Henry Gregor Felsen’s Followers (15)

Henry Gregor Felsen

Born

in Brooklyn, New York City, NY, The United States

August 16, 1916

Died

March 02, 1995

Website

http://www.henrygregorfelsen.com/Henry_Gregor_F...

Genre

Fiction

edit data

Felsen was born and attended school in Brooklyn, N.Y.C. He taught part-time at Drake University (1964-1969), and in 1977 left Iowa to spend his remaining years traveling.

After struggling financially during the Depression, Felsen sold nine books and hundreds of stories in his first eighteen months of full-time freelance writing in the early 1940s. After war service with the Marine Corps, during which he edited the corps magazine Leatherneck and also wrote magazine articles while stationed in the Pacific, he returned to Iowa where he lived for most of his life.

Felsen was a prolific author. He wrote more than 60 books and hundreds of articles and short stories. Felsen's most popular writings were his car series books. The series (Hot Rod, St Felsen was born and attended school in Brooklyn, N.Y.C. He taught part-time at Drake University (1964-1969), and in 1977 left Iowa to spend his remaining years traveling.

After struggling financially during the Depression, Felsen sold nine books and hundreds of stories in his first eighteen months of full-time freelance writing in the early 1940s. After war service with the Marine Corps, during which he edited the corps magazine Leatherneck and also wrote magazine articles while stationed in the Pacific, he returned to Iowa where he lived for most of his life.

Felsen was a prolific author. He wrote more than 60 books and hundreds of articles and short stories. Felsen's most popular writings were his car series books. The series (Hot Rod, Street Rod, Rag Top, Crash Club) was especially popular with teenage males, and sold more than eight million copies. Hot Rod (1950) was the most popular title and remained on the best-seller list for 27 years. Even though his books were about young men, fast cars, and girlfriends, Felsen used many of them to moralistically explore the evils of drug abuse, sexism, and racism. He claimed that "I was years ahead of my time to approach and explore these topics in literature aimed at the young reader. "The car series also appealed to young readers because it realistically paralleled the car culture of the 1950s and the craze of "hot rodding." The realism in his writing was also evident in the unhappy endings and heroes who were often rebels. Felsen's books reflected the morals, values, and prejudices of the time.

He is also credited with one screenplay, the 1968 film Fever Heat, based on his novel of the same name which had been published under the pen name of Angus Vicker.

Felsen was married twice and had two children and two stepchildren. In 1977 he left West Des Moines to move to Vermont and later lived in Michigan. Felsen spent much of the last two decades of his life traveling. He lived in Grandville, Michigan, and died of a heart ailment in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 1995. ...more

Combine Editions
Henry Gregor Felsen’s books

Average rating: 3.98 · 553 ratings · 96 reviews · 78 distinct works • Similar authors

	Hot Rod 3.91 avg rating — 206 ratings — published 1950 — 33 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Street Rod 4.05 avg rating — 88 ratings — published 1953 — 19 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Crash Club 4.21 avg rating — 57 ratings — published 1958 — 18 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Boy Gets Car 3.96 avg rating — 27 ratings — published 1960 — 15 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Rag Top 4.57 avg rating — 21 ratings — published 1954 — 10 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Bertie Comes Through 4.23 avg rating — 13 ratings — published 1947 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Fever Heat by Henry Gregor Felsen, Holly Felsen Welch (Illustrations), Daniel Felsen (Foreword) 4.33 avg rating — 9 ratings — published 1954 — 11 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Bertie Makes a Break 4.50 avg rating — 8 ratings — 9 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Road Rocket (Hot Rod Series Book 4) 4.17 avg rating — 6 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Handbook for teen-age drivers 3.80 avg rating — 5 ratings — published 1987	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Henry Gregor Felsen…

Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
What's the Name o...: YA, probably from the 70s; teenage street racers, possibly named Coupe /s	7	34	Mar 19, 2014 03:30AM
The Life of a Boo...: Jackie's 2016 12+4 Challenge	22	52	Dec 18, 2015 02:57PM
The Reading Chall...: Buyer's Remorse: The TBR CHALLENGE (2016)	239	226	Jan 02, 2017 09:26AM
What's the Name o...: SOLVED. Adolescent book series about cars and hot rods. Read in the mid 80's --- series probably from the 60's. Yellow Jacket Demolition Derby ? [s]	5	17	Mar 25, 2018 11:31AM
What's the Name o...: books for younger teen boy, with CARS in it; reluctant reader	6	75	Sep 20, 2018 07:43PM
WACKY READING CHA...: Car Brands Task Challenge	122	130	Oct 09, 2018 10:20AM
What's the Name o...: SOLVED. 1950s? Teen book, boy troublemaker, builds car, turns life around, has girlfriend. Spoiler at end of book. [s]	14	689	Dec 06, 2022 02:14PM

More…