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Lovers of computer and video driving games will love this! The Driving Games Manual from Haynes Publishing. One hundred and seventy-four pages, between decorated hard covers, jam packed with full colour ,full-on action, illustrations of screenshots and moto photos to excite even the most laid-back ,seen-it-all, racing games player. As a student of the video game genre, the Driving Games Manual takes you through four decades of spectacular games development from 1974.

But more than a detailed history of the car video game, Driving Games Manual is a Guide that will enthuse the ‘newby’, and also help hone the skills of the more experienced driving player. As a Guide, it reveals in wonderful clarity the speed of change in both software and hardware. We have the arcade consoles period of rise to eminence, and the continuing improvement of the console design to provide a realistic racing experience in the home.

A key benefit of this ultimate guide to car computer and video games is that,being a book, it can be constantly to hand as a reference source and treasury of tips and facts, and it offers a break from the tension and excitement of the on screen racing action. At leisure, in your armchair at home, you can explore the intricate nature of car set-up,for instance, or develop a strategy for your track technique with basic and defensive racing lines, and many other driving techniques.

As with any cutting edge technologies, driving games have impressed at each stage of their development, but they have had to evolve to stay ahead and realistic. This they have successfully done,and in so doing have endured to this day commanding a huge global following.

If you grew-up driving Gran Trak 10 or the first Gran Turismo, the grand daddy of them all,or Pole Position (1982), the graphics were spellbinding for their time,and now we have Gran Turismo 5 … and others. This evolution in graphics,audio and A1 is entertainingly covered in the The Driving Games Manual. You will also be able check-out all time best driving game titles and The Driving Games List of more than 400 releases for both arcade and home since the early 1970s.

For me (and clearly for Bruno Senna who provides an insightful foreward) The Driving Games Manual is a must. Excellent value from most main book retailers, this book will keep you entertained for hours and hours.

If you wish to purchase a copy online- and what a Christmas gift!- you can go to Driving Games Manual: The Ultimate Guide to All Car-based Computer and Video Games

Haynes Publishing have put together a must-have Desk Diary for 2009. One week to view,there is a planner for each month which has dedicated to it an incredible cutaway illustration of a classic car from the 1960s,1970s,or 1980s. Represented in Terry Davey’s unmistakable style are the Peugeot 205 (January),Ford Escort Mexico (February),Datsun 280 ZX (March),Rover 3500 (April),Pontiac Firebird(May), and seven more. There is short history that goes with each monthly illustration which tell of models,engines and relevant dates,and other fascinating information for the motoring enthusiast.

Terry Davey worked for Haynes Publishing for 40 years, a period which included the last decades of the twentieth century. His amazing cutaways were drawn in pen and ink,using the basic draughtsman’s tools for curves and lines.

You can be amazed all year round in 2009 with this very fine publication,hardcover bound with an MG Sports car depicted on the cover. Maybe you owned a Hillman Imp (August), or a BMW E3 saloon (December); or, you know someone who did.

So just to give you the contents of the Haynes Desk Diary 2009:

In addition to the the monthly cutaways with planner, you are provided with

One Week To View
Year Planners for 2009 and 2010
Conversion Factors
Number Plate registration area identification letters
UK distance chart
A brief history of Haynes

Oh,and I almost forgot, the endleaves are very attractively decorated with small images taken of front covers from various Haynes Publications.

If you need to follow the days carefully next year, and to have plenty of space to write notes, be also amazed each month, as you turn the pages to a new cutaway. Click hereHaynes Desk Diary 2009

If you are taken by the cutaways produced by Terry Davey then you should have a look at another Haynes publication as well which shows more of his work in:
The Classic Cutaways, click for the inretrostore website

Formula 1: The Book of Formula 1 Top Tens

This pocket treasury of Formula 1 facts and figures is a must for the motor racing fan of any age. At 192 pages, this book is easy to read, handy-sized , and a real ‘put-down and pick-up again soon’ sort of a book. It is written by Roger Smith who knows his sport having over fifty years of intensive study,and attendances at Grand Prix, in his pit.

As well as the ‘Top Ten ‘ key facts of who won what,where,when,and in what car, since the beginning of Formula 1 in 1950, you will be amazed at the many other top ten category rankings like : most poles at home grand prix,most victories by driver nationality,most successful tyre manufacturers,furthest winning margins, and so on.

The ‘Top Ten ‘ in each of category , including the weird and wondrous past happenings on the race circuits , is listed on the right hand page , facing fuller and insightful revelations in facts and figures on the left hand side. You can read or flip pages, at your leisure. Facts and figures abound. Over 200 magnificent drivers,50 great cars and 40 wonderful race circuits are covered in this mine of motor racing information.

So be there again at Long Beach in 1983 , when John Watson, from 22nd place at the back of the grid, took the lead in the 45th of 75 laps to win.Or, perhaps,you recall when Michael Schumacher pipped Damon Hill by 1 point for the Championship in 1994.Raikkonen,of course,did the same to Hamilton last year. Lewis Hamilton, in his short F1 career,is ranked in another fascinating section in the top ten of the greatest wet-weather victories ever, when in this year he won at Silverstone. I could go on…

It is a pity that the tight publication deadlines for this excellent book meant that the reporting of Lewis Hamilton as the youngest ever F1 Champion could not be included, and in its appropriate place. But that’s life for you, it carries on apace… like racing. The book is not any the less for that, as an incredible resource of Formula 1 motor racing history.

You should treat yourself,or another, to this fun fest of handy motoring knowledge. The Book of Formula 1 Top Tens is published by Haynes Publishing (I shall be reviewing another of its great titles very soon) and you can buy it by clicking here The Book of Formula 1 Top Tens

You may want to collect items from the 1970s. You may like them for sentimental reasons,their utility factor, or because,like many well preserved items they have become collectable. But how will you know what you are buying, whether what you want is an original, and is it worth collecting. Well, you may need the help of Collecting the 1970s by author,broadcaster and presenter,Katherine Higgins. Widely respected in her field,well known on the Antiques Roadshow circuit and other popular TV and radio shows on collectables,she writes clearly,with knowledge,and obvious passion for her subject: the 1970s.Here she covers the range of homestyle,fashion and leisure providing a generous description,illustration and value for each product. So, if you are wondering what that 1976 Minolta reflex camera might now cost you, or a certain maxi-dress by Karl Lagerfeld, or,indeed whether that poster you possess from the period is worth keeping,you will probably find the information in this excellent and entertaining reference source.
Miller’s Collecting the 1970s (Mitchell Beazley Antiques & Collectables)