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 transport related books from Shire Publications covers a wide range of subjects, comprehensively but each within a fairly small and hence easily manageable volume – and this title, covering the history and development of charabancs and motor coaches, is no exception.
The author James Taylor is a well-respected and knowledgeable motoring author who has been writing about vehicles for more than three decades. Indeed he has written more than 100 books.
I have always found his text easy to read and to understand; it is always well-written and explains often complex aspects in a way that helps readers to understand, even if they have little or no prior knowledge of the subject.
I have had a personal interest in buses and coaches from an early age, but if I am honest I was unaware of the many changes in the approach to design during the transition from the rather basic charabancs of the 1920s to the more luxurious coaches that arrived during the 1930s. James explains these aspects in detail and in an easy-to-comprehend way, as he does when dealing with later vehicles too, and when describing the vast upheavals in the way in which coach operators have been regulated over the years, especially since the end of World War II.
The technical developments and bodywork design changes in the vehicles used by operators through the years is covered in a descriptive manner, and I found the story fascinating
VERDICT
An excellent, well-illustrated and very comprehensive yet compact book that enlightened me to many aspects of coaches and coach travel through the years. I enjoyed reading every page.