94 replies to this topic

[Rob Ryder]

For those who do not already have a copy Amazon are selling this book at £49 (a £21 discount)
A real bargain even though there is an error in the title of the book!!


http://www.amazon.co...0320124-9906843

Sorry Doug

[marat]

Thanks Rob for having looked into, I have ordered the Pritchard book (for some intersting
photos) and the Courage and Amon books.

[PRD]

I see that Amazon have both Vol 1 and Vol 2 on sale together at £118 and that a certain Peter Fenelon is a Top 50 reviewer for them.....

Paul

[petefenelon]

Originally posted by PRD
I see that Amazon have both Vol 1 and Vol 2 on sale together at £118 and that a certain Peter Fenelon is a Top 50 reviewer for them.....

Paul

Top 20, actually - I seem to oscillate between about 15 and 19 ;)

(Damn, you've found my secret fetish for books about the London Underground, then?)

[Anorak Man]

Grim news about Amazon's price slashing of Our Doug's magnus opus, and I'm guilty of playing my small part. I've only had Volume 1 displayed in our bookshop, I've put both in now, sorry Doug.

Could somebody please check that I've got the titles right: What's the error in Amazon's listing?

AM

BTW: Thank you Pete, for your excellent Amazon reviews
Why not write the history of the Aintree circuit? You'd be just the bloke to do it.

[petefenelon]

Originally posted by Anorak Man

Why not write the history of the Aintree circuit? You'd be just the bloke to do it.

I've considered doing it on several occasions and would love to do so, but I don't have the time to do it properly in anything less than an estimated 5-6 years, and there are a couple of easier books I want to write before it!

[Rob Ryder]

Originally posted by Anorak Man
What's the error in Amazon's listing?

Amazon have the Volume 2 title listed as...
"BRM: The Saga of British Racing Motors: Rear-Engined Cars,1960-79"

Volume 2 title is...
"BRM: The Saga of British Racing Motors: Spaceframe Cars,1960-65"

Unless of course Doug has slipped Volume 3 into a new combined volume

[Doug Nye]

According to BRM book publisher John Blunsden, Amazon provide a pretty good service but crap information...

I gather they are offering a 'pre-read' copy of V2 at £49 or thereabouts - and have links to three other copies at £69ish.

Vol 2 covers the spaceframe rear-engined cars 1960-1965.

Vol 3 will cover the monocoque V8 cars 1963-1967

Vol 4 will cover - well - other stuff - H16, V12 to Stanley Steamer.

Amazon seem to think there's a Vol 3 on the 'monologue cars'. I can't wait!

DCN

[petefenelon]

Originally posted by Doug Nye

Amazon seem to think there's a Vol 3 on the 'monologue cars'. I can't wait!

DCN

A fitting tribute to Big Lou?;)

[RaymondMays]

Having received Vol 2 for Christmas / birthday, and not being able to put it down, I bought Vol 1 from Amazon. I selected the three day delivery (free) option, and low and behold, after three days it arrived. Most impressive!

[Doug Nye]

Originally posted by petefenelon
A fitting tribute to Big Lou?;)

[Anorak Man]

Thanx Rob, I've fixed our listings of Doug's Books thanks to your eagle-eyes.

Yes Doug, Amazon can't get the staff y'know. The funniest case I saw was a listing of a Chinese Holy Bible (Shangti edition). Lovely picture: It said 'Holy Bible' in Chinese characters on the cover. But it was upside down! They've also got the new Vanwall book, with the description designating Tony Vanderwell as the owner. Indian Amazon blurb writer, I suspect.

I've considered doing it on several occasions and would love to do so, but I don't have the time to do it properly in anything less than an estimated 5-6 years, and there are a couple of easier books I want to write before it!

Ah yes, needs must. But allow me to urge you to write 'Fenelon's History of Aintree' before: 'Fenelon's Atlas of Feral Cichlids of the Bridgewater Canal: Pilkington's to Delamere' and 'Fenelon's Feng Shui for Pre-stressed Engineers'.

It doesn't have to be of Britannic proportions. After all, it's not Oulton Park is it? I had in mind a self-published booklet that would be snapped up by Merseysiders. My thought was, what an effect it would have on young Crack-heads discovering it in Bootle Public Library. Give them a new perspective on their hometown when they realise Ascari, Fangio, and Moss raced on their doorstep.

Something along the lines of those old 'Profile' pamphlets that sold for a shilling and sixpence. Blimey you could trot off one of those in your lunch hour!

