Book reviews, June 1987, June 1987

With Flying Colours by LJK Setright, Derek Forsyth and Robert Newman. (Stanley Paul. £25.00)

Pirelli really pushed the boat out to launch this lavish large-format publication, even flying their most celebrated race-tyre user Juan-Manuel Fangio to England for the occasion. However, while this is a magnificent production, superbly laid out and graced with some truly memorable illustrations, the pretentiousness of the profiles on the rear jacket of the “two, perhaps three, unique men” who produced the book made me reel with a mixture of disbelief and hysterical amusement.

The trouble is, setting oneself up as an all-seeing, all-knowing guru can lead to one accidentally shooting oneself through the literary foot. A shame, therefore, that when my copy flopped open at a photograph captioned “JY Stewart, at his best in 1969 with the superb Matra”, it in fact depicted his team-mate Jean-Pierre Beltoise. This is the worst of a number of flaws, but nevertheless the unusually attractive layout and quality reproduction should fascinate browser and expert alike. AM