TORQUE – THE MOTOR BOOKS NEWLETTER

TORQUE – THE MOTOR BOOKS NEWLETTER

For our latest and forthcoming titles, please visit the newsletter page on our website.

TONY BROOKS AUTOBIOGRAPHY

Tony Brooks : Poetry in Motion
Hardback, 272 pages, 273 mm x 215mm. Colour cover, over 250 b&w and colour photographs

It took 15 years of relentless persuasion to convince Tony Brooks, one of Britain’s greatest ever racing drivers, that he should write his autobiography.

Throughout his racing career he shunned publicity, preferring to let his on-track performances speak for themselves. This is why Stirling Moss, on many occasions his team-mate in Formula 1 and sports car races, has described him as "the greatest ‘little known’ driver of all time".

Tony Brooks began his racing career at Goodwood in 1952 at the wheel of his mother’s Healey sports car. Three years later, having never previously sat in a Formula 1 car, he drove a Connaught to victory in the Syracuse Grand Prix, beating the entire Maserati works team. It was the first Grand Prix victory for a British car and driver for 31 years. His unique combination of speed and smoothness, aptly chosen by him as his book title Poetry in Motion, led to works drives with Aston Martin, BRM, Vanwall and Ferrari and brought him Grand Prix victories on Europe’s most challenging circuits – Spa, the Nürburgring and Monza. Tony Brooks and his Italian wife Pina live at Ottershaw Park, Surrey.

How to Improve & Modify Your Caravan

By Lindsay Porter
Paperback, 207x270mm, 224 pages, 975 pictures

This step-by-step, heavily illustrated guide shows the caravan owner and user how he or she can turn their caravan into a perfect and unique holiday retreat. It details the huge range of improvements available and – crucially – how you can apply them to your own caravan.

• The first ever book on choosing and fitting caravan upgrades and accessories
• How to carry out your own DIY improvements
• See what accessories are available to improve your caravan
• Find out how the experts carry out caravan improvements
• Advice on which projects are okay and which are not suitable for DIY
• See how to work successfully and without causing damage
• Features contacts for all manufacturers and suppliers

NEW MILITARY TITLES

         

       

Bush Wars : Africa 1960-2010 (Osprey Force on Force No.6)
With its many tribal, political, religious, and cultural divisions, Africa has long been a continent at war – both with itself and with others. For much of the 20th century, there has been a near-constant state of military unrest, from Cold War proxy wars with Soviet and Western powers supporting their African allies in live-fire incarnations of this ideological struggle.

Joshua L. Chamberlain : The Life in Letters of a Great Leader of the American Civil War
His life is a remarkable story of perseverance, tragedy and triumph. From an insecure young man with a considerable stutter who grew up in a small town in eastern Maine, Joshua Chamberlain rose to become a major general, recipient of the Medal of Honor, Governor of Maine and President of Bowdoin College.

OSP ACE 104 : Naval Aces of World War 1 part 2
This second Naval Aces of World War 1 book looks at the many flying naval heroes who served alongside or against those of the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS).

OSP CAM 244 : The Falklands 1982, Ground operations in the South Atlantic
On 3 April 1982 British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher announced that Argentine armed forces had landed on British sovereign territory; had captured the men of Royal Marine detachment NP8901; had run up the Argentine flag; and had declared the islands and their population to be Argentine. An immediate response was required and a task force was rapidly assembled to retake the islands.

OSP CMD 25 : Omar Bradley
General Omar Bradley was the premier US Army tactical commander in the European Theatre of Operations in 1944–45. A West Point classmate of Dwight Eisenhower, Bradley was the quintessential US field commander of World War II, elevated to high command with little combat experience but a solid track record as a skilled planner and organiser.

OSP DUEL 42 : DH 2 vs Albatros D I/D II, Western Front 1916
Flown by Victoria Cross recipient Lanoe Hawker and the members of No 24 Sqn, the ungainly yet nimble DH 2 helped the Allies attain air superiority over the Somme in early 1916 and hold it through the summer. With its rotary engine ‘pusher’ configuration affording excellent visibility and eliminating the need for a synchronized machine gun, the DH 2 was more than a match for anything the Germans could put in the air.

OSP DUEL 43 : M4 Sherman vs Type 97 Chi-Ha, The Pacific 1945
Although US and Japanese tank forces first clashed in 1941, it was on in 1944 that tank-vs-tank action became more common as both sides poured larger numbers of tanks into the combat zone.

OSP NVG 190 : British Heavy Cruisers 1939-45
The pre-World War I concept of armoured cruisers had been abandoned, but in their stead the Admiralty saw a place for powerful cruisers, able to patrol the sea lanes of the British Empire, and which were well-armed enough that they could destroy enemy commerce cruisers.

OSP RAID 31 : Gothic Serpent – Black Hawk Down Mogadishu 1993
This book tells the story of Task Force Ranger – a unit of US Rangers and Special Forces – and their attempt to capture the lieutenants of the Somali warlord Muhamed Farrah Aideed, during the 1993 United Nations’ humanitarian relief mission.

OSP WPN 16 : The M1 Garand
The M1 Garand gave the US infantryman a marked edge during World War II. It shot faster and further than enemy infantry rifles and hit harder. No less an authority on killing the enemy than General George S. Patton called the Garand, “The greatest battle implement ever devised.”

