10471 replies to this topic

[karlcars]

Many thanks, Paul. Nice to be back.

 

I think the Grand Prix film idea -- still good -- is on a remote back burner. My priorities now are first, a book for Delius Klasing on my recollection of "The Days When Cars Had Engines" and completion of my history of supercharging. Then Corvette Volume 2!

 

Best to all,

 

Karl L.

[karlcars]

I promised more information on my new book about Reid Railton, which will be officially published on 24 April.

 

Here's what some people have already said about it:

 

Tributes to Reid Railton: Man of Speed

 

At last! Here is the biography of an automobile engineer. Motorsports literature is well served with biographies and autobiographies of drivers but the engineers who make the sport happen are seldom acknowledged. Reid Railton was not just a designer. He was the best of his generation and, in my opinion, the best automobile designer of any generation.

Ronald Ayers MBE, Chief Aerodynamicist, Bloodhound SCC record car

 

There can be few, if any, characters connected with the history of motor racing more under-appreciated than Reid Antony Railton. Fortunately, thanks to Karl Ludvigsen, we can now fully appreciate his extraordinary achievements — and the context in which they were set.

Nicholas Faith, author of The Wankel Engine and former motor industry editor of The Economist and The Sunday Times

 

Karl Ludvigsen has produced a thoroughly informative and authoritative biography about one of the most influential design engineers of fast cars of any era. Without Reid Railton’s incredible ingenuity, foresight and knowledge of aerodynamics, my amazing grandfather Sir Malcolm Campbell would never have achieved his enormous success. And when I was a little girl I remember my dear father Donald Campbell waxing lyrical about this man Reid Railton and what a born genius he was.

Gina Campbell QSO, Grand-daughter of Sir Malcolm Campbell and daughter of Donald Campbell CBE

 

The Age of Combustion had in Reid Railton its charming herald angel. And this is a record-breaking book: enchanting, original, fascinating, technically scrupulous and immaculately researched. But there’s also touching nostalgia for a long-lost moment when Britannia ruled the roads as well as the waves. With Man of Speed Karl Ludvigsen crowns himself the outstanding historian of the motor car.

Stephen Bayley, author, critic, columnist, consultant, broadcaster, debater and curator

 

I can only describe this book as absolutely magnificent. Karl Ludvigsen charts the life and times of Reid Railton in extraordinary detail and the confidence and scale of his research and knowledge is nothing short of astounding. As land speed record enthusiasts we know all about the Campbells and Segraves, but very little about Cobb and almost nothing about Railton, the engineer in the margins of history who made so many of the great British records possible. Not anymore. This very special book for every motor racing enthusiast gets pride of place in my library. It is a brilliant read.

Richard Noble OBE, Land speed record holder 1987–93 and project director of supersonic cars Thrust SSC and Bloodhound SSC

 

Karl Ludvigsen’s Reid Railton: Man of Speed is an exceptional account of one of history’s pre-eminent engineers. Gifted with immense talent, Railton was a brilliant man who led a remarkable life and whose contributions resonate to this day. Karl Ludvigsen’s latest is yet another example of his unmatched storytelling and compelling detail; it is simply a superb piece of work.

Peter M. DeLorenzo, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief, Autoextremist.com

 

Too often the designer and engineer, without whom there would be no car, are all but forgotten. This fascinating book, Reid Railton: Man of Speed, goes a long way to balance the scales by, for the first time, shining a light on the distinguished career of Reid Railton, a talented designer and engineer who if fate had been kinder would today be as widely known as Henry Royce.

Sir Greg Knight MP, Chair, Parliamentary Historic Vehicles Group, House of Commons

 

Now it will be your turn!

 

Karl L.

[SamoanAttorney]

Those of us lucky enough to be members of the  Society of Automotive Historians in Britain will have the pleasure of hearing Mr Ludvigsen speak on the matter of Reid Railton at our Spring Seminar the weekend after publication of his book.

