"[This book] is a study of America's most controversial personal automobile. Featuring more than fifteen essays, this collection analyzes the Hummer through a wide array of disciplines. The editors, Elaine Cardenas and Ellen Gorman, have divided the essays into four groups: myth and space, myth and body, myth and discourse, and myth as vehicle. An introduction by the editors places the study of the Hummer in a cultural context." -- from cover, page 4.

From military missions to trips to the mall, the Hummer is truly a unique vehicle. It's big, it's tough, and it has rolled its way onto American roads. Let's take a ride through the history of the Hummer with Sports Illustrated for Kids author Michael Bradley! Book jacket.

They call her Hummer because she does: all the time. At least whenever she's thinking of horses, which is pretty close to saying all the time. However, there is something Hummer avoids thinking of at all costs: why her father doesn't go in the house anymore, but sleeps in the barn, and why her mother neither bathes nor cleans house, or ever goes outside. Every time Hummer goes in, she holds her breath to avoid the smell of garbage. Twelve-year old Hummer is shy, quiet, and thin. But on horseback, she's fantastic. Her old pony Mike has gotten stiff and asthmatic. But one night Hummer catches an Arabian mare that has escaped. When the old-man owner turns up, he lets Hummer borrow the horse-call it a loan-and it is about to change Hummer's life.

The all-new Hummer H3 will reach market in early 2005, just as this book chronicling its development is published. The H3 will offer traditional Hummer off-road durability and stump-pulling power in a smaller, more-affordable SUV-styled package. Interest in the new model is very high and the automotive website "edmunds.com" reported, ". . . the smaller and cheaper H3 is likely to become the most popular Hummer ever."

2032-LeAnn Bethany "Beth" Connors, appears to be a normal, twelve-year-old girl. But on the inside, Beth is a special child, an accidental mutant with incredible intelligence, amazing strength, and a gift that allows her to communicate with machines. She loves karate, soccer, music, and hanging out with her friends. But more than anything, Beth wants to be free after years of isolation and captivity in Arizona. After other mutated children suffer heart conditions from a defective gene, Beth's superior knowledge is called upon to help save their lives. Years of testing and training have gone into developing these children into the next generation of humans, but an errant pilot stumbles upon the testing area and is killed by one of the more aggressive mutants. Her captors-the same scientists who trained her to kill, heal, and operate almost every piece of military hardware our country has to offer-have been ordered to terminate Beth and all others like her. But Beth's amazing abilities allow her to escape in a specially designed Hummer outfitted with the latest in technology. Beth searches for others like her in order to save lives and eventually finds a community of people who understand her-through them she finds friendship and acceptance. But when Beth learns her former captors want to destroy this species of humans, she must use everything she has learned to survive.