banking to a rear-engined one at Monaco

The publishing event of 1968 in the motoring sense that caused the most excitement was Ebury Press’ great work by G. N. Georgano and his teatn of knowledgeable contributors, “The Complete Encyclopedia of Motorcars, 1885 to the Present”. It was a stupendous task. especially as illustrations not only of most of the makes but of man, of the models of those makes, included were all part of it. There cannot be many motoring historians who would Wilkst on oath to not using Georgano’s Encyclopedia pretty freely, certainly a work of confirmation or as a starting point in their research. That this was so is surely evident by the hook’s success — it was reprinted a year after the first publication, again in 1970 and 1971, and it went into a second edition in 1973. Now we have a fully revised third edition, dedicated to the memory of these two great motor-history researchers, Geo, Ralph Doyle (who started it all going) and John Pollitt. The new e.tinn of this enormously important Encyclopedia runs to 688

large size (1 x 81/2″) pages and it is packed with pictures, making it all so fascinating even judged merely as a “good-browse” — and it is clearly far more valuable. It again runs from 1885 to the present, but to include the new material that brings it up to date, It is sad that racing cars “not usable on public roads”, to quote the Introduction to the Third Edition, have had ti) be ethninatesl. That apart. this great reference work costs a mere £25. and should be bought immediately by those motoring writers who have not access to it, and by all reputable libraries. There is a colour-pages section to back-up some 2.400 other illustrations, the front of the dust jacket depicts a Cook-bodied 1929 4./z-litre Bentley tourer, and within there are the biographies of 4.300 makes, running we are told to half-a-million words. Since the first edition appeared, 230 fresh makes of car have made their appearance and over 200 new black-and-white pictures have been added. What more can one say? This weighty book. in both meanings if the word. claims to cover every make of car in the World. The publishers are Eburv Press, National Magazine House, 72, Broalwick Street. London. WIV 2BP and, we repeat. the price is only £25. —W.B.