Bookshelf    Living the Airstream Life

Living the Airstream Life

By Karen Flett (Harper Design, 2017) Buy It Now

Like the vehicle it celebrates, Living the Airstream Life is a gorgeous shiny object. From the embossed silver rivets framing its cover to the mix of vintage archival images and author Karen Flett’s own photos, it’s a joy to leaf through. “We don’t sell trailers; we sell a way of life,” claimed Airstream’s founder Wally Byam, a self-made entrepreneur who launched the company in 1931 after mounting a teardrop-shaped camper atop a Model T chassis. Flett echoes his enthusiasm, lauding the joys of the open road, social connections, and slower-paced living. Breezy and inspiring, her book includes decade-by-decade design evolution, floor plans and custom interiors, DIY advice for would-be buyers, and (most enjoyably) portraits of dozens of Airstreamers with their dream rides. Maybe some of them will ramble through the Hudson Valley. $35.