John Cooper's biography needs no embellishment

I would like to compliment Mortons and Classic Racer on the John Cooper book Moon Eyes published last year. The book makes you feel as though you are sitting with John in his front room listening to his life story. And it’s a great story.

The editors – Richard Skelton and the late Chris Carter – have done a wonderful job. The pictures from John’s own collection and the Mortons

Archive are fantastic. They really evoke the period, and there are plenty of them.

The treatment of the book is so friendly and casual. What really comes across is the sense of enjoyment from the period. The action shots show the riders concentrating and nearly all the paddock shots show smiling faces. It just reminds you of what a wonderful period the Cooper road race years were (1955-1973).

When I joined Motor Cycle News in 1971, Coop was our favourite road racer because of his great down-to-earth home-truth quotes, as well as the fact that he could beat anybody.

“What did Coop say?” was the first question we asked the race reporter as soon as he entered the office on a Sunday night to type up his report. For Coop, 1971 was an epic year – twice beating MV works GP riders, and winning the richest prize in road racing at Ontario Motor Speedway, US. Coop’s feet are on the ground throughout this book, which is why it makes such good reading. There’s no need for exaggeration or hyperbole because his story and achievements are so good it doesn’t need them.

And coming back to the book treatment – the mainly question-answer format works really well. “Tell us about Bill Ivy”. “Wasn’t there a time you were paid danger money riding a BSA?” “Did you all get on and help each other?” “What about the economics of racing?”

In answer to such questions the Cooper memories and common-sense pronouncements flood out. And the book costs only £6.99! Brian Crichton, Kettering, Northamptonshire