THE BOOK OF SPEED

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THE BOOK OF SPEED

PEED is the spirit of the Age, and no one can deny its beauty as shown in

the varying pages of this new production. One often comes across isolated speed pictures of outstanding merit in the newspapers and periodicals of the day, but the ” Book of Speed” is the first attempt we have seen to bring together the newest and best in the spheres of land, water and air, and the hundred pages of illustrations which it contains will delight the eye of every sportsman. Cars great and small are shown, Campbell’s Blue Bird and Eyston’s Magic Midget, the Auto Union and the Mercedes, Straight’s Maserati and Lockhart’s ill-fated Stutz, not to mention John Cobb’s Napier Railton. Technically, and as studies of sheer speed, the motor-cycle pictures are perhaps more unusual : Guthrie the ” Ulster T.T,”,

actually of course one of the Manx races, and Wright on Southport Sands being particularly striking.

The air pictures with their back-ground of clouds and dark sky will appeal most strongly to many people, and whether the subject is an Imperial Airways liner or a Schneider Trophy plane, the photographs give a wonderful impression of the clean spaciousness of the element, and make one understand the grip that flying exercises over its devotees. Water travel receives a parallel treatment and the aerial view of famous liners is contrasted with the perilous passages of Miss Britain III, Scott Paine’s famous single engined craft, Miss England III and the fragile racing outboard boats. Experts in the various spheres of activity discourse on the evolution of modern high-speed travel, and practical

men such as Sir Malcolm Campbell and Captain Eyston tell the reader just how it feels. Flight-Lieutenant Stainforth’s account of his record-breaking run at ” 400 miles an hour ” is outstanding for its realism and its modesty, and Mr. Hubert Scott Paine’s contribution on fast motor-boating supports the theory that fast travel on the water is a tonic for the most hardened speed enthusiast.

The Book of Speed is a substantial volume measuring 10 by 71 inches, and the illustrations are reproduced by the photogravure process, which gives to the photographs their full pictorial value. The index and the general production of the book leave nothing to be desired and it is a real achievement to be able to publish the book at the modest price of Jive shillings. The publishers are B. T. Batsford, Ltd., 15, North Audley Street, London, W. I.