A lavishly illustrated celebration of trucks and trucking, from the first motorized wagons to the advent of driverless freight vehicles. Charting decade after decade of innovation and change, The Truck Book is a beautifully illustrated history of trucks and trucking culture, and the romance of the open road.Trucks, lorries, and vans share their origins in the steam wagons of the late-1800s and the invention of the modern combustion engine in the 1870s. As steam power gave way to petrol and diesel engines, trucks evolved and diversified according to their desired purpose - becoming everything from panel vans and pick-up trucks through to heavy goods vehicles (HGVs), or construction trucks like log carriers or concrete transporters.