Congratulations to Dr. Charles K. Hyde on his book "Storied Independent Automakers: Nash, Hudson, and American Motors" which was awarded the prestigious Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot Award ("Outstanding Book of 2009 in Automotive History in the English Language") by the Society of Automotive Historians (SAH).

In this text, Hyde explores the history of the Nash and Hudson car companies which eventually merged in 1954 to form the American Motors Company. It features 100 black and white images and all of the photographs of automobiles show brand-new cars shortly after they were manufactured as well as brochures, period literature, factory photos, and road test information appear in this volume.

Charles K. Hyde grew up in Berkshire County, in Western Massachusetts. He earned his Bachelor's degree in History from the University of Massachusetts in 1966 and his Ph.D. in Economic History from the University of Wisconsin in 1971. He taught briefly at Boston University and came to Wayne State University in 1974.

He has published eight books, most recently, Storied Independent Automakers: Nash, Hudson, and American Motors (Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 2009); The Dodge Brothers: The Men, the Motor Cars, and the Legacy (Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 2005): and Riding the Roller Coaster: A History of the Chrysler Corporation (Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 2003). The Library of Michigan named Riding the Roller Coaster: A History of the Chrysler Corporation one of the Michigan Notable Books published in 2003. Professor Hyde has also done significant work in the field of industrial archeology. He has completed more than seventy projects involving the documentation of historic buildings or structures, including three major Detroit automobile factories - Dodge Main, Chrysler Jefferson Avenue, and the Chrysler Highland Park complex. He has also published scholarly articles on architect Albert Kahn's work for the automobile industry.

Hyde has been involved with MotorCities in a variety of capacities since its inception. He was one of the "founding fathers" of MotorCities, part of an advocacy group which first promoted the idea. For more than a decade, he has also served on a variety of advisory and planning committees for MotorCities and helped encourage the involvement of MotorCities in the annual Automotive Authors Book Fair held in Detroit.