[ensign14]

When I was about 5 I had a big A4 hardcover picture book of cars and I was obsessed with it.  Starting with the Benz and Cugnot's Fardier with double page articles on various aspects.  Including some oddities like the Octo-Auto and the Rumpler.  Reid Railton's name was prominent in it so it will be a joy to read the full story.

 

[blackmme]

I was absolutely delighted to be able to pick up a copy of the second edition of the great Doug Nye's 'Theme Lotus (1956-1986)'

It's concise (I know it doesn't set out to be exhaustive) and yet absolutely packed with details that I have wondered about, such as trying to pin down which 91's became 94's. As a bonus on opening it I found that it had been signed by Doug.

 

I'm sure all the Lotus fans here already have it but if not seek out a copy as it is terrific.

 

Regards Mike

Edited by blackmme, 15 March 2018 - 14:18.

[john aston]

At the risk of founding the KL fan club - and I have yet to read Mr Nye's Lotus book - I found his Colin Chapman Inside the Innovator simply outstanding, and I suspect definitive. My copy was upgraded a few weeks ago by Clive Chapman's signature - using his father's pencil . That  was speclal for this life long Lotus devotee 

[bradbury west]

For the second time recently I find myself in total agreement with John Aston, apart from the groupie bit........
The Chapman book is very fine indeed. I think I have reviewed it/commented ages ago. He covers old ground with new twists and brings out new ideas. A proper job for the topic.
Roger Lund.

[Glengavel]

Going back to the new Jim Clark book that Evro are publishing at the end of March, Amazon have now reduced it to £52 from £80. I received a £10 off code today, so have ordered it for £42

 

https://www.amazon.c...0?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

If it's as massive as Peter Darley and Graham Gauld's previous efforts, I will have to get my floorboards and my surgical truss reinforced.

 

How did you get the £10-off code?

[PRD]

If it's as massive as Peter Darley and Graham Gauld's previous efforts, I will have to get my floorboards and my surgical truss reinforced.

 

How did you get the £10-off code?

 

It was a one-off 'reward' offer from Amazon Prime, spend £50 today only and we'll knock £10 off

[D-Type]

If it involves signing up to Amazon Prime, remember to cancel the membership before you have to pay.

[PRD]

If it involves signing up to Amazon Prime, remember to cancel the membership before you have to pay.

 

I've got a half price sub to Amazon Prime on account of being an Open University student

[ensign14]

The latest Formula One Register book is on the Monoposto formula, taking it up to 1976.  Unlike previous tomes this one has some pics in it, of some of the more interesting one-off matériel.   Just glancing through it I see Clive Puzey and Tony Lanfranchi had a go at it - as well as a chap who occasionally went by the pseudonym of The Streaker.  (Oh, and Mr Average.)

 

Only 70 copies made though.  So it might be skate time.

[Colbul1]

My copy of Reid Railton: Man of Speed has arrived with me this morning and wow, what a fantastic piece of work it looks!  Fabulously put together, 2 marvellous volumes in a slipcase.  I have only managed to flick through the pages so far, but I can already tell I am going to thoroughly enjoy reading the book.  Well done Karl!

 

Colin

[Vitesse2]

Donning my charity volunteer arm-twisting hat again, can I draw your attention to Panel Beating and Sheet Metal Work by Sidney Pinder - a lovely copy of a 1930s text for apprentices and students at a sensible price ... SOLD!!

 

No reasonable offer refused for this either: a still shrink-wrapped copy of Motor Racing: the Early Years by Brian Laban

SOLD!

 

And I know at least one of the purchasers is a TNFer. Thanks for supporting Julian House!

Edited by Vitesse2, 18 April 2018 - 14:31.

