In the introduction to the book, Wolfe says that when writing the titular essay for Esquire in 1963, a look at the world of custom cars, he suffered from a severe case of writer's block.

As his deadline approached, Wolfe compiled his notes, without much concern for the standard conventions of writing, and submitted them to his editor Byron Dobell.

Subjects that crop up in this work, and continue throughout Wolfe's career, include his interests in status, culture, form and style.

[5] The essay that many critics have considered the strongest is "The Last American Hero," a profile of Junior Johnson, an early star of the stock car racing world and NASCAR.

Another characteristic of Wolfe's writing is switching from highly technical or scientific explanations to very colloquial turns of phrase, often within a single sentence.

"[8][9][10] In the same review Kurt Vonnegut wrote: "Interestingly: the most tender piece in this collection depends upon a poem by Rudyard Kipling for depth, and has Huntington Hartford for its hero."