This is the inspiring story of how a young school-leaver with no academic qualifications and low expectations built a successful career based on an apprenticeship with Associated Motor Cycles Ltd, and eventually became Managing Director of his company. It describes the very personal story of the ups and downs of factory life in the 1950s and 1960s. In particular, it conveys the unique atmosphere and excitement that surrounds the manufacture of motorcycles, an atmosphere that for those who ...

Top Gear presenter and columnist for the Daily Telegraph James May brings together another brilliant collection of his most controversial and humorous writing.From tales of motoring adventures through India, Russia and Iceland, to classic articles on essential subjects such as driving songs and haunted car parks, these gems from the number one car connoisseur will take readers on a motoring journey that will amuse and entertain in equal measure.

A short biographical account of my personal motorcycle ownership and riding history from the 1950's to the present day. Including some photos and anecdotal material. A true story with mainly the more interesting and funny accounts of the motorcycling life and experiences that many may relate to and many more will enjoy. Most of the story taking place in England and the latter in Western Australia where the author now resides with his author partner, writer of The Druids' Daughter-Forbidden...

Little Book of Land Rover takes a trip down memory lane and remembers the models that drove their way into the Nation s hearts.. Foreword by motoring historian Stephen Vokins, archivist at the National Motor Museum, Beaulieu, and one of the foremost authorities on the story of the legendary marque. Launched in 1948 the Land Rover had some unexpected owners including King George VI and Winston Churchill and once the British Army embraced it as their vehicle of choice, the Land Rover s place...

On his day, Peter Williams was the best motorcycle road racer in the world and is one of that small band of sportsmen, 'the best never to win a World Championship'. Peter's unique career in the 1960s and 1970s as racer, designer and development engineer culminated in many great victories on bikes from 125cc to 750cc. For two months in 1967 he lead the 500cc class of the World Championship on his single cylinder 500cc MkI Arter Matchless Special against the much more powerful Honda and MV A...

It was invented immediately after the war, in the factory a far-sighted English military man had set up to turn the German economy from making machines of warfare to more pacific products.By the seventies that dream had been amply fulfilled, as the VW Campervan became the conveyance of choice for West Coast hippies, Australian surf bums and Europeans taking the overland route to find enlightenment and good karma in India. It had also become – indeed, still is – the first choice for...

For the first half of the twentieth century, Great Britain led the world in motorcycle design and production, exporting its products to countries all over the globe.However, by 1960 this once-great industry had fallen into what was to be a terminal decline. During the 1960s and '70s Britain still manufactured a wide range of machines, but a combination of poor management, lack of investment, foreign competition (notably from Japan), and the arrival of the small, af...

The remarkable story of George Daniels, the master craftsman who was born into poverty but raised himself to become the greatest watchmaker of the twentieth century.George Daniels (1926-2011) stands alone in modern times as the inventor of the revolutionary co-axial escapement, the first substantial advance in portable mechanical timekeeping over the lever escapement, which has dominated ever since its invention in 1759. Daniels's love of mechanics embraced not onl...

Scalextric, the ultimate boys' toy, arrived in toyshops in 1957.The first-ever electric slot-car system, with uncontrollable tinplate cars running on heavy rubber track, it brought the speed and glamour of motor racing to suburban living rooms. Classic marques of the day such as Aston Martin, Jaguar and Lotus featured in the early '60s scalextric sets, and over the years that followed all the classic Formula 1 battles were re-created in toy form, followed by sports...

TV presenter and all-round car nut Ant Anstead takes the reader on a journey that mirrors the development of the motor car itself from a stuttering 20mph annoyance that scared everyone’s horses to 150mph pursuits with aerial support and sophisticated electronic tracking.The British Police Force’s relationship with the car started by chasing after pioneer speeding motorists on bicycles. As speed restrictions eased in the early twentieth century and car ownership inc...

In John Wright's life, cars take a close second place to family, simple as that. My Other Wife is a Car is his memoir of 30 years of automotive obsession - one man's life seen as a life-long test drive.A full-time freelance writer for Wheels, Modern Motor, Best Car magazine and many others, he's driven more than 3000 cars and owned more than 130 (at the last count), some of which involved him buying cars he simply intended to test. His shortest ownership was less than twenty four h...

Reassembly is merely a form of therapy; something that stimulates a part of my brain that is left wanting in my daily life. When I rebuild a bicycle, I re-order my head. So might you...I'm delighted that you will be holding in your hands a book about putting things back together. It's a subject that fascinates me but which I assumed was a lonely passion that I would take to the grave, unconsummated by the normal channels of human interaction.Welcome! You and I, we are not a...