[nexfast]

I've just received the birthday present I gave myself: "Peter Coltrin Racing in Color 1954-1959" with text by Chris Nixon, bought at half price at Gilena Bookshop in Italy. Just browsed through it, so no idea about quality of the text (though Nixon is usually a sure hand), but the stunning photos, to say the least, more than justify the acquisition. The book is divided between american racing - basically sports car but including others like dragsters - and European racing, covering 57, 58 and 59, with Formula 1 cars the core of the photos but also including plenty of endurance racing. What I like in the pictures is the sense of ambiance that they convey, like inviting us to share the paddock and the stories, people as well as machinery covered with a lovely eye by an amateur but clearly extremely talented photographer. Somehow predating the luxurious volumes of Phil Hill photography just published by Doug Nye but in the same vein. For what I skimmed through the introduction, the idea was to reproduce the model of the Klemantaski/Nixon volume about Aston Martin published by the same editor a few years before, though in black and white. Guess what? My birthday package also included the said volume (also at half price!) 

[SamoanAttorney]

Those of us lucky enough to be members of the  Society of Automotive Historians in Britain will have the pleasure of hearing Mr Ludvigsen speak on the matter of Reid Railton at our Spring Seminar the weekend after publication of his book.

 

Well Christmas came a bit early this year (or maybe a bit late) and certainly the weather has taken on a December-ish feel.............

 

Mr Ludvigsen warmed an appreciative audience from the Society of Automotive Historians in Britain yesterday with a commanding performance discussing his latest masterpiece. Alone it was worth the price of admission and the tribulations of negotiating the M40 at the weekend.

 

As a bonus we were also treated to a tour de force by Michael Barton on the subject of Tony Crook and Bristol Cars - there will be a book out soon - like the Reid Railton volume it will enter the must-have class.

[karlcars]

For your info here's the news release about the book presented by EVRO at its Brooklands launch:

 

 

Move over, Royce, Whittle, Brunel and Stephenson —

Make room for Britain’s new engineer hero: Reid Railton

 

BROOKLANDS  —  24 April 2018 — A new engineer joined Great Britain’s sacred immortals at ceremonies here today. Emerging from the shadows, Reid Antony Railton stepped into the limelight of a spectacular career in the service of speed.

            ‘After World War 2’, said author and Railton expert Karl Ludvigsen,’ Britain often held the Triple Crown of Speed on land, sea and air. Railton’s vehicles were responsible for the absolute speed records on land and water.’

            Speed kings Sir Malcolm Campbell, John Cobb and Goldie Gardner rode to fame in Railton-engineered craft. Car designs from his draughting board for Campbell were the first to 250 mph and 300 mph.

            ‘Without Reid Railton’s incredible ingenuity, foresight and knowledge,’ said Campbell’s grand-daughter Gina Campbell, ‘my amazing grandfather would never have achieved his enormous success. Genius is born, not educated, and Railton was born one.’

            Designing for John Cobb as chief engineer of Thomson & Taylor at Brooklands, Railton’s four-wheel-drive racer — called in 1938 ‘a hundred years ahead of its time, a twenty-first-century car’ — was the first to 350 mph and then a one-way speed of 403 mph for an average of 394.2 mph.

            Cobb’s speed record for wheel-driven cars withstood all challenges for 17 years until it was beaten by a scant nine miles per hour. ‘Now in Birmingham’s Thinktank,’ said author Ludvigsen, ‘Reid Railton’s creation remains an object lesson in elegance, function and design-for-purpose.’

            Events here today launched Karl Ludvigsen’s new book, Reid Railton — Man of Speed. Joining him were the engineer’s daughter Sally Railton Joslin and two moving forces of Britain’s latest land-speed challenger, the Bloodhound SSC: project director Richard Noble and chief aerodynamicist Ron Ayres.

            The book from EVRO Publishing covers the career of Railton (1895-1977) in two volumes and 840 pages with 1,000 illustrations. ‘We are proud to publish Karl’s latest work,’ said EVRO chairman Eric Verdon-Roe. ‘We hope that it will go a long way toward raising the profile of Railton as one of our nation’s greatest engineers.’

