29 replies to this topic

[welslotcar]

I found this new slot car book mentioned in the Electric Dreams weekly email and listed on their website.
 
Also, I found this dedicated WEBSITE.
 
"The 60's Of Slot-Racing" (798-page book) by Oliver K. Brandt.

[Race O' Rama]

Very cool.

[Cheater]

Also very expensive... the book is 319 Euros if ordered from the website for US delivery, which is almost US$400 at today's exchange rate. That's a little dear for my pocket for a book, even it it is hardbound.

[Dennis David]

I'll wait for PdL's book. Of couse pigs might fly and hell may freeze over but I'm stil waiting.

[Dennis David]

The issue I have with this book is 99% of the slot car racers can't afford this book so who is the audience?

[sportblazer350]

I really would like to purchase a copy of this book, however I cannot justify spending approx. $400 on a book...

[racie35]

I wonder how many of these they plan on selling?

[Jairus]

All of them!

I have one and it is worth it.

[racer4life]

I bought a copy of this book and received it damaged. The publisher/sender has done nothing to replace the damaged copy after I sent numerous photos of the damage.

Oliver K. Brandt, shame on you!

[n.elmholt]

I gave myself one to my 60th birthday last year. :-)
 
Its an amazing book with a large number of beautiful pictures and I like it a lot.
 
Seen from a historical viewpoint I am sure that Philippe's book will be the definitive work on this subject.
 
Niels

[Samiam]

The issue I have with this book is 99% of the slot car racers can't afford this book so who is the audience?

 

I have to disagree with that statement. Most of us can afford it. We would just rather spend our money on slot cars.

 

I am waiting for PdL's book. I know it will be worth both the wait and the money.

[Cheater]

I am waiting for PdL's book. I know it will be worth both the wait and the money.

If the old geezer lives long enough to finish it... LOL!

He's in Europe right now vintage racing motorcycles, like he was still 20-something...

[Bill from NH]

The issue I have with this book is 99% of the slot car racers can't afford this book so who is the audience?

 

I agree with Dennis. Isn't this a European book? What segment of the slot car market is this book written for? Anyone who has $400? Yes, i have $400, but spending $400 on a slot car book, or any other book is extremely low on my list of priorities. If I had access to a local library that had a copy, I would check it for content.

 

As for PdL's future book, who knows how it'll be. That'll be better determined after its publication.

[HarV Wallbanger III]

I'm holding out for Dokk's book, too... Too many things I need to spend $$ on to shell out that much... Is it printed in the King's English???

[Ramcatlarry]

Get a local library to buy it, then you can "check" it out...

[HarV Wallbanger III]

Yep!

[Jairus]

Very little of the book contents is European slots. Most if not 97% are all the coolest American companies and the cars they manufactured.

Sorry about the damaged copy... but remember. It's not Oliver's fault. The Post Office is to blame.

[MSwiss]

I'm holding out for Dokk's book, too... Too many things I need to spend $$ on to shell out that much... Is it printed in the King's English???

Yes, the text is in English.

[Pappy]

I've never talked to Dokk but I've heard he talks funny. I wonder if his book is going to read funny, can you write with an accent?       

[Bill from NH]

... It's not Oliver's fault. The Post Office is to blame.

 

Then you get to argue which postal system damaged it. Was it that that in the originating country? Was it the US postal system or maybe even customs? My wife has run into all that crap with Belleek pottery ordered from Ireland. She no longer orders it from sources outside the US.

[don.siegel]

Yes, the text is in English.

 

I beg to differ: it's actually in euro-English, meaning that it was written by a non-native speaker, who doesn't write very good English and didn't bother getting it checked! Absolutely incomprehensible, especially for the price of the book. 

 

To be frank, this doesn't seem to bother many people, but it drives me crazy. Not to mention that about half the text in the book is just reprinted period articles - with lots of typos! 

 

His English is understandable for the most part, just not very natural, so it depends on your definition of the King's English.. 

 

I still think the book was worth it, despite all these drawbacks. 

 

Don 

 

PS: The content is very much 1/24 oriented, although there's some on 1/32 cars; I bought the book from a friend, who was disappointed in the 1/32 content, although the author had told him that the scale was covered in the book. 

[MSwiss]

I was just going by this on his website;

THE BOOK
- Total of 798 pages, all in color
- English text
- Bounded by thread stitching
- Book cover in laminated glossy
- Sealed in cellophane
- Two practical bookmarks
- Size is 300 mm x 245 mm x 70 mm
- Weight is 3,5 kilogram
- A high-grade quality product; printed in Germany
- Price: 289,90 + shipping costs

[don.siegel]

Don't judge a book by its cover Mike - well, in this case you can, because the title isn't English either! 

 

I'm a bit (over) sensitive to this question, because I work as a translator in France, and I'm constantly having to explain to my French clients (and occasionally Germans and others) that their written English just isn't good enough for publication. 

 

A lot of people can speak a second or third language pretty fluently, but very rarely is somebody able to write well in another language - it's hard enough doing that in your own language! 

 

And because in the world of business, science, etc., everybody is encouraged to "learn English", they come to believe that they can write it correctly as well, which just isn't true! That's based on 30 years of professional experience: in all those years I have yet to come across a text by a non-native speaker that didn't require correction, anywhere from relatively minor to a complete rewrite. 

 

Now, the Germans (and Dutch, Scandinavians, etc.) do speak English better than the French, but that often means that they are also more arrogant about their written English, when it's not necessarily that much better. 

 

The English in this book doesn't seem to have bothered Jairus, and he's editing a magazine, so maybe I'm just over-sensitive, because of my job and because I'm an old English lit major... But there really is a sort of euro-English that's becoming accepted in certain circles - also known as "Globish" - and I find it all very depressing. 

 

Rant over (but I can start up again whenever you want....)

 

Don 

[Cheater]

Sorry about the damaged copy... but remember. It's not Oliver's fault. The Post Office is to blame.

Without seeing how the book was packaged, I couldn't have an opinion as to who is to blame.

But I can say this: based on a number of instances where I have purchased large, thick, heavy automotive books, the damaged in shipping issues most often occur with self-published books distributed by their authors.

Similar books published by major houses almost always come packaged such that they don't get damaged in any way.

I recall two instances with really large heavy books (5+ pounds) where the authors simply slid them in barely-padded envelopes. In one case, the envelope was five inches larger than the book, with no internal padding, just the envelope. Big heavy books packaged so poorly will be damaged in transit a very high percentage of the time. And that claim is experience speaking, not supposition...

[Cheater]

... but very rarely is somebody able to write well in another language - it's hard enough doing that in your own language!

As an aside, when we started Car Collector magazine in 1978 (I was assistant editor, then managing editor), I was amazed at the incredibly poor level of writing we saw in manuscripts that were submitted to us for publication. I would guess that 80 percent or more of them would have received a failing grade in 8th grade English class. I'd hazard not one manuscript in 50 could have been printed without corrective editing.

A related surprise was the awful writing we received from some of the most widely-published automotive writers, names many of you would know if I was willing to reveal them (and I'm not, as many have passed on).