3 replies to this topic

[lonsydmar68]

A new book about The 1968 London to Sydney Marathon has just been published.

On November 24, 1968, more than 250 people from 19 nations set off on a 10,000-mile endurance rally from London to Sydney. Crossing 10 countries, competitors encountered officious border guards, gangs of rock-throwing children, treacherous driving conditions, collisions, breakdowns, injuries, wayward dogs, horses, cattle and kangaroos, millions of spectators crowding the roads and even bandits. Some were professional rally drivers but most were amateurs, many of whom had never rallied in their lives!

Drawing from personal recollections of more than 60 participants—many who made it to Sydney and many more who didn’t—and contemporary newspaper and magazine articles, this book tells the full story of the epic, 10,000 endurance rally, from an idea dreamed up over an alcohol-fuelled lunch in 1967, to the last car over the finish line.

The book is available as either hard copy or e-book and can be ordered from www.mcfarlandbooks.com or www.eurospanbookstore.com/the-1968-london-to-sydney-marathon.html - available now!

Edited by lonsydmar68, 24 February 2016 - 23:28.

[Henri Greuter]

I am surprised that this post did not receive any replies!

But that probably shows even more how obscure this event has been and is rated.

I've found out about this event in the mid seventies and ever since I was fascinated by it.

 

I have ordered the book and currently I am reading it.

 

I'm enjoying it, it has a lot of interesting stories and details.

I don't know if I am biased because of my interest for the event or maybe because of being one of only a very few books on the event.

Something that the author also mentions in his introduction.

But exactly this comment caused a moment of fun for me.

 

I am Dutch and maybe a few other Dutch fellow members who know their classics probably know in which direction I go.

The Dutch DAF factory entered two cars in the event. And though I was not aware of it at the time, the event did get some media attention in the Netherlands, it eventually resultend in a 160 page paperback book about the adventures of the DAF team as well as some stories about other competitors. But the focus was on the Dutch DAF team.

Potentially interested Dutch costomers for this recently published book about the event: If you are interested and want to read about the exploits of the DAF's. You will be massively disappointed. The DAFs are hardly mentioned. The Dutch book is not appearing in the list of used literature, of course for a Non-Dutch author it would be a challeenge to make use of it somehow.

 

For Dutch readers that might be something of a disappointment, if you're not Dutch and have an interest in this epic adventure, or become curious about it, then this book is worth to be seriously considered.

But again, I am probably biased in my opinion.....

 

 

Henri

[RS2000]

It probably did not receive any replies because the same post had been placed on all manner of other forums. There is a very narrow line between publicising a book that Forum members have already discussed and are awaiting and posting what is essentially an advert.

 

There is the additional point that in the UK (and it was very much a UK promoted event) there is now a much wider awareness that the event was not as competitive as was "spun" at the time or for long after. With the exception of the Australian section, it was more an "adventure" than a rally and it did serious damage to the RAC Rally of that year with regard to works entries.

 

Then, as far as TNF is concerned, there are a limited number of rally people here compared to racing people, so I would expect the greatest ever rally book, if it ever appears, would receive limited attention on here.  

[Henri Greuter]

It probably did not receive any replies because the same post had been placed on all manner of other forums. There is a very narrow line between publicising a book that Forum members have already discussed and are awaiting and posting what is essentially an advert.

 

There is the additional point that in the UK (and it was very much a UK promoted event) there is now a much wider awareness that the event was not as competitive as was "spun" at the time or for long after. With the exception of the Australian section, it was more an "adventure" than a rally and it did serious damage to the RAC Rally of that year with regard to works entries.

 

Then, as far as TNF is concerned, there are a limited number of rally people here compared to racing people, so I would expect the greatest ever rally book, if it ever appears, would receive limited attention on here.  

 

 

Makes sense.

 

 

Henri