Book reviews, September 1975, September 1975

“Rally Navigation” by Martin Holmes. 159 pp. 9f in. x 6i in. (G. T. Foulis & Co., Sparkford, Yeovil, Somerset, BA22 7JJ. £3.50.)

Any reasonably honest rally driver will tell you that events are won by the navigator! Here is a book that should be of inestimable value to all those who aspire to work methodically and efficiently from the “hot-seat”. It should be read by those who navigate in small Club rallies, as well as the professionals. Illustrated with good and dramatic pictures, including a cross-section of OS maps, competition documents, pace-notes, route-book pages, service-crew schedules, etc., this book, written by a well-known protagonist, contains personal reminiscences as well as the heavy stuff. It should be off-duty study for all the navigating fraternity.—W.B.

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“100 Years of Porsche” by Halwart Schrader and Dr. Wolf Strache. 216 pp. 11 in. x 9 in. (Albion Scott Ltd., Brentford, Middlesex. £8.90.)

Picture books are popular with publishers these days. This one is about the great engineer/designer Dr. Ferdinand Porsche and runs from his childhood in Bohemia to the introduction of the Type 356 Porsche. The photographic reproductions on art paper are very effective and mirror the passing of the years and of historic events, taken chronologically, as well as the outstanding contributions to motoring made by Dr. Porsche. Some plates are in colour, many of the pictures, reproduced advertisements, etc., are new to us, and the book comes down to the year 1975. Some there will be who would have liked more about Porsche cars, less about World history; but for the coffee table, this is a rare item.

W.B.

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Ronald H. Clark, the traction-engine historian, has written a book of fiction called “Some Adventures of Samson Cogg”, which reflect real-life happening in that world, and in the world of old motorcycles. For those who like this kind of book, this is the kind of book they will like, to quote Punch. The publishers are Goose & Son of Basingstoke, who sell it for £3.95.

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Lodgemark Press Ltd., Bank House, Summerhill, Chislehurst, Kent, BR7 5RD, have brought out a little soft-cover 52-page book on “Electronic Ignition Systems”. It is informative about such systems developed for rasing motorcycles, go-karts, competition cars, etc., and covers the theory of such ignition and the Bosch, Boyer-Bransden, Electro-Technical, Fesnsa, Future Techmatics, S. P. Highwayman, Hitachi, Krober, Lucas, Opus Lumenition, Mobelec, Motoplat, Piranha, Sparkrite and Interspan systems in all their variants, together with technical data, trouble-spotting hints, etc. The book costs 65p, plus postage and packing.

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Those who want to learn more of the Peak District of Britain are referred to a book by Roy Millward and Adrian Robinson which Eyre Merheun Ltd. have published, costing £3.95 in soft covers, £10.50 in hard covers. The book is one of a series.