Reviewed by Kieron Fennelly Title: Jaguar F-Type – The Complete Story Author: Andrew Noakes Published by: Crowood Press Ltd www.crowood.com 192 pages (paperback), with 254 colour and 30 mono photographs ISBN: 978-1-78500-731-6 Price: £25.00 (but £20.00 if bought via the Crowood website, and for the E-book Edition, including VAT) The question Jaguar enthusiasts ask most often is … [Read more...]
Bookshelf
Our pick of motoring related books covering a wide variety of fascinating subjects
For Your Bookshelf: Superfinds (previously unseen 1960s and 70s photographs of exceptional cars)
Reviewed by Kieron Fennelly. Title: Superfinds (previously unseen 1960s and 70s photographs of exceptional cars) Author: Michael Kliebenstein Published by: Porter Press International 420 pages (with 900+ photographs); hardback ISBN: ISBN 978-1-907085-89-5 Price: £90.00 This sumptuous book is a compilation of the roving photography of Corrado Cupellini, a pioneering classic car … [Read more...]
For Your Bookshelf: Beneath the Trees of Eden
Reviewed by Kim Henson. Title: Beneath the Trees of Eden Author: Tim Binding Published by: Bloomsbury Publishing; www.bloomsbury.com 420 pages; hardback, eBook ISBN: HB: 978-1-5266-1660-9 TPB: 978-1-5266-16586 eBook: 978-1-5266-1656-2 Price: Hardback £16.99 (but online price via Bloomsbury, £11.89); eBook £11.89 (but online price via Bloomsbury, £7.13). The approach of … [Read more...]
For Your Bookshelf: Alfa Romeo T33/TT33 – The Remarkable Story of 115.72.002
Reviewed by Kieron Fennelly. Title: Alfa Romeo T33/TT33 – The Remarkable Story of 115.72.002 Author: Ian Wagstaff Published by: Porter Press International 128 pages; hardback ISBN: 978-1-907085-34-5 Price: £30 The tenth volume of Porter Press’s much admired ‘Exceptional Cars’ series deals with another Italian sports racer, but for once this is not a Ferrari, but an Alfa Romeo. … [Read more...]
For Your Bookshelf: Shadow: The Magnificent Machines of a Man of Mystery
Reviewed by Kieron Fennelly. Title: Shadow: The Magnificent Machines of a Man of Mystery Author: Pete Lyons Published by: Evro Publishing 464 pages; hardback ISBN: 978-1-910 505-49- Price: £75 / $90 The man of mystery is of course Don Nichols whose dramatic looking Shadow racers were such a feature of Formula 1 and the Can Am series in the 1970s. Born in 1924, Nichols was old … [Read more...]
For Your Bookshelf: Mes Années Matra
Reviewed by Kieron Fennelly. Title: Mes Années Matra Author: Bruno Morin Published by: L’Autodrome Editions 127 pages; hardback ISBN: 978-2-910434-64-9 Price: €39 In 1967 engineer and racing enthusiast Bruno Morin left Thomson and took a substantial pay cut to join Matra’s racing division. He sought adventure and was not disappointed. Beginning as a chassis engineer calculating … [Read more...]
For Your Bookshelf: The MGC GTS Lightweights
Reviewed by Kim Henson. Title: The MGC GTS Lightweights – Abingdon’s Last Racers Author: David Morys Published by: Veloce Publishers www.veloce.co.uk 144 pages; hardback ISBN: 978-1-787114-45-6 Price: £35.00 (but check the Veloce website for special offers) When I started reading this book, I imagined that its coverage would closely focus on the works racing MGCs, as its title … [Read more...]
For Your Bookshelf: Niki Lauda – The Biography
Reviewed by Kieron Fennelly Title: Niki Lauda Author: Maurice Hamilton Published by: Simon & Schuster 372 pages; hardback ISBN: 978-1-4711-9201-2 Price: £20 To most Formula 1 fans Niki Lauda was a three-time world champion who famously survived an accident so horrifying that a priest administered the last rites. Yet as this book shows, there was much more to Niki Lauda. His … [Read more...]
For Your Bookshelf: Tom Hartley the Dealmaker
Reviewed by: Kieron Fennelly Title: Tom Hartley the Dealmaker Author: Tom Hartley (transcribed by Ken Gibson). Published by: Veloce Publishers www.veloce.co.uk 240 pages; hardback ISBN: 978-1-787115-67-5 £19.99 Today one of the UK’s best-known premium car dealers, Tom Hartley was a self-made millionaire by the age of seventeen. With seemingly uncanny ability to read both the … [Read more...]
For Your Bookshelf: Ferrari 857S – The remarkable history of 0578M
Reviewed by Kieron Fennelly. Title: Ferrari 857S – The remarkable history of 0578M Author: Ian Wagstaff Published by: Porter Press International Ltd. www.porterpress.co.uk 128 pages; hardback ISBN: 978-1-913089-08-5 £30 Fifties and sixties sports cars, especially Ferraris, exert an enduring fascination. Volume nine in Porter Press’s Exceptional Cars series deals with the … [Read more...]
