"The Racing Car Pocketbook" by Denis Jenkinson

256 pp. 5-5/8 in. x 4-1/4 in. (B. T. Botsford Ltd., 4, Fitzhardinge Street, London, W.1. 9s. 6d.)

Botsford made a great hit with their “Vintage Car Pocketbook” and followed it up with the “Sports Car Pocketbook.” Now comes “The Racing Car Pocketbook” which covers all manner of such cars from A to Z, 1894 to 1961, in picture, text and specification. The subject runs from Abarth to Zoller, giving as much textual information as the author considers a car merits, pictures of the more interesting or successful types of each make and as much tabulated data as the author could find.

Road-racing cars naturally predominate but track cars and record cars are included. “Jenks” is so painstakingly accurate that to spot the odd error in his work is always amusing to the impishly-minded but far be it from me to try! He does quote a wheelbase for the Blitzen Benz a few inches longer than that of the example in the Daimler-Benz Museum at Stuttgart. He does say that the 1914 T.T. Minervas were “more noted for the smokescreen they put out than for their speed,” although they finished 2nd, 3rd, and 5th in the race—but, confronted with this, D.S.J. would undoubtedly remark that they hadn’t got to be particularly fast or outstanding to do that. Come to this, Lord Brabazon will doubtless remind him that Minervas won another race in 1907. The Wolseley “Moths” are linked with the 200-mile Wolseleys, which were 2-seaters but otherwise the information looks faultless to me.

Even if you no longer indulge in the luxury of buying motor books you are strongly advised to invest in this little mine of information and good pictures. With the Sports Car Pocketbook, recently revised, you will have a pocketful of quick references to all the fast cars that really matter, for a total expenditure of less than a pound.