Petrolhead books, what you reading?

[Scotty C]

I've found new toilet reading ATM, I'm thumbing through the ultimate petrolhead book , The Official Highway Code Book........ I don't recommend it on any level.

[Kelvin]

Prof Sid Watkins writes about F1 seen through the eyes of the bloke who has been on the scene of every incident since the 70's.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Life-Limit-Triu ... 0333657748

I have another great book called Racer (I think) but it's so great I can't remember who wrote it but I recall it being quite good.

Edit: It's come back to me. It's this one. Written by the Mille Miglia co-driver of Stirling Moss, Denis Jenkinson. It was published in the late 50's I think so a fascinatingly different world really. I'm sure it's in this book where he describes how the drivers got around one particularly tight hairpin by bouncing the rear of the car off the raised bank to induce a bit of oversteer. Now we know where tut gets it.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Racing-Driver-T ... 279&sr=1-4

[Ferg]

The Alex Roy one was a decent enough read. Still undecided if he's a champion bellend or if his exploits are growing a pair to the extreme. Probably the former.

I reckon you summed that up pretty well.

The shameless branding and failure to deliver the film which is 'still in post-production' doesn't help either.

[wianw]

For the excellence of prose and style, and the evocation of an era long gone, I would recommend "Long Lane with Turnings" - the last words of the inimitable L.J.K Setright.

I also enjoyed the works of Denis Jenkinson, including the "Racing Driver - the theory and practice of fast driving", and a "Passion for Motor Sport"

There is a remarkable (and I think little known) story in "Archie and the Listers" about Archie Scott Brown, a Scottish driver in the fifties who mixed it with Moss, Hawthorn and Salvadori and achieved great success with the Lister Jaguars overcoming the fact that he was born severely disabled.

Finally - for the coffee table, or with a dram in hand, "Classic Motorsport Routes", by Richard Meaden. This well researched volume describes and provide maps and photos of circuits, road races, rallies, hillclimbs and record breaking venues.

Grand for the times you're not driving....

Ian