Full Service: Notes From the Rearview Mirror by David Hill

It’s never easy to review a book that is primarily photographs. Photographs are always beautiful, especially if they are of nature and other things that are naturally beautiful in themselves. But old, rusty abandoned cars and gas pumps? Apparently Maine photojournalist David Hill considers them beautiful, enough to scour the highways, byways and back roads of Maine to find these treasures. Full Service: Notes From the Rearview Mirror (2015 Islandport Press) is a beautiful book filled with pictures of, well, junk. One man’s junk is another man’s treasure, and Mr. Hill lets his cameras convince us of the form over function beauty of these cars quietly passing the days while slowly returning to the ground, or until someone happens upon them and determines they are worth restoring.

[perfectpullquote align=”right” cite=”David Hill” link=”” color=”#2277AE” class=”” size=”18″]”Join me on a road trip back to a simpler time when the attendant knew your name and you knew his; a time when we were all in love with automobiles.”[/perfectpullquote]

You may not find the photos of closed down service stations to be particularly appealing, but when you consider the hustle and bustle they were once the site of and how the dutiful attendant would fill your tank, check fluid levels and even check your tire pressure (all for free), then nostalgia plucks at the heartstrings of the soul, taking us back to those simpler, friendlier days.

There is also a fair amount of explanatory text by the author, just enough to understand his fascination with the subject matter and how he got certain shots, personal reminiscences and so on. A perfect gift book for the classic automobile lover in the family. I gave a copy to a workmate who has an interest in restoring old vehicles and he just loved the photos.

Check out the official YouTube trailer of Full Service:

James M. Fisher

Founding Editor -- Website

James M. Fisher is the Founding Editor of The Miramichi Reader. He began TMR in 2015, realizing that there was a genuine need for more book reviews of Canadian literature. It has since become Canada’s best-regarded source for the finest in new literary releases. James has been interviewed about TMR on CBC Radio and other media sites. He works as a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Technologist and lives in Miramichi, New Brunswick with his wife Diane, their tabby cat Eddie, and Buster the Red Merle Border Collie.