reviews Cars in context
At last, a book on the history of the British car industry which is readable by petrolheads and laymen alike. Peter Grimsdale’s book High Performance takes us on a journey from 1950 to 1970, a period which he describes as being ‘when Britain ruled the roads’. Where Grimsdale’s book scores particularly highly is that it is
a fl owing narrative with all the chapters leading into each other instead of being a sequence of unrelated, topic-specifi c articles. For those not so interested in motoring, there is plenty of content which is suffi ciently familiar to draw the reader into the book. Meanwhile there is also lots of behind the scenes and contextual information which adds depth to the text. There are also numerous little nuggets that provide interest. For example, John Cooper’s fi rst car was built from the front ends of two Fiat Topolinos welded back-to-back, while Rover designer David Bache kept up a sideline in tailoring with many managers dropping by his offi ce to be measured for suits. Understandably, there is signifi cant space given over to the famous names of the period, from William Lyons to Colin Chapman and John Cooper. However, this book isn’t just about the big boys. Many of the smaller players or transient businesses also feature,
often with minor yet key roles in what was to come.
Add to this the
fascinating interactions between the car companies and racing drivers of the day, including iconic fi gures like Stirling Moss and Jim Clark, and the storyline becomes a real page-turner. It is in these human relationships between manufacturer and driver that the book is probably at its strongest.
Angela Hume
High Performance: When Britain Ruled the Road by Peter Grimsdale is priced £20. Published by Simon & Schuster: ISBN 978-1-4711-6845-1
Endurance in detail
In the foreword to Brooklands – The Sports Car Endurance Races, the Museum’s Allan Winn rightly points out that by concentrating on only the long-distance races at the track, author David Blumlein is able to go into far greater detail than previous histories of the venue. In less skilled hands, this might have ended up with an accurate but dull read of little more than statistics, but thankfully Blumlein is a very capable story teller. The book is logically arranged into chronological order and has separate chapters for the development of Brooklands, Production and Sporting Car races and moving on to the longer Six Hour and Double Twelve events. There are also chapters for the 1932 Thousand Mile Race and 3 Hour Production Car Race. Taking each race as it happened, Blumlein’s obvious enthusiasm for the subject and his meticulous research of archive material and race reports is clear. It gives the reader a real sense of a bulletin appearing straight after the event, while Blumlein’s prose also helps bring racing from 100 years ago to colourful life. Backing up the race reports and events surrounding each meeting, there is a chapter of results at the back of the book that provides a useful reference. For this alone, Brooklands – The Sports Car Endurance Races is a worthwhile addition to anyone interested in the history of the circuit. As well as these superbly researched chapters, there are others that add further to the reader’s overall knowledge and understanding of endurance racing at Brooklands and its wider impact. A compact chapter is packed with facts about the track, racing history and those involved that will delight any reader. The section on cars that have borrowed the Brooklands name may be tangential, but it’s no less fascinating and demonstrates Blumlein’s determination for thoroughness. We must also mention the superb photography used
throughout Brooklands – The Sports Car Endurance Races. With help from the Museum’s Andrew Lewis and others, Blumlein has illustrated the book handsomely.
48 BROOKLANDS BULLETIN | MAY - JUNE 2020
Priced at £30, Brooklands – The Sports Car Endurance Races is good value given the large amount of work that has gone into writing it. Blumlein is to be applauded for casting a much brighter light on these races and we recommend it as an addition to any book shelf.
Alisdair Suttie
Brooklands – The Sports Car Endurance Races by David Blumlein is priced £30. Published by Chaters Booksellers: ISBN 978—0-9957054-3-2
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