cover image Rebuilding the Indian

Rebuilding the Indian

Fred Haefele. Audio Literature, $17.95 (0pp) ISBN 978-1-57453-282-1

This memoir by Haefele, a 51-year-old tree surgeon, ex-professor and failed novelist, tells how he came to restore a 1941 Indian Chief motorcycle--and in doing so restored some things about his psyche. The process is described diaristically, starting with the author's unusual ""desire"" to acquire a genuine Indian, a legendary U.S.-manufactured machine. With a windfall of $5000, he bought a ""basket case,"" a collection of broken-down parts, from Chaz, a ponytailed biker and professional pack rat who later becomes his mentor. Chaz introduces him to a subculture of machinist perfectionists and like-minded obsessives. Along the way to putting the bike together, Haefele recounts the dissolution of his first marriage, his remarriage and new life with the birth of a baby girl. This is delivered by DelHoyo, a veteran narrator for Audio Literature, in lean, raspy Western-accented terms. He manages to sound laid-back and macho at the same time. And that's the type to whom this tape will appeal--gearheads with tender hearts. Based on the 1998 Riverhead hardcover. (Feb.)