Official book collectors thread

I’ve been there many times! I thought AI was supposed to read my mind.

 

Not exclusively about Ferrari this book received a good review at www.speedreaders.info even though the reviewer started out skeptical about the authors being mere reporters for The Wall Street Journal. Personally I believe journalists….as distinct from authors…who aren’t “expert” or professionally immersed in their subject matter bring a curiosity and perspective that are not burdened by prejudices that come with being insiders. I believe the Journal has some of the best reporters in the business …about business…and yeah, this book is mostly about the business of F1 and how it evolved from a sport to a business, for better or worse.

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Confusing (at least to me).
How many additional NART/Chinetti books will we see in the future, besides the one already existing (O'Neill)?
One or two by Doug Nye, one by Wimpffen, any more?
Or is that all one and the same?

Marcel Massini

 

Looks like there will be two. Janos Wimpffen is doing one for David Bull, and Doug Nye is working with Porter Press. Does the world need three books on a niche subject? Who knows?

 

I bought it and read it. It’s very good.

 

Two is correct. At least one will be out in my lifetime. Guess which one.

 

The O’Neill book isn’t so much a bio-history as is anticipated for the other two. It’s a good statistical and data provider though, with some limited narrative. My review is at www.speedreaders.info

 

Just received it, it seems to be very good value for money indeed.

 

So true.
It's either feast or famine.
Reminds me of the GTO book feast we had a few years back.

 

In the last four months I've purchased Car Racing 1966 thru Car Racing 1969 by the DPPI photographers, and they are all big, impressive books, though all the photos are in black & white. The photo selection is decent enough, though the earlier books focus a bit too much, IMO, on the lesser formulas. Only 1969 has some photos from North America but they are really incidental. One might also argue that there are too many photos of the people and not enough of the cars, but I think the balance is fair. I will get the new 1970 volume in due time, though I think I will stop there, since I hardly have room for them!

 

Btw, the 250 GTO/64 book is sold as a so-called 'Über' edition (100 leather bound copies). Initially these were offered for the princely sum of GBP1250.--
That may have been a bit too enthusiastic for some, as the price is cut to GBP650.--

 

Marcel you should write one. In your spare time.

 

I think there are some color pictures in the 1969. The 1970 has more of them. It's such an amazing collection.

 

My thoughts on the book are here. https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/books-related-to-the-business-side-of-f1.689441/page-2#post-149600752

 

I'll stick to the standard version thanks.

 

It becomes difficult to understand the pricing of books.
The DBR9 book mentioned earlier in this thread does not seem of a blatantly lower quality than the 550 Prodrive book; they have a very similar brief (Aston Martin and Ferrari Prodrive GT cars) and both are looking rather good in terms of presentation and information, but the 550 book is priced more than three times the DBR9 one... maybe it's just the Ferrari tax

 

Everything, absolutely everything, that has the name "Ferrari" on it is automatically priced three times higher than the rest of the world. Look at automobilia auction results (not cars).
Would anybody pay 120 Grand or more for a simple automobile postcard if it were not a Ferrari one? Same for photos, documents, paperwork. The market is the market, everybody wants a slice of the cake, the bigger, the better.

Marcel Massini

 

There are a few differences worth noting. There were about 3,000 copies printed of the DBR9 book; contrast that with 550 copies printed of the 550 Prodrive book. The DBR9 book has been available for almost 12 years and is now offered at a deep discount of 50% off the original price. Yet, the 550 book has been out less than a year. The DBR9 book is 296 pages long and the 550 book is 590 pages; a difference of nearly 300 pages. I think the price difference has more to do with these factors.

 

Plus printing costs nowadays have tripled, not to mention paper prices in general.

Marcel Massini

 

Yes and no. IMHO the 550 book is blatantly overpriced, but so was the DBR9 at first. The publishers are known for their Porsche RS books, and had the idea that the buyers for their DBR9 book would be similarly interested. The print run for the standard version was 2700, with another 300 or so copies for more expensive editions. This standard edition was originally priced at (if I remember correctly) more than twice the current retail price of €195,- Unfortunately the merchandise did not move at that elevated price, so they cut it to the current level. But even at this price it will be tough to sell out. So both are very pricey and kind of nice, but neither is as good as for example the Kidston Miura book.

 

Off topic, but I hope nevertheless interesting: Announcement by McKlein that a great De Tomaso book is due to be released in July. 550 copies, 350 euros.
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https://www.rallyandracing.com/mcklein-store/buecher/de-tomaso-racing-blue-blood

 

All goods arguments. But the Ferrari Uovo books that's just been released is only 44 euros; of course it's a far smaller and less ambitious book than some others quoted, but I can't help wondering how some books could claim ten times that price (although there's a universal law of diminished return...)

 

I agree completely. But I guess we have to separate ‘books’ from vanity publications that are disguised as books. And of course, some books are touching a very specific audience, where publishers have to limit the print run. But all in all it’s hard to give a fair opinion.

 

IMHO the most overpriced book of the last decade.

 

In today's world it is all about marketing.

Marcel Massini