Motoring Books - including your bookshelf.

Instigated via the Quiz thread! It deserves one of its own.

Best bookshelf? My own best bookshelf is above the window in my office just 2 metres long with some of the better books, including two copies of David Weguelin's ERA History - probably the two most valuable books in my collection. They sit next to Doug Nye's BRM, 1 2 & 3. Autographed copies of various books pushes up their value, though the modern approach to book selling is for the author to have signed more copies than not, so the autographed book has little if any extra value - Jackie Stewart's or Murray Walker's for example, though Martin Brundle didn't visit here, but was active selling in the UK.

One gem I picked up from a secondhand bookshop was a book signed by Stirling Moss AND Mike Hailwood.

Graham Hill's autographed "Life At the Limit" may be worth a dollar or two more than an unsigned.

I still have to read "Hunt" (which I can hardly even lift!), and also looking forward to reading one of Santa's gifts this Christmas, Tony Brooks - "Poetry In Motion".

Mine has good numbers (600+) of all sorts. A few autographed, one by Moss, "My Favourite Motor Racing Stories", personally notated bok on the Pantera by Wallace Wyss, apparently the most valuable is the English language version of Orsinis "The Scuderia Ferrari" (which I had no idea had any value at all until perusing Eoin Youngs site) Most reffered to; Costin/Phipps Sports and Racing Car chassis design" and "High Speed Low Cost"

Dangerous subject to get me started on!!!!!
I only have a relatively modest collection - I have only just cracked the 500 mark - and in fact only recently decided to cut out buying some subjects, namely Indycar, and books by Christopher Hilton! Hasn't made much difference yet.....
Favourite Autobiography I have read would be "Starting Grid to Chequered Flag" by Paul Frere, best non-fiction book "To Finish First" by Phil Kerr (anybody that hasn't read this book should be shot!) - mine has an inscription from Emerson Fittipaldi in it, that's another story - best reference books, toss-up between my Autocourse annuals, "Grand Prix Who's Who", and Peter Higham's "Guinnes Guide to International Motor Racing".
As far as Marques go, toss-up between "The Works Escorts", Allan Scott's "TWR and Jaguar's XJS", and "Cosworth" (5th edition).
As far as Rallying goes, "A Boot Full of Right Arms" by Evan Green, although "Marathon in the Dust" by Innes Ireland comes really close!
Of course, my Bathurst and The Great Race annuals cover the Touring Cars sector, "Le Mans '59" by Stirling Moss covers Sports Cars, and as for art, well, I won't try and separate "Brockbank's Grand Prix", "Formula One" by Michael Turner, or "The Motorsport Art of Michael Turner.
Lastly (whew!) anyone who wants a good laugh needs Maurice O'Reilly's "A Series of Small Explosions", and "Journeys With Gelignite Jack" by Evan Green.
Of course there's another 450 books I should have mentioned.......

Should add - favorite author is Nigel Roebuck, although Maurice Hamilton, Doug Nye, & Graham Robson are also bloody good
The Complete History of Grand Prix Motor Racing, by Adriano Cimarosti and edited by our own David McKinney, and Doug Nye's Autocourse History of the Grand Prix Car would be my favourite Grand Prix books.
And anything discribing itself as the Ultimate, or Complete, encyclopedia of Formula One should not be touched with a 40 foot bargepole!!!!

Another great read is Tony Lanfranchi's "Down the Hatch" and an interesting read, "Back From The Brink" by Sir Michael Edwardes.

Totally agree with Malcolm about Michael Turner's, Brockbank's - and Maurice O'Reilly's hilarious book - and the Phil Kerr book. (Pity Maurice's proof reader's made so many mistakes though.)

Doug Nye's original book on the Donington Collection, (signed by Doug and Sir Bernard) is now a book that reminds me of what WAS in the collection...

Sadly, one or two books written about our local heroes have been a disappointment.

I've a few books...but there is one that - gram for gram - has given me more joy than any other for over 40 years. It is here with me now - 'Racing Cars' is in gold on the spine of the small pale green book. I think once it had a cover but that is long since gone.

On the opening page in pencil is '$3.30', the price I paid in 1972 or 73, I suspect the latter, and then two pages later:

THE WORLD'S RACING CARS.