            Sir Malcolm Campbell commissioned Railton’s designs for water-record craft. With 130.9 mph his Blue Bird K3 of 1938 broke the American stranglehold on water speed in 1938. Campbell’s 1939 record of 141.7 mph in Blue Bird K4 stood for nine years.

            Reid Railton’s aerodynamic designs for MG’s EX.135 record-breaker passed into legend. ‘Of the ten available international engine-size record classes,’ said Ludvigsen, ‘Goldie Gardner in the MG held five. He was first to exceed 200 mph in both the 1,100 and 1,500 cc classes.’

            As chassis designer of the 1934 ERA racing car, Railton was a key member of the team that built Britain’s first true single-seater racing car. Led by company co-founder Raymond Mays, ERA cars carried Britain’s banner high in races throughout the 1930s.

            ‘Reid Railton was not just a designer,’ said Bloodhound SSC’s Ron Ayers. He was the best of his generation and, in my opinion, the best automobile designer of any generation.’ ‘If fate had been kinder,’ Sir Greg Knight MP told Ludvigsen, Railton ‘would today be as widely known as Henry Royce.’

            ‘Reid Railton’s design principles underpinned the 1,500-some Railton sporting cars that were produced from 1934 to 1939,’ said author Ludvigsen. ‘He was also a consultant for Hudson, one of America’s most respected car producers, through 1954.’

            In World War 2 Fairmile Marine recruited Railton to oversee sourcing of suitable engines for scouting and submarine-chasing ships. For this task the company expressed its ‘confidence in the engineer who has been responsible for both the world’s land speed and the water speed records and who has a connection of world distinction as an advisory engineer.’

            This work brought Railton to America and engine producer Hall-Scott of Berkeley, California, where he acted as an engineering consultant. He settled there during the war and remained in the USA with his family.

            Karl Ludvigsen said that he saw the revelations of his book as ‘suggesting that Reid Antony Railton deserves greater recognition than he has received,’ adding that he hoped ‘that by virtue of its many contributors and supporters, my book will serve as a memorial in the meantime.’

[B Squared]

[Ray Bell]

Is it really almost three years since we lost Michael?

Brian, it's just a great thing that the book was completed and publication is going ahead. I seem to recall Mike telling me that the purpose of this book was to show the links between Indy racing and F1 and to highlight that Bobby Marshman was in a similar class to Jim Clark.

Is that right or has my memory skipped yet another beat?

[Collombin]

He was leading Clark in his last Indy 500 in an older car.

Great news about the book, although I hope they spell Indianapolis correctly on the cover of the actual book!

[B Squared]

Ray - The Ferguson, Team Lotus: The Indianapolis Years mentions Lotus personnel as referring to Bob as "America's Jim Clark" which had to do with his pace, and also with his demeanor and likability. This aspect is acknowledged, but is not the focus. It covers the move from the traditional roadsters to the rear-engine chassis at Indianapolis, but is primarily Bobby's story and the strong, lasting impressions he made in his unfortunately short career.

[Tim Murray]

A biography of Terry Sanger has just been published:
 

- Now Published -

“And you’ll love this one...!”

The story of well-known driver Terry Sanger, his exciting
international racing career and his fascinating friends


By Ken Davies
 
Foreword by ‘Autosport’s’ Marcus Pye:
 
“Ken Davies’ fascinating manuscript has illuminated his character and manifold
abilities, enriched my understanding of a West Country legend and left me
wishing I’d known him. Time well spent.” Marcus Pye - January 2018

Available from: Castle Combe Racing Club Website
Circuit Shop & kend@ccracingclub.co.uk

£12.00 + £3.00 P&P UK

All profits are dedicated to the Castle Combe Racing Trust for Medical and Safety Equipment at the circuit.

Anyone who knew this larger-than-life character or who was lucky enough to get to hear one of his hilarious talks will know what to expect from this book.

[glyn parham]

Thank you Tim, I can only imagine some of his stories I will put this on my "must have" list.
Glyn

[dbltop]

I have just purchased David Tremayne's "Best of the Best" and have had a chance to leaf through it. Excellent photos throughout and I am looking forward to reading the text.

[Collombin]

I have just purchased David Tremayne's "Best of the Best" and have had a chance to leaf through it. Excellent photos throughout and I am looking forward to reading the text.

Please let us know about the text. Most of the reviews of this book seem to be about Clark rather than the book, and one commented that it read like a love letter from the author to Clark. I hope not, as I've got the Dymock book for that! Tremayne's work is normally very good though, so there is reason to be hopeful.

[West3]

Apropos of nothing in particular, except perhaps that there have been precious few posts here lately, here is a lovely inscription in a book I recently picked up. A first printing of Rudolf Caracciola: A Racing Car Driver's World. Needless to say, I'm pretty chuffed to have come across this and think it's quite special indeed!

 

[D-Type]

When Vanwall - The Story of Tony Vandervell and His Racing Cars by Denis Jenkinson and Cyril Posthumus was published in the mid-seventies I put it on my Christmas list.  Unfortunately nobody in the family could find a shop that stocked it - or had even heard of it!
Last weekend at Goodwood a copy made its way off Chater's shelves into my bag and now sits on my bookshelf between Ian Bamsey's Vanwall 2.5 litre - A Technical Appraisal and Ed McDonough's Vanwall - Green for Glory - or at least it will when I've finished reading it.

[bradbury west]

I have always enjoyed, and praised, Bamsey's book on Vanwall. Appropriately technical, for a non engineer like myself it was easily understandable and fully detailed. I have found his same technique enjoyable in other marque or model works, and never hesitate to recommend them.
Roger Lund

[cooper997]

Duncan, Nice find.. Now you just need to add The Vanwall Story by Klemantaski & Frostick to the shelf..

 

Stephen

[bradbury west]

I am interested to see that Legendary Australian Geoff Smedley has done his autobiography, due for release at the end of August. I have enquired about price and cost of post to U.K.
Roger Lund

Edited by bradbury west, 01 August 2018 - 06:40.

[Vitesse2]

Donning my charity selling hat again, I've today listed a book on eBay which may be of interest to some TNFers and/or their friends - a copy of the scarce Doble Steam Cars, Buses, Lorries (Trucks) and Railcars by JN Walton. Priced competitively at £30 (and if you don't think that's competitive, check it on ABEbooks! ) - item number 253788283258. Will post worldwide!

 

SOLD!

Edited by Vitesse2, 25 August 2018 - 18:46.

[fuzzi]

I have just finished Duncan Rabagliati's "From Send to Syracuse - The History of Connaught". Thoroughly researched, well illustrated and well worth waiting for. It is published by Douglas Liveridge Publications, not a large publisher, with I understand a small initial print run but there is a family connection to Connaughts so there is a good chance that it will remain in print and not be discounted. Buy now and avoid disappointment. I did.   

[DN5]

I just enquied about the Shadow Racing Team book that Dalton Watson Fine Books were highlighting earlier this year for future publication. It turns out they are now looking for an author after a couple of false starts if anyone is interested.

 

Geoff

[2F-001]

I have recently acquired the McKlein-published 1965-1969 Details: legendary sports cars close up by Wilfried Müller (pub. 2015) - which seems to have garnered conflicting opinions in the past.

It is essentially a picture-book, but with introductory text for each car covered and fairly full captions. (Text and captions are in German and English; Some text was contributed by John Davenport and DCN is listed as one of the proof-readers). There are hundreds of pictures (I haven’t, and frankly I won’t, count them - far too many for that). There are plenty of pits, garage and bodywork-off images, but they are not all close-up detail shots: there are a lot of full-car and multi-car pics and ‘cars-in-a-setting’ images too.

There are some Chaparral pics I’d not seen before and some interesting cars that don’t usually get an awful lot of coverage in print in more ‘general’ books are included - such as a number of Abarths, Alpines, Mirage M2 & 3, Howmet, Lotus 62, the BMW, Ferrari and Porsche hillclimb cars, and the rather lovely 1969 Ferrari 312P (Coupe and open).

