Be honest: At some point during your life, maybe while watching Clarence the Cross-Eyed Lion on Daktari back in the late 1960s, you fantasized about bounding across the wilds of Africa in a stripped-down Land Rover. You may have never gotten closer to Africa than The Travel Channel, and Land Rover passed way beyond British ownership and its veld-busting roots, but it’s still one of the most magical and historic nameplates in the automotive world. This book, just published, will help you to understand why.
Authored by marque specialist Dave Phillips of Norfolk, England, and in the catalog of Evro Publishing, The Land Rover Story comprises 312 hardcover pages that illuminate the story of this legend from the day the first prototype trundled out of the Solihull works in 1947. With its compact selection of images presented in signature fashion, the book isn’t a dry technical recitation, but instead tells a narrative tale of how the Wilks brothers at Rover created an eternal legend. The story follows Land Rover to the present day, and includes a chronological timeline and extensive bibliography. The world of automotive literature could do well with more concise, easily managed works like this one. It’s priced at $34.95 and is available from brick-and-mortar and online retailers everywhere.
Jim Donnelly On Wheels 