Book excerpt: He was a pioneer trucker in postwar Australia--a time when outback roads were little more than corrugated dirt goat tracks. This is a story of vast distances, ill-equipped machines, heat and dust, humor, and good mates. If you had worked with them, if you had driven with them, if you had had a drink with them, if you helped them when broken down, you would have been proud to be one of them and called them mates. Meet Ray Gilleland, pioneer trucker in postwar Australia, a time when trucks were viewed as an "upstart industry" that threatened existing railway systems. Ray was part of the new breed, determined not to be chained to the old ways. "The Nullarbor Kid" tells of the true adventures Ray and his mates had when the trucking industry was born, and the battle lines between government and truckers. Ray tells stories of trucks not suited for blistering Australian heat, long mountain climbs in low gear, and the vast distances that sapped the strength of driver and truck. Of tolls, inspectors, and regulations set to strangle the new industry, and drivers who fought back with every trick in the book, of incredible near misses that could have killed them, and through it all, the smell and noise and romance of long-haul driving. In this world, when the chips were down, indeed at all times, humor loomed large and real life adventure abounded.