It is an enormous tome, 12 inches square in its slipcase and and inch-and-three-quarters thick.
I’ve only browsed lightly through it, but thus far I am pleased with it. However, it is so heavy (nearly nine pounds) that sitting reading it in one’s lap is a feat of endurance befitting some of the featured cars.

[cooper997]

In post 8782 bradbury west mentions the talented Australian motor racing engineer, Geoff Smedley's upcoming book. Here he is with the fruits of his life's work, as it states "The ink is still wet" to be officially aunched in Tasmania on August 25.

 

 

 

Stephen.

[Jack-the-Lad]

Has anyone had an advance look at "Ferrari Engines Enthusiasts' Manual" by Bluemel and Reggiani, published by Haynes? I believe the publication date is this October.

[Arjan de Roos]

According to its publisher, David Bull, the English edition of  Enzo Ferrari—Power, Politics, and the Making of an Automotive Empire, (aka Ferrari Rex in Italian) will be introduced at Amelia Island in March.

 

Frank

 

Now I have started to read my copy. It is surely an impressive work. Already in the first chapter Dal Monte comes with a first revelation. How many books/articles have brought the story that little Enzo was born the 18th of February yet his father came to town hall the 20th due to heavy snow. In reality it went quite different. Surprising. He also tells many other well known stories, with some he even goes further and relates what was not yet known, in some cases even 'unbelievable'.

His work is vast and researched as he references to all his sources continuously. Now here I started to wonder. He has interviewed several persons who were close to the man for years like the late Franco Gozzi. Yet 'only' these are mentioned. Missing no doubt is input from for instance Forghieri. Dal Monte does refer to quoting his book, as he does with many more. Yet in my opinion he could have interviewed several more. Brenda Vernor for instance, Coco Chinetti, etc. No drivers have been interview it seems. Dal Monte did have access to many people as he worked for the brand for a substantial period, in Italy and the US.

He quotes many books, including the Enzo Ferrari books (Italian, no Tanner-Nye). With newspapers he mainly used il Gazetto dello Sport and the famous daily's. A wealth of info no doubt, yet it looks a bit one sided, limited to Italian sources only.

The book is translated from Italian, yet makes a pleasant read and is open to anyone who is interested as well as the dedicated fan. Is it the definitive works on the man? Well still there remain many stories to be told, and no work on him will ever be definitive, but here is the first integral, referenced opus that may grow to become the 'bible'.

Edited by Arjan de Roos, 23 August 2018 - 07:46.

[Jack-the-Lad]

I have the Ferrari biography but have not yet dived into it. It's quite puzzling....and disappointing....to learn that so many important primary sources were excluded. I don't see how it can be complete without these sources. Perhaps he did interview them and used information from them without actually quoting or even citing them. Is this possible? Or, since he worked at Ferrari, is it possible that his relationships with those who were left out not so good? I am speculating, of course, but this does seem quite odd, and it does diminish a bit the anticipation I have for reading the book.

[jtremlett]

I have the Ferrari biography but have not yet dived into it. It's quite puzzling....and disappointing....to learn that so many important primary sources were excluded. I don't see how it can be complete without these sources. Perhaps he did interview them and used information from them without actually quoting or even citing them. Is this possible? Or, since he worked at Ferrari, is it possible that his relationships with those who were left out not so good? I am speculating, of course, but this does seem quite odd, and it does diminish a bit the anticipation I have for reading the book.

I don't think your anticipation should be diminished.  I have read it, having previously read many other Ferrari books and several biographies of Enzo Ferrari, and there was much that was new to me.  I would say it is much the best biography of Enzo Ferrari yet published (or certainly amongst those I have read) but I do agree with Arjan that, even with approaching 1,000 pages, there is plenty more yet to be written.

