Perhaps you’re wondering what sort of character would write a book review about an owner’s manual.

Well, I have to admit that I don’t have a very good excuse for this behavior, except for three things:

I own a Ford 8N I’ve been a fan of Henry Ford since my mother read his biography to me as a small child. While this probably isn’t a book that many people would choose to read for mere pleasure, if you happen to be one of the thousands of Ford 8N owners in the world, you’ll find it invaluable. Even if not, it’s an interesting period piece.

So if you’re a Ford fan or a Ford owner, you’ll find a lot of Henry as well as a lot of good plain-spoken information between these unassuming paper covers.

Not only will you learn how to fix your 8N, but how to maintain it, how to store it and even a chapter on how to plow with your matching Dearborn two-bottom plow.

If you’ve ever used a vehicle owner’s manual, you’ll probably find this one a little different. It’s only 125 pages long and small enough to fit in the pocket of your overalls, but it covers a myriad of tune-up and troubleshooting problems in a way that doesn’t require you to have a mechanic or a machine-shop at your disposal.

In fact, you’ll be surprised at how much you can do to keep your little jewel in shape with just a screwdriver and a crescent wrench.

The book is a reprint of the one that came with your tractor when it was new and is published under license to Ford Motor Company.

There’s no mention of who the author, or authors might be, but reading its down-to-earth style you have to wonder if Henry didn’t have a large part in it himself, even though the copyright is three years after his death.

Here are a few sample pages: