BOOK REVIEWS
MINI SCRAPBOOK: 60 YEARS OF A BRITISH ICON
Just published to coincide with the car’s anniversary this month and bang up to date, the Mini Scrapbook even includes the modern Mini 60 Years Edition that broke cover in March, and the still-to-be-launched Electric version. For any Mini lover who adores photos of their favourite car, this 176-page softcover book is a must have.
It features both familiar and never-seen photos, including clearly recent shots of an elderly Stirling Moss zipping around London in a restored classic Mini Cooper. The story of this unique car is told in accessible nuggets with an array of contemporary photos, illustrating just what has made the Mini so special, so loved, and so much fun.
Author Martin Port has worked in automotive publishing for 18 years, the last 16 of these for Classic & Sports Car. The short-passage format highlights things like creator Alec Issigonis’s idea to use external seams to avoid intruding on internal space, and it chronicles other major world events of the time.
Mini Scrapbook covers the official 1959 press launch on 18 and 19 August and how celebrity endorsement really promoted the car after a slow
start in Britain. Steve Mcqueen and Peter Sellers were among many prominent Mini addicts who helped make the Mini cool. Beatle Paul Mccartney’s 1967 Radford Mini sold for around the equivalent of NZ$343K earlier this year.
All sorts of Minis are included, like the ERA Turbo that holds the accolade of being the fastest-ever original Mini. Competition successes are covered, as are spin-offs such as Mini stamps, cigarette cards, Scalextric slot-car racing and, of course, the countless Mini toy cars.
The production and presentation of this highly recommended book are excellent. It has more than 400 colour and black-and-white images, including of the post-2000 incarnation of Mini.
Check out the publisher’s website at porterpress.co.uk to order it online and see an impressive range of other motoring titles. UK cost is £20, so expect it to be about $50 when it hits our shores.