[jtremlett]

In case anyone should be interested, having caught up with a bit of reading over the last few weeks, some brief comments:

 

Adrian Newey's 'How to build a car' and Nick Skeens' biography of John Barnard 'The Perfect Car'.  The former (ghostwritten) and modestly subtitled 'The Autobiography of the World's Greatest Formula 1 Designer' unsurprisingly didn't leave me feeling I knew how to build a car but was interesting, particularly so on Senna's accident.  To my mind, however, it suffers from the usual problem of an autobiography in that you only get one side of every story.  Personally, I am also a little biased against ghostwritten books in general as at the back of my mind I'm always wondering how much of what has ended up on the page has truly come from the nominal author.  Perhaps that is unfair although I recall hearing of one Formula 1 driver (I don't recall which one offhand, Piquet perhaps?) who had a column in one of the magazines that he barely had any input into at all.  I did rather end with the view that Newey's own innovations are often down to clever interpretations of the rules whilst other people's are all down to cheating!  Notwithstanding, I found it a worthwhile read and easily worth the £10 I paid for my copy.  

 

I had not heard of Nick Skeens before picking up the Barnard book although apparently he is a writer on design.  Although he states Barnard paid him to write the book it is certainly not a hagiography and Skeens has done a great job in getting input from many others involved in Barnard's story, culminating in an epilogue where he gets Barnard and Ron Dennis together at the MTC shortly before Dennis got ousted from McLaren.  Barnard himself doesn't hold back but the book as a whole comes across as a rounded portrait of the man and his time in racing and, by the end, it isn't too hard to see where with a little more give and take on his part he might have had greater and longer success.  There are a lot of 'racing' books by drivers and others inside the sport.  But all too often I feel I could have written most of them myself with the help of a pile of published race reports of the relevant period.  In contrast this is very much an inside story and in many ways the actual racing is peripheral.  So for me, much of what I was reading was new information adding to what I already knew and with the whole, including the engineering aspects, very readable.  More than twice the price of the Newey book and I did hesitate to buy it as a result but for me worth every penny and a book I am sure I will return to again in the future.   

 

Luca del Monte's biography of Enzo Ferrari is mentioned above, so lastly, Mark Hughes 'F1 Retro: 1980'.  I really like the idea of this book which is to look back on the chosen year of F1 from today's perspective.  Alas, however, I found it rather disappointing.  The cover is fairly hideous and the picture choice inside is really rather poor.  Much of the book is taken up with reports of the 1980 Grands Prix.  Unfortunately, whilst Mark Hughes writes pretty good reports of current races for the Motorsport magazine website, as far as I have read these are really rather uninspired, seem to have no retro aspect that I could see and aren't up to the standard of the contemporary reports in the likes of Autosport, Autocourse or Motorsport.  What remains then is, for me, rather too little that's new.  Too few new interviews and insights to justify the £60 purchase price.  

[proviz]

Have any of you read "Maserati at Heart" by Ermanno Cozza? There hasn't been much first-hand experience from the factory shared in print, at least not in English.

Edited by proviz, 23 August 2018 - 07:28.

[Dick Dastardly]

Has anyone read the Terry Sanger book "And You'll Love This One !" ?

[karlcars]

Ref the new Enzo Ferrari book I dipped into it soon after receipt and stumbled over so many technical errors that I lost heart. Maybe I'll gather strength to have another try. But it was discouraging.

[guiporsche]

I wholly second Arjan's comments above and would add that Dal Monte probably struggled with balancing the narrative of Enzo's personal life with that of his team, both more than often being indistinguishable. He clearly decided to give privilege to the former and rely on already published material for most of the latter. In that sense Franco Gozzi comes up as the éminence grise of the book. I often got the feeeling that Gozzi wrote the book through Dal Monte's pen, so often is he cited. 

Two particular topics that I was disappointed were not touched upon (at all), were the New-Zealand connection/mystery in WWII and the particular choice of Piccinini as team principal. Even if the book runs large, a post-scriptum on the 1988-89 years and the 'fall' of Piero Lardi would have been interesting too, but that's probably too early to tell.

