Hot Rod Empire details Robert E. Petersen's creation of Hot Rod Magazine in the 1940s and the Petersen Publishing empire that grew to the mainstream juggernaut we know today.

Matt Stone (Camarillo, CA), former executive editor of Motor Trend magazine, has been a professional automotive journalist and photographer since 1985. He is the award-winning author and photographer of several books, including Motorbooks’ best-selling 365 Cars You Must Drive, McQueen’s Machines, McQueen’s Motorcycles, Hot Rod Empire, and The IROC Porsches. He is the co-author, with Preston Lerner of Winning: The Racing Life of Paul Newman and History’s Greatest Automotive Mysteries, Myths, and Rumors Revealed.