For anyone with an interest in Jeeps and fourwheeling, Tom Moor's "The Joy of Jeep" is highly recommended reading. It's an ambitious book that aims to be an all-encompassing reference to get even the greenest of Jeep owners up to speed on Jeep models, Jeep modifications, and Jeep activities. The fact that it succeeds is a testament to the author's depth of knowledge as well as his ability to distill such a wide-ranging body of information into a concise 160 paqes of information.

The first and largest part of the book covers the wide range of Jeeps starting from its genesis in World War II to today's JKs and confusing array of SUVs. After that it gets into modifications for off-roading, and then recreational opportunities, from Jeep Jamborees to full-on off-road racing. While this isn't the first book of its kind, it is certainly one of the best, and the only one that is fully up-to-date with current Jeep-think. And by "Jeep-think," I'm not talking about Daimler-Chrysler. I'm referring to the current folk wisdom as it pertains to real-world off-roading with Jeep vehicles. For example, each model description also includes an evaluation of the vehicle's off-road capabilities and durability. Of the YJ, Moor said, "Early Wranglers were penalized with worthless geartrains. The five-speed Peugeot ('puke-goat') BA10/5 manual transmission is notoriously weak, even behind stock power. In 1987 models, the NP207 transfer case was a bad idea that lasted only one model year." Being a YJ owner myself, and the author of the YJ FAQ (http://www.bc4x4.com/faqs/yj.cfm), my experience matches Mr. Moor's observations very closely. Clearly, there's no mincing of words here.

The section on upgrading a Jeep offers similarly frank advice and covers the common issues, such as the need for upgrading NP231 transfer cases with a slip yoke eliminator conversion.

"Serious off-roaders should replace the leak-prone OE tailhousing wih a slip-yoke eliminator kit. Standard kits create more than 2 additional inches of driveshaft length (depending on the vehicle) and allow the OE 27-spline slip yoke to be beefed up to a 32-spline unit."

As with the model evaluations, the modification suggests are very to-the-point and based on real-world experience. Sure, you could get the same information from the Internet but it'd take several weeks of web surfing along with a lot of time spent separating the truth from the fiction. (If you don't believe me, do a Google search for the pros and cons of doing a spring-over conversion on a YJ. Contradictions abound.) "The Joy of Jeep" presents both the pros and cons of various upgrades, giving you an unbiased picture.

I should also mention that the book is littered with tons of great photos, showing some truly wicked Jeeps tackling jaw-dropping obstacles. The photos are typical (in both style and content) of what you'd see in current 4x4 magazines so they're very representative of today's fourwheeling scene.

I recommend this book to all newbie Jeepers. You'll get the straight dope on what's available in the Jeep world, the mods that will let you get the most out of your Jeep, and the activities available. I can't think of a better way to jump start your knowledge on the Jeep fourwheeling world.