US advertising firm that was responsible for bringing the Beetle into America's consciousness, and through the post-war factory manager that helped the company recover from its near death immediately after the war.

I found this book to be easy to read and impeccably researched. While there were parts that may have gotten a little too deep in the details, I think the author does an excellent job of bringing to life the motivations behind building the first People's Car (from the perspective of both Porsche and show more Hitler). I wish there had been a little more focus on the later years as well, aside from the impact that the VW advertisements had on sales, as well as the advertising culture of the time. All in all, I think this is a fascinating read for anyone with an interest in Volkswagen, the Beetle, or the postwar economy of Germany. It really is remarkable how the Beetle finally came to be after so many false starts, and this book tells that story very well. show less

This is a book I wanted to love. My husband and I had two different bugs when we were first married. The beginning of the book gives some great background on Ferdinand Porsche, the designer of the first bug. Once through that, the book bogs down trying to cover too much of the history of Germany, the Depression, Henry Ford's influence, you name it. I think Hitler's part in developing the People's car is the most interesting and ironic part of the book. The advertising as such a major part less so. I know of one ad campaign not mentioned having to do with squeezing all the residents of a very small town in Nevada into a VW camper bus. That included the dog. This book needed to be squeezed into a smaller space.

Let me say first, you should be interested in this topic to read this book. That's not a criticism, but the people that enjoy the book the most will be those that have an interest in Volkswagen, Porsche, post-war Germany, advertising, etc. I am certainly one of those people, as both my husband and I currently drive Volkswagens, I learned to drive in a Volkswagen, and my grandfather had a VW dealership in the early seventies.

I share that because, with that interest, I knew little to nothing about the VW history, and Hiott has written an exceptionally READABLE volume about a topic that could have been handled in a manner too dry to be enjoyed.

The best thing that Hiott does in the book is the way that Volkswagen's intimate connection to show more Hitler's Germany and post-war Germany is handled. I learned so much that I didn't know about either, but those topics weren't allowed to become or overshadow the main focus - the car itself. It is amazing, all things considered (and this book does consider a lot of variables), that the cars were made at all.

A fascinating read!

A fascinating read with a light show less

A very interesting look at how the VW Beetle came to be. I think some may be suprised (put off?)by the amount of space given to discussing Hitler and Porsche but for me this was essential to the telling of the story and just made the book all the more fascinating. The fact of Hitler's insanity, the destruction of Germany at the end of WWII and numerous other hurdles didn't stop this car from ever being produced (leave alone still being produced in 2012) is practically a miracle. Hiott does a great job of keeping the story educational but still interesting and always moving along. It is never bogged down by details of the actual design, etc but yet includes those facts when pertinent and in the right light. Definitely a well told and show more well researched history. show less

I received this book as part of the LibraryThing Early Reviewer program. I had requested to review the book because my parents owned a "Marina Blue" Beetle when I was growing up. It was the car I used to learn stick, and I had hoped to rebuild it some day, but my brother wrecked it while I was away at college.

But I digress. I expected "Thinking Small" to be a simple history of the Volkswagen Beetle. Instead, in Andrea Hiott's hands, the car becomes the vehicle (pun intended) for a larger story of not only the Volkswagen and Porsche companies, but also 20th Century European and American history, consumerism and advertising.

There were points that I felt that the author tried to cram too many details into the book, but overall I felt that show more it was a good investment of my time. I would recommend the book for anyone interested in the Volkswagen or Porsche companies, as well as those who just love the car. show less

As someone with a long time fascination with both Nazi Germany and the 1960s I was very intrigued by this book on a subject that encompasses both. The name "Volkswagen" simply means "People's Car" in German. Before World War II there was no affordable European car for the masses--motoring was a luxury reserved for the well off. Auto pioneer Ferdinand Porsche dreamed of a car for the common man for decades, eventually finding a patron in the car-mad Fuhrer himself, Adolf Hitler. This was a huge boost for the car in the '30s. but became a distinct liability after Germany lost the war and left Europe a smoldering wreck.

Luckily, a new generation of businessmen revived the car in the aftermath of the war and made it a symbol of the NEW show more Germany which arose in the '50s. The author does a good job of narrating this saga, giving us enough biographical and historical context that the reader appreciates the many twists and turns in this unlikely business success story. show less

The book "Think Small" is a thoughtful look at the history of the Volkswagen, its creators, and those that sold it to the world. The book looks that the early lives of the creators of the car and how their talents/relationship were responsible for the product we know both from history and today. It goes on further to examine how a few influential and persistent people managed to sell the stigmatized car to a larger market by looking at their backgrounds and motivations.

The background of the book is well-thought out. Holt does a great job in playing with a historical subject, making it readable but obviously well-researched at the same time. While her dissection of the lives of historical figures like Porsche and Hitler can come off as show more trite, her use of language and ability to tie multiple stories together make the text pop. She prevents her subject with enthusiasm and has sequenced the outline that makes this a hard book to put down.

Andrea Holt has created a very interesting history book and managed to tie several major historical themes into a very interesting story of one of the most iconic cars in modern history. Her writing is intelligent but colloquial enough to make this book fun to read. Recommended. show less