 

Re. Brenda Vernor, is it true she has a book of her own coming out sometime in the future?

 

Re. Cozza's and Barnard's books, I've seen Cozza's getting very good reviews indeed (hopefully the translation to English is decent); while Barnard's got a good review by Keith Collantine in racefans.net. He, however, alerts that regarding Ferrari the tone gets a bit chauvinistic at times, which given British understatement and Barnard's previous utterances on the topic makes me expect the worse. Hopefully at some point in the future the book will be a bit more affordable. 

 

P.S. Reviews of Cozza's book (ITA & ENG editions) here: https://www.giorgion...-nel-cuore.html

For the life of me, though, I can't understand why they ask for dozens of euros for each book (plus postage) without even offering a few pages or half a chapter as a preview.

Edited by guiporsche, 28 August 2018 - 17:31.

[Jack-the-Lad]

Well, these reviews of the Ferrari biography are certainly disappointing. But I appreciate everyone's opinions here.

With respect to jtremletts's comment, I expected that with publication of this book there would not be "plenty more yet to be written."

To guiporsche: There has been speculation for some time about books coming from both Brenda Vernor and Luigi Chinetti, Jr., but I have seen no announcements about either.

[Colbul1]

Yesterday I received a copy of '25 Years at the Festival of Speed' by Ian Lambot and introduction by DCN.  The book can be purchased on Amazon in the UK through Ian Lambot Studios.  I was expecting this book in a way to be a continuation of Ian Lambot's book on the Festival of Speed from 1998, but it is in fact an entirely new publication and it is all the better for it.  It isn't often I devour an entire book in 1 sitting, but the wonderful array of pictures made it a book I couldn't put down for 4 hours!  The introduction by DCN is excellent, it evokes perfectly what Goodwood is and how the FoS means something different to everyone.  The quality and variety of the pictures are also superb from Andretti and Moss having a laugh, through the centre pieces, Red Arrow displays and the myriad of cars that have gone up the hill.  I cannot praise this book enough, I enjoyed it completely.  The only other thing I will note is the bizarre series of caption errors starting on page 99 through to 120 (there are no other caption errors within the book).  There are a few of them (the car is clearly a Williams FW11B, not a FW15C; It is Jenson Button, not Sato; the BT52 is from 1982, not 1952 etc.), but anyone with a modicum of knowledge will know the correct answers and so it doesn't detract from the enjoyment of the book.  If you enjoy the FoS and want to look back at those wonderful events over 25 years this is definitely the book to get.

 

Colin

[pilota]

Ref the new Enzo Ferrari book I dipped into it soon after receipt and stumbled over so many technical errors that I lost heart. Maybe I'll gather strength to have another try. But it was discouraging.

Karl

could you give us a few examples of the technical errors that you found? Thank you

Nathan

[West3]

Value alert for those in the USA. Half Price books is currently selling The Brothers Rodriguez by Carlos Jalife for $29.95. A screaming bargain, methinks, for those not yet having picked up a copy. I just got one from my local store in the Seattle area and a friend found one last week in a Kansas store. So apparently they have been widely scattered about the country.

[Jack-the-Lad]

Value alert for those in the USA. Half Price books is currently selling The Brothers Rodriguez by Carlos Jalife for $29.95. A screaming bargain, methinks, for those not yet having picked up a copy. I just got one from my local store in the Seattle area and a friend found one last week in a Kansas store. So apparently they have been widely scattered about the country.

Thanks for the tip. I already have a copy but I'm sure others will benefit from this.

[ensign14]

Il Fascino Ferrari.  New publication from Taschen.  
 
Upside: you get a stand that looks like an engine.

Downside: it costs £22,500.
 
If you can't stump up for the Art Edition, you can go for the common-or-garden limited edition, restricted to 1,697 copies.  That's just four and a half grand.