Reviewed by Kieron Fennelly Author: Paul Hogan Published by: Veloce: https://veloce.co.uk/ 144 pages, with 254 pictures (softback) UK Price: £19.99 ISBN: 978-1-787117-25-9 This quintessentially 1950s sportscar was arguably the best of its ilk, significantly quicker than the rival MGA and deservedly popular. It remains so today and most … [Read more...]
Bookshelf
Our pick of motoring related books covering a wide variety of fascinating subjects
For Your Bookshelf – “BMW M3 & M4 – The Complete History of These Ultimate Driving Machines”
Reviewed by Kieron Fennelly Author: Graham Robson Published by: Veloce: https://veloce.co.uk/ 253 pages (hardback) UK Price: £40.00 BUT check Veloce’s website – currently they advise “Get 35% off until further notice when quoting ‘STAY-INDOORS-AND-READ’!” ISBN: 978-1-787115-79-8 Originally compiled in 2013 to celebrate 25 years of the BMW M3, this new edition brings the story to … [Read more...]
For Your Bookshelf – “VW Type 4 411 and 412”
Reviewed by Kieron Fennelly. Author: Marc Cranswick Published by: Veloce: https://veloce.co.uk/ 184 pages (hardback) UK Price: £35/$60 BUT check Veloce’s website for special offers on their books – currently they advise “Get 35% off until further notice when quoting ‘STAY-INDOORS-AND-READ’!” ISBN: 978-1-787151-22-4 This book’s subtitle is ‘the final rear-engined cars,’ the 411 and … [Read more...]
Porter Press offers discount to Wheels-Alive readers
Do you love motoring-related books? If so it’s well worth exploring the wide range of titles published by Porter Press – especially now that they are offering a discount for our readers, advises Kim Henson. As mentioned in my very recent review of their excellent Model T book, Porter Press International has sent up a discount code for all their titles for Wheels-Alive readers, who are entitled to … [Read more...]
For Your Bookshelf – “Ford Model T – An Enthusiast’s Guide” (1908 to 1927, all models and variants)
Reviewed by Kim Henson Author: Chas Parker (with contributions from Chris Barker and Neil Tuckett) Published by: Porter Publishing: https://porterpress.co.uk/ 160 pages (Jacketed hardback), incorporating more than 220 images UK Price: £30.00 BUT good news… the publishers have sent up a discount code for all Porter Press titles for Wheels-Alive readers, who are entitled to 10% off … [Read more...]
For Your Bookshelf – “The Boy – Stirling Moss, a Life in 60 Laps”
Reviewed by Kieron Fennelly Author: Richard Williams Published by: Simon and Schuster: https://www.simonandschuster.co.uk/ 306 pages (hardback) UK List Price: £20.00 (but may vary with retailer) ISBN: 978-1-4711-9845-8 Moss died in 2020 and this book is the first able to look back on his whole life. More has been written about Stirling Moss than any other British racing driver, … [Read more...]
For Your Bookshelf – Allard – The Complete Story
Reviewed by Kieron Fennelly. Title: Allard – The Complete Story Author: Allan Allard and Lance Cole Published by: Crowood Press 240 pages; paperback Price: £40/$60 BUT current price on Crowood’s website (at 15th April 2021) £32 (and e-book version also £32, including vAT). https://www.crowood.com ISBN: 978-1-7850-0559-6 Most enthusiasts will have at least a vague knowledge of … [Read more...]
For Your Bookshelf – Ford (UK) Cars 1945 to 1995: A Pictorial History
Reviewed by Kieron Fennelly. Title: Ford Cars (Ford UK Cars) 1945 – 1995: A Pictorial History Author: David Rowe Published by: Veloce Publishing; https://veloce.co.uk/ 160 pages; 330 pictures; paperback Price: $27.50 US; £16.99 UK – BUT check current figure for this title with the publishers; https://veloce.co.uk/store/Ford-Cars-p290695576, as special offers may apply. For example, at … [Read more...]
For Your Bookshelf – quattro – The Race and Rally Story 1980 – 2004
Reviewed by Kim Henson. Title: quattro – The Race and Rally Story 1980 – 2004 Author: Jeremy Walton (Note: Former Autocar editor and eminent international authority Ray Hutton edited the title). Published by: Evro Publishing; https://www.evropublishing.com 304 pages, including more than 334 photos, mostly colour; hardback Price: £50.00 (but please go to Evro’s website for any current … [Read more...]
For Your Bookshelf: Accessible Classics No. 1 – Austin A30/A35 – ‘Enjoying Your Austin’
Are you interested in the Austin A30/A35 models of the 1950s/60s? If the answer is 'yes' you might enjoy this book too... The Austin A30 (initially called the A30 'Seven' to deliberately make connections with the highly succcessful pre-War Austin Sevens) was introduced in October 1951 and was the first all-new compact post-War Austin saloon, featuring a unitary construction body shell (the first … [Read more...]
For Your Bookshelf – Porsche Boxster – The Practically Free Sportscar
For Your Bookshelf – Porsche Boxster – The Practically Free Sportscar... ...Reviewed by Kim Henson. (Book cover and Boxster photographs provided by Robert McGowan). Title: Porsche Boxster – The Practically Free Supercar (‘The beginner’s guide to owning the ultimate roadster’) Author: Robert McGowan Published by: Independently published 277 pages; paperback Price (typical): £13.75, … [Read more...]
For Your Bookshelf: Jaguar F-Type – The Complete Story
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...]
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...]