Four Small Wheels 06/2001

new books 2

Racing Lancias - track, road & special stage - Giancarlo Reggiani. Ł24.99. ISBN8879112368. Weight 1.4kg.
We think that this is an English language version of an Italian text book which appeared some months ago. Using mostly contemporary colour shots with the occasional black and white historic photo to set the scene, the book tries to cover the whole history of Lancia in competition but falls far short of being comprehensive. The D25 for example we felt needed more space as does the D50 and there is nothing on the pre-war cars, the Aprilias are also ignored as are many other immediate competition types. OK so there is excellent coverage of types like the HF, the Stratos, the 037, the many Deltas and the LC2 but whatever happened to the LC1 and many others? For what it does do this is a useful modelling reference book but for a fully comprensive Lancia competition history look elsewhere.

March - the rise and fall of a motor racing legend - Mike Lawrence. Ł27.50 ISBN1899870547. Weight 1.3kg.
This is a revised, updated and expanded edition of the book 'The story of March -Four guys and a telephone'. When that came out we quickly realised that it was the most honest and 'off the wall' insider's look at what became a F1 team than any previous book. With unique access to the guys who made it happen - who hide nothing - this new edition is a very fine F1 read indeed. The best published insider view of a race car manufacturer yet written.

A century of outboard racing - Kevin Desmond. Ł29.99. ISBN0760310475. Weight 1.7kg. Some of the most exhilirating and exciting motor racing of recent years has been that of the outboard racing boat world where both inshore and offshore the machinery and the racing has been always spectacular and frequently dramatic. This very fine book covers the development of the sport from its birth one hundred years ago to the aircraft type machinery being used today. The text is wittily written, the photos are fine and one day we hope that someone will start modelling these craft especially the unlimiteds and F1 machines. Have a look at this book and see what we mean.

Jaguar E-Type - Nigel Thorley. Ł19.99. ISBN1859608132. Weight 1.2kg.
Subtitled "a celebration of the world's favourite '60s icon" this superbly laid out and printed book tells the complete story of every E-type from inception to its final production in 1974. The text is enthusiastic but erudite and the photos are very fine indeed. One of the books of the month.

Paris - Dakar 2001 - various authors. Ł19.95. ISBN2940125708. Weight 1.4kg.
In landscape format and with French and English text throughout this is mainly a photo and caption story of the amazing Paris-Dakar with lots of local colour thrown in. It's a very fine book which makes you wonder at the sanity of those who compete and stand in awe of people like Jean-Louis Schlesser who not only create machines that can win but return again and again to challenge both the might of the works teams and the desert itself. Like the rally, this is a modern day adventure story well worth reading. Super stuff - one of the books of the month.

Ferrari - Formula 1 Racing Team - David Tremayne. Ł14.99. ISBN1859608302. Weight 800gms. In handy paperback size but with a hard cover, this is a very fine history of Ferrari which takes the reader from the birth of the team and through its many dramas to its current position of dominance in F1. Tremayne - who has developed unique and invaluable contacts within F1 and in particular Ferrari - is able to tell the inside story with an authority that is rare in F1 reporting and that makes this not only a very readable book but also a historically important one. One of the books of the month.

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Ferrari 250 Series. Unique Motor Books reprints. ISBN1841554170. Ł12.95. 600gms.
United States Grand Prix 1959 - 1968. Unique Motor Books reprints. ISBN1841554138. Ł12.95. Weight 500gms.
Maserati 1970s/80s/90s. Unique Motor Books reprints. ISBN1841554278. Ł12.95. Weight 600gms.
Lamborghini 1964-2000. Unique Motor Books reprints. ISBN1841554162. Ł9.95. Weight 400gms.
These soft cover A4-sized books all contain a variety of road tests and articles - the GP book obviously contains race reports - and all have their use for reference if you don't have comprehensive books on the various subjects. The reproduction of photos - as we've often reported before - is however less than brilliant although in general terms they are not that bad.

Ford in touring car racing - top of the class for 50 years - Graham Robson. Ł19.99. ISBN1859606881. Weight 1.2kg.
As an attempt to cover Ford's 50 years in tin top racing this is fine - and its size and price is probably what the market will stand. From our point of view however we'd have liked to have seen more of the Ford's in Aussie racing, in mainland Europe and in the USA. As it is the book majors on the UK - from the Zephyrs, through Lotus Cortinas, Anglias, Escorts, Capris, Sierras, Fiestas and on to Mondeos etc - and all these it covers superbly with excellent colour and black and white shots and good authoratative text. In fact this is a tin top modellers dream book and may even provoke some new models.

Abarth 850TC & 1000 - Aligi and Elvio Deganello. Ł25.99. ISBN8879112481. Weight 1.4kg.
With an all Italian text but literally hundreds of great shots (a few in colour) this is a great celebration of the often three-wheeled race cars with their boots propped open. Great fun and full of useful reference photos.

F1 by 2 - Wong and Winter. Ł24.99. ISBNX000009342. Weight 1.5kg.
In very large landscape format this is a lavish production consisting almost entirely of superb photographs taken at the recent Malaysian Grand Prix. As a study of the cars and the personalities currently high-profiling in F1 it is a superb exercise and the all-English text is very informative. A very good study, beautifully produced and printed.

Formula One 2000 - World Championship Review DVD. Ref VID623619792. Ł20.00
As we don't have a DVD player we have to quote from the box blurb for this film. "All the excitement and exhilirating drama of the F1 GP 2000 season is contained on this disc featuring over 4 hours of footage. Every race is featured, starting with the pre-race build up. Select the interactive option and you can use the On Board Camera, join the action in the pits and see the race data on the screen. With cameras trackside and mounted on the cars facing front, rear and at low level, action is captured from every angle. Put yourself in the centre of the greatest motor sport event". Playing time here is an amazing 4hrs 15mins. We can't wait to 'play' it.

A NEW rough guide to book weights & postages
GPM has negotiated with Royal Mail a special rate for books to our overseas customers. This works out at approximately:
50p per 100g to Europe - 60p per 100g to Rest of World.
This will enable our far distant customers to buy more books which previously the high cost of posting has prohibited.