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Bonneville Salt Flats Book Review - by Wally Parks

3 August 2000

    Until now, no one in recent decades has devoted more time and energetic 
research into documenting the post and present history of Utah's famous 
Bonneville Salt Fats than has Louise Ann Noeth. Located two hours west of 
Salt Lake City and easily accessible by Inter state l-80, this vast expanse 
of dazzling white sodium has a history of its own.

    From the tragic early crossings by pioneers "headed West" to its role as a 
prime World War II military-preparations air base and into present day 
accommodation of outstanding achievements in the world of land speed racing 
challenges, the Bonneville Salt Flats boosts a legendary past.

    "LandSpeed" Louise Ann Noeth has captured the essence of what is magical in 
the salt's many attractions for a special breed of automotive experimenters 
and enthusiasts. Treading lightly into the technical details of contestant 
vehicles, she captures the 'drivel' that prompts their creators to defy 
logic in pursuit of unknown Fast' combinations.

    Her book adds a Fresh note of credibility and appreciation for an activity 
now generations old - one that takes place in a setting once acclaimed by 
Salt Lake City's former mayor and many-times records holder Ab Jenkins, as 
the "Eighth Wonder of the World."

    Noeth, thankfully, tells it like it was- and how it still isle including 
the salt's near demise and some current endeavors to salvage what remains. 
Combining colorful history of a too-little-appreciated, very special place 
with a tribute to the legions of auto and motorcycle experimenters who have 
shared the salt's use with reverence, LandSpeed Louise has compiled an 
everlasting new memorial to one of Utah's outstanding treasures.

    Those of us fortunate in having been involved with Bonneville and its land 
speed contests for more than half a century are deeply indebted to author 
Noeth for her preservation of that awesome salt domain's history.