Brooklands - The Complete Motor Racing History
Language: English
Published by Motor Racing Publications Ltd, 2001
- Hardcover
- Used

Seller: Crappy Old Books, Barry, United KingdomCrappy Old Books
AbeBooks seller since February 6, 2025
Condition: Used - Near fine
£ 58.50
Quantity: 1 available
Add to basketItem description from seller
Forget your carbon-fibre hypercars, telemetry, DRS, tyre strategy apps and drivers who spend half the race apologising over the radio. Before all that there was Brooklands ? a vast concrete bowl where men with spectacular moustaches and an apparently casual attitude towards self-preservation attempted to discover exactly how fast machinery, physics and common sense could be persuaded to travel before parting company. William Boddy wasn?t merely writing about Brooklands; he practically lived there. Having first fallen under its spell as a boy in the 1920s, he devoted decades to preserving its history, eventually producing what is widely regarded as the definitive account of the world?s first purpose-built motor racing circuit. This substantial 480-page volume charts everything from the circuit?s creation in 1907 through its golden years of record-breaking, Grand Prix racing and engineering innovation, before the outbreak of the Second World War brought competitive racing at Brooklands to an abrupt halt. What makes this book so remarkable is that it isn?t simply a catalogue of races and lap times. It is a love letter to an era when drivers routinely climbed into machines that looked as though they?d been assembled from girders, brass plumbing and optimism, then accelerated towards concrete banking with little more than a leather helmet and the comforting thought that "it?ll probably be fine." The cast of pioneering engineers, fearless racers, eccentric inventors and wealthy enthusiasts reads like Britain?s answer to the Wild West?only with considerably more oil leaks. The research is astonishing. Boddy knew many of the personalities involved personally, spent decades gathering photographs, programmes, technical records and first-hand accounts, and stitches them together into an absorbing narrative that captures both the excitement and sheer improbability of early motor racing. Whether your interest lies in vintage Bentleys, Napier monsters, aero-engined specials or simply the extraordinary people who believed 120mph on rough concrete was a splendid afternoon?s entertainment, there?s something here to delight. Of course, this is not the sort of book one casually flicks through while waiting for the kettle to boil. It is wonderfully, gloriously obsessive. Every race, record, machine and memorable incident receives the attention it deserves, making this a volume that rewards dipping into repeatedly?or disappearing with for an entire rainy weekend while muttering things like, "Good heavens, they really did that." Condition: Good. The book remains in pleasing, fully readable condition with the expected signs of a previous life. It has already survived over a century?s worth of motoring history, numerous enthusiastic owners and, presumably, the temptation to take the racing line through the living room. It is now patiently waiting for the next custodian who appreciates that speed may be fleeting, but a really good motoring history is built to last.…
Seller Inventory # 6756
- Title
- Brooklands - The Complete Motor Racing History
- Author
- William Boddy
- Publisher
- Motor Racing Publications Ltd
- Publication year
- 2001
- Condition
- Near Fine
- Binding
- Hardback
- Language
- English
- ISBN 10
- 1899870563
- ISBN 13
- 9781899870561
"Synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
Crappy Old Books
Barry, United Kingdom
AbeBooks seller since February 6, 2025
Shipping rates from United Kingdom to U.S.A.
| Item | 14 to 45 business days | 5 to 10 business days |
|---|---|---|
| First item | £ 20.05 | £ 26.85 |
Payment methods
Store description
Crappy Old Books aims to be the online version of our much endangered high street second hand book stores. Here you will find all sorts of junk that you just couldnt imagine. Crappy Old Books also aims to provide all of these books at great rates. The site was concieved on Monday 23rd Novemeber 2009, and is slowly growing. Hopefully over years it'll have much more to offer and will be a joy to browse through, just like our musty second hand book stores of yore.
Specialty
Regular booksSeller's business information
Crappy Old Books
United Kingdom
Right of withdrawal
If you are a consumer you can withdraw from the contract in accordance with the following. Consumer means any natural person who is acting for purposes which are outside his trade, business, craft or profession.
Information regarding the right of withdrawal
Statutory right to withdraw
You have the right to withdraw from this contract within 14 days without giving any reason.
The withdrawal period will expire after 14 days from the day on which you acquire, or a third party other than the carrier and indicated by you acquires, physical possession of the last good or the last lot or piece.
To exercise the right of withdrawal, electronically fill in and submit a clear statement on our website, under "My Purchases" in "My Account". We will communicate to you an acknowledgement of receipt of such a withdrawal on a durable medium (e.g. by e-mail) without delay.
To meet the withdrawal deadline, it is sufficient for you to send your communication concerning your exercise of the right of withdrawal before the withdrawal period has expired.
Effects of withdrawal
If you withdraw from this contract, we will reimburse to you all payments received from you, including the costs of delivery (except for the supplementary costs arising if you chose a type of delivery other than the least expensive type of standard delivery offered by us).
We may make a deduction from the reimbursement for loss in value of any goods supplied, if the loss is the result of unnecessary handling by you.
We will make the reimbursement without undue delay, and not later than 14 days after the day on which we are informed about your decision to withdraw from this contract.
We will make the reimbursement using the same means of payment as you used for the initial transaction, unless you have expressly agreed otherwise; in any event, you will not incur any fees as a result of such reimbursement.
We may withhold reimbursement until we have received the goods back, or you have supplied evidence of having sent back the goods, whichever is the earliest.
You shall send back the goods or hand them over to Crappy Old Books, Barry, Berkshire, United Kingdom, +44 7745466608, without undue delay and in any event not later than 14 days from the day on which you communicate your withdrawal from this contract to us. The deadline is met if you send back the goods before the period of 14 days has expired. You will have to bear the direct cost of returning the goods. You are only liable for any diminished value of the goods resulting from the handling other than what is necessary to establish the nature, characteristics and functioning of the goods.
Exceptions to the right of withdrawal
The right of withdrawal does not apply to:
- The delivery of newspapers, journals or magazines with the exception of subscription contracts; and
- The supply of digital content which is not supplied on a tangible medium (e.g. on a CD or DVD) if you accepted when you placed your order that we could start to deliver it, and that you could not withdraw once delivery had started.