A cultural history of the Volkswagen Beetle as told through historical photographs, many never before published in the U.S. From the birth of the Beetle in wartime Germany through the development of the New Beetle prototype, Volkswagen Beetle: Portrait of a Legend celebrates a lighthearted, unusual view of the most successful automobile in history. This book is not a "how to identify your Beetle" book, nor is it a year-by-year charting of model changes. Rather, through other people's experiences of the car, it allows readers to recall their own fond memories of what it was really like to own a Beetle in its heyday.