Price versus quality
Like Geoff I have all these 'expensive' Bristol related books so I feel qualified to express some opinions.
If you want the cheapest new car available for sale in the UK you can buy a Citroen Ami at just under £9,000 or a Dacia Sandero at just under £13,000. The Dacia, but perhaps not the Citroen, would get you from 'A' to 'B' in safety and relative comfort. Most us of, lucky enough to buy new cars, would chose to spend more. Why, if price is all that matters?
Leaving aside the quality of the writing all these books are characterised by their designs, the photographs, the artworks, the paper, the bindings and so on. If you put no value on these then, yes, they are over-priced.
If on the other hand you value those qualities they are, in fact, in my opinion, all excellent value for money.
Simon Charlesworth is a well respected motoring journalist and Bristol enthusiast. I have to say Aero-Dynamic is probably the best motoring book I have ever read. The writing and the photographs draw me back time and time again. The appendices include all the factory racing department internal reports from the period. Goodness only knows where they came from. My only criticism is that the amazing photos are not captioned. I can speculate why (to draw the reader into the drama of the races) but I'm not sure that was the right decision.
Regarding marketing. I'd say the reviews in the classic car press, winning the Octane Book of the Year with all the attendant publicity, social media posts and their website shows actually Butterfield Press have got it right.
Rennie
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