As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
On The Table Read Magazine, “the best entertainment eBook magazine UK“, Paul R. Bruno talks about his new book, The Original Jeeps, which chronicles the development of the iconic Jeep, a revolutionary vehicle that emerged from the ashes of World War II, born out of necessity and forged by the ingenuity of American automotive pioneers.
Written by JJ Barnes
I interviewed Paul R. Bruno about his life and career, what inspired him to write his book, The Original Jeeps, and the work that went into creating it.
Tell me a bit about who you are.
I grew up in upstate New York, outside of Albany, and lived in New York State until I was in my mid-30s. Then I relocated to Henderson, Nevada outside of Las Vegas.
My professional background is in the information technology (IT) area with 38 years’ experience in various roles ranging from front-line support to executive level. This includes serving as the first Information Technology director for the City of Henderson. The past 23 years I have worked as an IT project manager as well as becoming a leader in the IT project management field.
In addition to my professional work, I have an interest in history which led me to earn an MA in History from the University of Nevada Las Vegas. I have written numerous articles combining project management and history. These include my PM History Lessons series, eleven historically based screenplays, and three books on the creation and development of the Jeep including The Original Jeeps, The Original Jeeps in Pictures, and Project Management in History: The First Jeep.
From that completed work I believe I have become one of the most knowledgeable living experts on the earliest history of the origins, design, implementation and worldwide delivery of the iconic Jeep vehicle. The Original Jeeps, expanded edition, represents the magnum opus, the single, most historically accurate rendering of Jeep’s creation and development ever published.
When did you first WANT to write a book?
The creation of the first Jeep is an amazing story, and it captured my imagination from the time I first heard about it.
My late wife and I attempted to tell the story first as a screenplay. We worked for 12 years from 1999 – 2011 to attempt to bring it to the big screen without success.
In 2011 we decided to tell the story in book form and that began my book writing journey.
When did you take a step to start writing?
The first step was consolidating all the material we had on the first Jeep so we could start writing a book on that project. With that completed the next step was to go to the National Archives in 2012 and 2013 to research the origin of the Jeep from the primary source documents.
With those research trips completed I had enough material to write the first book PM in History: The First Jeep, which came out in 2014. Unfortunately, my wife passed away in the fall of 2012 and from that time on I have carried on the work of thoroughly documenting early Jeep history, on my own in her honor.
How long did it take you to complete your first book from the first idea to release?
Three years, 2011 – 2014.
How long did it take you to complete your latest book from the first idea to release?
Five years, 2019 – 2024. In 2019 I decided to rewrite the material in PM in History: The First Jeep, from a history perspective and complete the telling of the story. After another research trip in 2016 to the National Archives, I had all the material to accomplish that.
Early Jeep history occurred in three phases, the end of World War I to October 1940; November 1940 – March 1941; and April 1941 – January 1942.
PM in History: The First Jeep covered the period to October 1940. I had planned to cover the rest of the story through January 1942; however, I had only completed the work through March 1941 when the pandemic hit. That halted all work and we decided to publish what we had in our first historical edition, The Original Jeeps, which came out in 2020. It told the story through March 1941.
In the interim, after 2020, I decided to create an easy-to-read book on the subject, The Original Jeeps in Pictures, which tells the entire story of the creation of the Jeep in images through January 1942.
Focusing on your latest release. What made you want to write The Original Jeeps?
After the completion of The Original Jeeps in Pictures I knew I had one more phase of early Jeep history to complete that ranged from April 1941 – January 1942. I wanted to add it to The Original Jeeps. It is that need that motivated me to return to my research and write the final phase of the creation and development of the Jeep in detail, with most information never published before.
What were your biggest challenges with writing The Original Jeeps?
Rereading 3,000 pages of the court case testimony to cull out all the significant details of the Jeep procurement from April 1941 – January 1942 and organizing it into a coherent narrative. This was similar to what I had done for the first two phases in the first edition of The Original Jeeps.
The other challenge was pouring through my other research, besides the court case, to round out the narrative on the final phase.
What was your research process for The Original Jeeps?
Finding every possible resource, primary and secondary, on the creation of the Jeep. This would include locating and reading rare books including Whatever Became of the Baby Austin, information in an edition of Automobile Quarterly in 1976 which had articles on the American Bantam Car Company and Hail to the Jeep on the Willys-Overland’s Jeep journey.
The heart and soul of the newly expanded The Original Jeeps is the primary source documents I found at the United States National Archives, especially the court case as detailed. Being able to tell the story from the primary source documents, supplemented by the secondary source materials, lends great authenticity to the narrative in The Original Jeeps, especially the court case testimony, found in no other work on the Jeep’s creation and development.
How did you plan the structure of The Original Jeeps?
As I became more familiar with Jeep story, I became aware of the three-phase nature of the project and that provided an overall structure for the book. The chapter-by-chapter structure was developed by following the steps the United States Army took to bring the Jeep to life and using that to build the detailed structure of the book.
Did you get support with editing, and how much editing did The Original Jeeps need?
I hired Manual “Max” Freedman as Contributing Editor and Publisher and together we brought all three books to the world.
What is the first piece of writing advice you would give to anyone inspired to write a book?
If you have inspiration for a book just start however you can. For me, once my late wife and I decided to write a book on the Jeep, we knew I had to go to the National Archives to do the research.
While I found many documents related to the Jeep’s development, it was when I found the Holy Grail, the court case, in 2013, that I knew I would have enough information to tell the story.
Can you give me a hint about any further books you’re planning to write?
I may write a children’s book on the creation of the first Jeep.
And, finally, are your proud of your accomplishment? Was it worth the effort?
Absolutely proud and it was most assuredly worth the effort. The court case languished in obscurity for 70 years before I found it in 2013. More importantly, I read all the testimony and exhibits and realized what it was, a complete documentation of the creation and development of the Jeep told by the very people who were there only a few years after the events. It is amazing to me that as far as I know no one ever thoroughly reviewed all the material in the court case to see what it was before I came along in 2013 and spent the last 11 years digging out all the “golden nuggets” from that trial.
This is my legacy, bringing to the world as one reviewer of the prior addition of The Original Jeeps stated, “no better account of the creation of the Jeep has been written!” With the completion of the expanded edition of The Original Jeeps I truly believe it represents the magnum opus, the single, most historically accurate rendering of the Jeep’s creation and development ever published.
The Court Case and My Research
The information is gleaned from thousands of documents researched and studied over 25 years. It includes the statements that detailed the entire process of the Jeep’s development contained in 3,557 pages of testimony and 527 exhibits from a lawsuit involving the Federal Trade Commission and Willys-Overland Motors Inc. prosecuted during the war.
Their direct testimony represents an oral history rarely found in historical research; direct recollections taken only a few years after the events happened. This record contained a treasure trove, a holy grail of information surrounding all key events including a comprehensive “interviewing” of all the significant participants and all-important documents organized, numbered and described.
Pop all your book, website and social media links here so the readers can find you:
Kindle: https://amzn.to/3Bfsv8J
Paperback: https://amzn.to/41C7G1I
Facebook- Facebook https://facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063403642551
Website – https://originaljeeps.com
Linkedin – Paul Bruno, PgMP, PMP | LinkedIn https://linkedin.com/in/paulrbruno
We strive to keep The Table Read free for both our readers and our contributors. If you have enjoyed our work, please consider donating to help keep The Table Read going!
Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc, or its affiliates.