Timing is everything in life and the upcoming release of GTO: Pontiac’s Great One by Darwin Holmstrom by Darwin Holstrom with photos by David Newhardt, could not have come at a better time for the book’s publisher, Motorbooks. Pontiac, with its pending demise, is more newsworthy now planned than it has been in years. Even without that type of buzz, we think this book would succeed as it is an absolute treasure on the topic of the GTO.

The book is large. Its thick hardcover, large-format layout, and 300-plus pages of high-quality stock mean that this book could be used to support the weight of your GTO for an oil change. The physical size of the book belies the fact that it is chocked full of great photography, chronicling every stage, phase, and development of every year GTO built. The text is top notch as well with Holmstrom taking us from the first meeting with John DeLorean and his engineers at the proving grounds when one suggested that they just “try out” a 389 in the Tempest because, hey, the motor mounts are in the same place on all Pontiac blocks anyway.

Those decisions to essentially backdoor the car into production and touch off the greatest horsepower war in the history of the domestic auto industry lay the footing for a fascinating look at the GTO’s evolution during its first run from 1964-1974 and its rebirth in 2004. Combined with the great photos by David Newhardt are the GTO sales ads and materials from Pontiac, showing a machismo and in your face approach that has been lacking for decades in Detroit. You were never asked to buy a Pontiac, you were told to, in such a way that settling for anything less was simply not an option.

All of that physical and content driven beef comes at a cost. The cover price on our copy states that the book will retail for $50.00 when it hits the shelves in stores a couple of weeks from now. It’s not cheap, but it’s also the most intensive and detailed book we have ever seen on the subject of these cars. The book now has the feel of a kind of eulogy for an old friend, but what a life that old friend had.

This book is available from motorbooks.com and amazon.com, and will be available on the shelves of book stores starting on the 15th of May. If you are a true automotive bibliophile, this is one you need to have for your collection.