The author is M.L.Twite and this is the 'Fourth Edition: Completely Revised' - the first edition was in 1958, one of the greatest years, and I have the 1970 version. It covers all the racing cars from the world's (Britain's) major categories in 1969 - and I love it. There is:

Formula 1,2,3,USAC, F5000, FF, Can-Am, Group 3 GTs, Group 4 Sports Cars, Group 6 Prototypes, NASCARs and Saloon Cars. We have bores, strokes, compression ratios, heights, weights and widths - and so much more.

I'm not saying it is the best book I have - but it is easily the most leafed. By some margin!

Michael, mine is the 1964 version :) original price showing is 11/- then crossed out and 9/6d, then $1.90, so I guess I got it in 66 or 67. You are right a great wee book which has been used to "discuss" some controversies!
Formula 1, Formula Junior, Indy, Sports/Racing and Prototype. Grand Touring, Sports and Directory of Manufacturers.

I have that one too O'f - but the one covering 1969 is the most extensive of those I've seen.

Why does the weight of an Astra RNR 1A matter all these years on, or the gearbox for the Ferrari 612, or the wheelbase of a Lotus 64? It doesn't - but I misplaced my little green book a few weeks ago, and was delighted when I found where I'd left it.

The 1958 edition is different to the later editions in that it is titled The World's Racing Cars and Sports Cars and was written by Douglas Armstrong. It must have sold very well as my copy is a second impression published in January 1959.

I have a 1964 edition and a 1966 version that is labelled as: Third Edition : Completely Revised.

I paid $12 for the 1959 book, $1 for the 1964 and $7.70 for the 1966.

Makes my $3.30 in 1973 from the bookshop at the Mangere Town Centre look pretty good!

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Originally Posted by Michael Clark

Makes my $3.30 in 1973 from the bookshop at the Mangere Town Centre look pretty good!

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Before the internet you were able to find real bargains in second-hand book shops and book exchanges. I got a 1967 Autocourse for $3 a few years ago.

The internet has now reduced the value of a lot of books because the information they contain is now available on-line. Which is a shame for someone like me who has rather a lot of books.

Also the internet has made it possible for the little store in the wops to look up the Amazon price and charge that straight away. Bargains all gone. Boo Hoo.

Milan, it pays to keep an eye out in the Sallies Thrift Shops (damn it, there goes my competitive advantage!), I found an 1969 Autocourse annual at the Taupo one a few years ago for $2, although I said to them "you don't know what these go for these days" and gave them a fiver...

Mrs Clark picked up a 1963 Automobile Year from a Carterton junk shop for $10 - I thought she'd done well...very well in fact...but I'll tell her a fiver is the new maximum.

Another well thumbed (been rebound at least once and needs it again) is Jenks "The Racing Car Pocketbook"

This site may help -I have a small problem with some early70s motoring magazines that were on a bookshelf with a bottle of gearbox oil, this leaked and many mags have this oil on the pages-including Ron Sylvesters Monaro.
Question is- does anyone know what will clean oil off these paper magazines?

Just in case, with Ferrari Festival and a few enthusiasts on, I am selling my Scuderia Ferrari book on Trade Me.

Have posted this on Motoring and Motorsport Collector Fb page - Pete Dicks a Mate of mine in the UK, known each other since 1978 and first met in 1982 in the USA has this for sale - open to offers - if interested please make a comment here or PM me ..

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A photo of a Tourer

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I have some of that kind of stuff...

But I reckon the prize book I have is A Boot Full of Right Arms by Evan Green. Both of my copies were obtained from charity shops and one of them was autographed by Green and was a review copy for a paper or magazine.

This is a book that you cannot put down, sheer drama pervades as it tells the story of the 1974 London to Munich Rally from the point of view of the crew which led the event as they headed into the Sahara Desert.

Thanks for bumping the thread!

I sold one of my two ERA books to Karin Ricketts, wife of Duncan Ricketts of ERA GP1 fame.

Enjoyed the Tony Brooks book and also the one on James Hunt.

This shelf may not be the most valuable, but I am a huge fan of all sorts of comedy (several shelves of cartoons - including Giles books - and comedy based books) and I have to say that both my wife and I have had a lot of laughs out of Jeremy Clarkson's writings.

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Once again I seem to have had a brain fade as I now have two copies of the hefty Robert Edwards book on Stirling Moss. I bought this latest one on the internet and lugged it back from England last year, not realising I already had one on the shelf.