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Reviews (3)
14 Apr, 2017
Essential reading for lovers of British motorcycles
Steve Koerner has done an excellent research job, bringing a lot of material together for the first time in this very readable book. His thesis is that the ultimate collapse of the British motorcycle industry had causes which reach back to the period between the world wars, and centre around the attitudes of those who controlled it concerning the type of product they made, who it was aimed at, and the numbers of machines that were produced. Other people have come to similar conclusions, but Koerner's evidence is widely sourced and persuasive. One criticism is that he somewhat ignores factors external to the firms themselves which also influenced their outlook and fate. For instance, the problems of poor government support for manufacturing, and the limits on home market growth caused by the role of sterling as a reserve currency could have been more thoroughly explored. Nonetheless, it is a compelling read and a worthy addition to the library of anyone interested in British bikes or the wider automotive industry.
03 Nov, 2016
A Good Starting Point
3 of 3 found this helpful Mindfulness is everywhere at the moment, & anyone looking for a good general guide will find this helpful. The inclusion of a CD of meditations is a plus point for this one.
06 May, 2013
A compact, value-for-money and informative history
Canals opened-up the Black Country during the industrial revolution, and much of the regions industry and character was built around them.
In this book Paul Collins brings together many black and white photographs and other images which have been published elsewhere, but has performed a great service by providing excellent informative captions to accompany them. It is this detail about the canal infrastructure and the nearby works and factories which make the book so useful. There are also good outline histories of the various parts of the network.
For anybody exploring the West Midland canals today, or researching local history with the aid of historical or modern maps, this little book is a real value-for-money resource. The only criticism worth making is that the richness of the subject matter could benefit from a bigger (and no doubt more expensive) format to do it full justice.
Definitely recommended!