For Your Bookshelf – The All-American Hero and Jaguar’s Racing E-types
Reviewed by Kieron Fennelly. Title: The All-American Hero and Jaguar’s Racing E types Author: Phillip Bingham Published by: Porter Press International Ltd. www.porterpress.co.uk 287 pages; hardback Price: £60.00 ISBN: 978-1-907085-01-9 The subtitle of this work, 'Briggs Cunningham’s Le Mans dream' reflects the ambition of one (very) rich American enthusiast to win Le Mans with … [Read more...]
For Your Bookshelf – Motor Coaches and Charabancs
Reviewed by Kim Henson... Title: Motor Coaches and Charabancs Author: James Taylor Published by: Shire Publications, www.shirebooks.co.uk 64 pages; softback Price: £8.99 (but currently offerd for an online price of £6.29, representing a discount of 30 per cent, through the Shire Publications website; link above). ISBN: 978-1-78442 412 1 The wonderful series of motor vehicle and … [Read more...]
For Your Bookshelf – Austin Cars 1948 to 1990
Book Review – Austin Cars 1948 to 1990 – A Pictorial History. Reviewed by Kim Henson. Title: Austin Cars 1948 to 1990 – A Pictorial History Author: David Rowe Published by: Veloce Publishing www.veloce.co.uk 112 pages; softback Price: £12.99 ISBN: 978-1-787112-19-3 There is a huge amount of detail in this compact but informative volume. From writing motoring books myself I … [Read more...]
Book Review – Classic Engines, Modern Fuel
For Your Bookshelf – Classic Engines, Modern Fuel – The Problems, the Solutions …Reviewed by Kieron Fennelly. Title: Classic Engines, Modern Fuel – The Problems, the Solutions Author: Paul Ireland Published by: Veloce Publishing www.veloce.co.uk 152 pages; softback Price: £15.99 ISBN: 978-1-787115-90-3 The author investigates a subject which vexes many classic car owners, … [Read more...]
Book Review – Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupé
Book Review – Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupé – The Autobiography of CSX 2300 …Reviewed by Kieron Fennelly. Title: Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupé Author: Rinsey Mills Published by: Porter Press International Ltd. www.porterpress.com 336 pages; hardback Price: £60.00 ISBN: 978-1-907085-42-0 This is a mighty tome, entirely appropriate though for what was a mighty if … [Read more...]
Book Review – An English Car Designer Abroad
Book Review – An English Car Designer Abroad... ...Reviewed by Kieron Fennelly Title: An English Car Designer Abroad Author: Peter Birtwhistle Published by: Veloce Publishing Ltd. www.veloce.co.uk 256 pages; hardback Price: £37.50 ISBN: 978-1-787114-70-8 Peter Birtwhistle managed what many young men aspire to, but few achieve – to become a car designer. An RCA graduate, … [Read more...]
Book Review – Porsche 911 – The Practically Free Supercar
Book reviewed by Kim Henson... (Book cover and Porsche 911 photos courtesy of Robert McGowan). Title: Porsche 911 – The Practically Free Supercar (‘The complete beginner’s guide to the smartest route into Porsche ownership’) Author: Robert McGowan Published by: Independently published 166 pages; paperback Price (typical): £12.87, including postage ISBN-10: 1091444838 ISBN-13: … [Read more...]
Book Review – Brunel – The Man Who Built the World
Book Review – Brunel – The Man Who Built the World Reviewed by Kim Henson Title: Brunel – The Man Who Built the World Author: Steven Brindle Published by: Weidenfeld and Nicolson 200 pages; paperback Price: £9.99 ISBN: 978-0-7538-2125-1 The extraordinary engineering achievements of Isambard Kingdom Brunel (following those of his father Marc Isambard Brunel) were as … [Read more...]
Book review – An Austin Anthology II
Book Review – An Austin Anthology II. Reviewed by Kim Henson. Title: An Austin Anthology II Author: James ‘Jim’ Stringer Published by: Veloce Publishing Ltd; www.veloce.co.uk 112 pages; hardback Price: £15.99 UK; $25 USA. ISBN: 978-1-787114-26-5 Regular readers may remember that some time ago on this website I reviewed James (Jim) Stringer’s fascinating book entitled ‘An Austin … [Read more...]
Book Review – Making Tracks
Book Review – Making Tracks – A whistle-stop tour of railway history. Reviewed by Kim Henson. Title: Making Tracks – A whistle-stop tour of railway history Author: Peter Saxton Published by: Michael O’Mara Books Limited 192 pages; softback Price (UK): £7.99 for printed version ISBN: 978-1-78243-768-0 in paperback format; 978-1-78243-332-3 in e-book format Of course Wheels-Alive … [Read more...]