Go on make a start on the Intro, ... a line drawing of the circuit, cadge a quote or two from Hamish, a pickie from Doug, and you're half-way home.

AM

[paulhooft]

is there another series of monologue plays
called the BRM 'monologues'????
Paul

[Pete Stowe]

Originally posted by Anorak Man
But allow me to urge you to write 'Fenelon's History of Aintree'

There already appears to be an Aintree book on the way, although according to the publishers website http://www.tfmpublis...ing.htm#Aintree it was due to appear in September 2003.

[Anorak Man]

Ta Stowe!

There y'go Pete ... NOT yet published. Get tapping this lunch hour and you'll pip him to the line.

Rare photographs ... Mmmmm ...

AM

[dscwall]

placed my order for Vol 2 on the 24/01/04, following the above post about the price at Amazon, and out of the blue on 03/02/04 the book is suddenly no longer available at that price, and my order cannot be fulfilled.

[dolomite]

I have been most displeased to discover in the past few days that my copy of BRM Vol 2 bought 1 month ago is starting to fall apart - the pages in the centre of the book are coming unglued from the spine at the bottom. This to me is totally unacceptable in a book costing £70. Have sent e-mail to the supplier (Millhouse Books) asking if they will replace it, but no reply as yet. Has anybody else experienced the same problem with this book?

[conjohn]

dolomite, I have the same problem with my copy, bought from MillHouse in July.

[Dave Wright]

Originally posted by dolomite
I have been most displeased to discover in the past few days that my copy of BRM Vol 2 bought 1 month ago is starting to fall apart - the pages in the centre of the book are coming unglued from the spine at the bottom. This to me is totally unacceptable in a book costing £70. Have sent e-mail to the supplier (Millhouse Books) asking if they will replace it, but no reply as yet. Has anybody else experienced the same problem with this book?

Me too.

[Vitesse2]

Are you guys saying that this book is "perfect bound" (an oxymoron if ever there was one)? In other words are the pages just glued to a strip of fabric and removable individually? Not bound in signatures and then sewn in? For 70 quid I'd expect a much higher standard of binding than this sounds - perfect binding "in case" has always been dodgy, especially for a book like this which is likely to get heavy use.

[Ray Bell]

Not in the same category, but this affliction beset the Terry Walker magazine Around the Houses...

Terrible, I don't know who conned whom into doing it that way...

[Doug Nye]

I CANNOT EXPRESS MY GENUINE DISMAY AT READING THE ABOVE. I have drawn your comments to the attention of the publisher...rather emphatically so.

DCN

[dolomite]

Vitesse2, the pages are bound in sgnatures, but these are seemingly not sewn in adequately.

Thanks Doug, if it will help I could take some close-up photos showing the problem.

[Dave Wright]

Originally posted by Vitesse2
Are you guys saying that this book is "perfect bound" (an oxymoron if ever there was one)? In other words are the pages just glued to a strip of fabric and removable individually? Not bound in signatures and then sewn in? For 70 quid I'd expect a much higher standard of binding than this sounds - perfect binding "in case" has always been dodgy, especially for a book like this which is likely to get heavy use.

The pages are sewn together then glued to a backing strip. In my case the pages have pulled away from that strip but they are still held by the sewing and certainly not removable individually. The batteries in my digital camera have run out otherwhise I would take a photo. The book has been well used - read from cover to cover and re-referred to on several occasions - it is treated as a "working" book rather than a collectors item, but I was surprised and disappointed when the glue gave way.

[petefenelon]

Originally posted by Dave Wright


Me too.

Me3, some of the signatures round the middle of the book are already separating....

[Doug Nye]

Quite right - there is NO WAY this book would have been cheapskate 'perfect bound' but this unglueing problem - which appears to have afflicted a minority of the run - is patently unacceptable. Publisher John Blunsden is presently in contact with the original binder and is seeking to quantify this problem. Would customers whose books have been affected in this way PLEASE contact John direct at MRP's address (in the front of the book). This on his birthday, too...

DCN

[dolomite]

Doug, many many thanks once again for taking the time to look into this so quickly. I shall pen a message to John Blunsden this evening.

[Tim Murray]

I would probably not have spotted it if I hadn't been looking for it, but the glueing on my copy is definitely a little suspect.

[humphries]

Mine seems O.K. No 1057.

[conjohn]

My copy is no 1142 - are the others affected somewhere near to this?