Roman Army : The Greatest War Machine of the Ancient World
The image of the Roman legionary is as familiar today as it was to the citizens – and enemies – of the vast Roman Empire two thousand years ago. This book goes beyond the stereotypes found in popular culture to examine the Roman Army from the first armed citizens of the early Republic through the glorious heights of the Imperial legions to the shameful defeats inflicted upon the late Roman Army by the Goths and Huns. Tracing the development of tactics, equipment and training, this work provides a detailed insight into the military force that enable Rome to become the greatest empire the world has ever seen.

 

NEW SQUADRON SIGNAL TITLES

B-29 Superfortress Combat Chronicles (Squadron Signal 36002)

By Robert Hilton
Softback, 120 pages, Illustrated with over 100 photographs.
With its pressurized cabins for high-altitude operation, its long range, large bomb capacity, and turbo-supercharged engines, the B-29 Superfortress was the epitome of cutting edge American air power during WWII. The author, a photographer with the 40th Bomb Group and a veteran of 83 Superfortress missions, offers a first-hand, eye-witness account and shares his experiences on reconnaissance and bombing missions, flying the ‘Hump’ and taking off from an advanced base in Sichuan, China, to pummel Japanese occupation forces throughout Asia.

German Armoured Cars In Action (Squadron Signal 12050)

By David Doyle
Softback, 80 pages
Germany began developing its heavy armoured cars well before the outbreak of World War II. Germany’s early six-wheel armoured cars were based on 6×4 truck chassis, and their off-road mobility was limited. Packed with more than 220 period photographs, this book chronicles the development and deployment of Germany’s six and eight-wheeled armoured cars before and during WWII.

Jagdpanzer 38 Hetzer Walk Around (Squadron Signal 27027)

By Hans-Heiri Stapfer
Softback, 80 pages, Illustrated with over 200 photographs, plus detailed line drawings, and colour profiles.
This ground-breaking volume features detailed photos of early, medium, and late Hetzer variants and contains the first-ever published wartime photos of the vehicle’s interior. Pictures of Jagdpanzer 38 vehicles in Bulgarian and Swiss service appear here for the first time, and the SK-23 steam-powered recovery vehicle based on the Hetzer is also documented along with extensive coverage of the G 13, including the first-ever colour photographs of that variant’s interior.

NEW TANKOGRAD TITLES

British Nuclear Artillery (Tankograd British Special No.9018)

By Geoff Fletcher & Robert Swan
illustrated with 109 b&w photographs
Corporal, Blue Water, Honest John, Tube Artillery, Lance 1957-93
This publications tells the story of the British Army’s nuclear-capable tube artillery and missile artillery that was for decades a military secret. Comprehensive coverage with informative text and many hitherto unpublished photographs allow a vital gap in military-vehicle history to be closed with this book.

10 Brygada Kawalerii Pancernej (Tankograd 7025)

By Daniel Nowak & Tim Matzold
Illustrated throughout with 127 colour photographs and 12 graphics
Vehicles of the Modern Polish Army‘s 10th Armoured Cavalry Brigade
Based on hitherto unpublished photographs this publication shows the motor pool of 10 BK Panc, consisting of Polish, Russian and German vehicles that at the end of the last century were opposing each other on both sides of the Iron Curtain but today jointly train and fight.

TAM, The Argentine Tanque Argentino Mediano (Tankograd 8006)

By Juan Carlos Cicalesi & Santiago Rivas
9 b&w photographs and 150 colour
This publication aims at closing this vital gap by showing the history and technology of the complete TAM family – among them an infantry fighting vehicle, a mortar carrier, command vehicles and even a self-propelled howitzer – in unprecedented detail and with many hitherto unpublished photographs.

NEW MOTORING TITLES

 

MGB The illustrated history

By Jonathan Wood, Lionel Burrell
Hardback, 240 pages, 280 x 230mm, 120 colour & 120 b&w illustrations
Sales of over half a million made the MGB Britain’s most successful ever sports car. Fifty years on from the MGB’s introduction, in 1962, its classic lines, affordability, fun factor and certain ‘rightness’ mean that its enthusiastic following remains undiminished. Here is a new ‘50th anniversary’ edition of what is widely recognised as one of the best MGB books ever published. This special new edition features the original text and many of the original period photos, together with a great deal of new colour imagery and elegant, up-to-date design.

Ferrari: All The Cars : Every Ferrari ever made described and illustrated (2nd Edition)

By Leonardo Acerbi
paperback, 210 x 148mm, 408 pages, 250 colour & 133 b&w illustrations
For all Ferrari fans, this chunky, inexpensive paperback is a must-have purchase as it profiles every car made in Maranello from 1947 to date. A unique catalogue, it features a specially commissioned colour drawing for each road and racing car, together with archive photography, informative text and specification. Attractively designed and fact-packed, this 408-page book is fantastic value.

A-Z of 21st Century Cars

By Tony Lewin
Paperback, 540 pages, 1500 col. Illustrations, 225 x 200 mm
The first years of the twenty-first century brought many changes and challenges for the automobile industry, from the development of environmentally responsible vehicles to the consolidation of numerous small companies as part of major manufacturing groups. Written by auto expert Tony Lewin and featuring over 1500 stunning photographs, this superb encyclopedia is the most comprehensive guide available to the international automobile industry of the last decade. The book explores some 150 of the most significant models, highlighting their performance, stylistic features and innovations.