While at school, many years ago, I worked summers at a book binding shop (or rather the book binding department of a printing firm - among the customers where Hson - Swedish TNF'ers will now what that means ), so I understand that this, regrettably, can happen...

[Dave Wright]

Originally posted by conjohn
My copy is no 1142 - are the others affected somewhere near to this?

Mines 902.

[Gerr]

Mine is no. 1496, and it is unglueing.

DCN, thanks for informing Mr. Blunsden of the problem.

[dolomite]

My disintegrating copy is no. 1625. Here is a photo

[Tim Murray]

My copy is 673. It's nowhere near as bad as Dolomite's - yet.

[marat]

I have two vol 2.
The unread one is ok.
The other one, #710 is "pitoyable".

[Dennis Hockenbury]

My #1261 is in about the same shape with the center pages having come undone. dolomite, please let us know what the remedy proposed by MRP is for this.

I will wait until after Mr. Blunsden's birthday to advise him of mine. I will most likely have my copy repaired here in Houston as the postage to/from the U.K. would likely exceed the cost of local repair.

Doug, thanks for the help.

[Don Capps]

No. 1029 is having something of the same problem, starting from the top of the spine. Not real bad -- yet, but still very worrying....

[Anorak Man]

That'll be due to them copying dodgy American binding techniques, cold-setting glue instead of hot-setting etc. It'd never happen with Haynes, Doug.

AM

[Doug Nye]

Originally posted by Anorak Man
It'd never happen with Haynes, Doug. AM

This is - I feel - no time for jest...

DCN

[VAR1016]

Originally posted by dolomite
I have been most displeased to discover in the past few days that my copy of BRM Vol 2 bought 1 month ago is starting to fall apart - the pages in the centre of the book are coming unglued from the spine at the bottom. This to me is totally unacceptable in a book costing £70. Have sent e-mail to the supplier (Millhouse Books) asking if they will replace it, but no reply as yet. Has anybody else experienced the same problem with this book?

Mine too I'm afraid....

PdeRL

[Catalina Park]

Mine is also starting to lift too (number 1911) :

[Philip Whiteman]

Funny; my original copy (unknown C/N, for reasons that will become clear) began to disintegrate months ago, no long after I got it, but still only after I had read it from cover-to-cover. I promptly returned it to Chaters - almost apologetically - only to be told that they'd had quite a number back, due to this binding problem. I was told that a batch the finished books had been stacked prematurely, before the glue had fully dried and was given straight away a carefully checked replacement copy (C/N well over 2,000) which has not failed (althought its hardly been flicked through).

Great service from those cheery fellows at Chaters...

[Joe Fan]

Doug,

My next book is going to be "Adventures in Publishing." Softbound of course.

[Doug Nye]

- you have no idea how good all this makes me feel - not that it's my department, but...well, you know...

DCN

[Tim Murray]

Originally posted by Doug Nye
- you have no idea how good all this makes me feel - not that it's my department, but...well, you know...

DCN

Of course it's absolutely not your fault Doug, but I understand how you must be feeling.

Originally posted by Philip Whiteman
I was told that a batch of the finished books had been stacked prematurely, before the glue had fully dried . . .

It must have been a pretty large batch, judging by the spread of serial numbers posted above.

[Dave Wright]

Originally posted by Doug Nye
- you have no idea how good all this makes me feel - not that it's my department, but...well, you know...

DCN

I will be buying Vol 3 the instant it becomes available. I would still buy it if I was told in advance the binding would come unstuck.

Dave

[VAR1016]

Originally posted by Dave Wright


I will be buying Vol 3 the instant it becomes available. I would still buy it if I was told in advance the binding would come unstuck.

Dave

So would I - "Came apart in me 'and guv - honest!"

PdeRL

[Alan Lewis]

Well, 2250 has been here four months, read cover-to-cover and "dipped into" umpteen million times...and it's perfectly alright.

Not much comfort, I know, but it sounds like the later numbers do seem to be OK.

APL

[David Beard]

My 1834 seems to be OK.
I feel left out...I will have to be a bit rougher with it?

[Felix Muelas]

Originally posted by David Beard
My 1834 seems to be OK.
I feel left out...I will have to be a bit rougher with it?

Same feeling, David
Actually my 1528 has been subject to inspection even from my youngest (11 months) dear Paula and I have to say that nothing (apart from some noises of admiration, I guess) has affected the binding on the book...
So far, I mean, she hasn´t started to leak it yet.
I´ll keep you posted --barbarians--