Was thinking of ordering this -
http://www.bugattibook.com/qsPortal/Home.asp - does anyone know if it is going to be any good when it is released in December?

In the meantime, was going to go for Jonathan Wood The Man and Marque. Is this the best choice for getting an insight into Ettore Bugatti at present?

Thanks


SB

Hi Stuart,

Personally I think that Jonathan Wood is one of the best available at the moment. Probably even better than Hugh Conway.

I'm convinced that the Steinhauser book will be good value for money, however, this is Bugatti history up to the T28 only, so until 1921.

Still, most books leave blanks in some areas, other books in other. It depends especially on what you want to find in a book; technology, history, myths? Each book focuses in some way on one or the other. Jonathan Wood does both, and also compares with contemporary marques.

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I also like the Bradley book. Written in 1948, by someone who personally knew Ettore, it gives insight in his way of life, and the thoughts at that time.

The book by L'Ebe Bugatti is nice as well. It approaches the life of Ettore Bugatti from a totally different way.

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Vive la Marque !!

Hi Stuart

I've spoken to Lionel Decrey about the Steinhauser book, and while it is true that the book concentrates on the period leading up to the unveiling of the Type 28, it ends with correspondence from Ettore to Jean in 1936, wherein Jean is ordered to stop spending money. I suspect this stemmed from the disillusion felt by Ettore after the worker's strike at the factory.

Initially I was not very keen on this work, but I have since discovered that I am even more interested in the complex character of Ettore, than I am in the cars. I have placed an order for it and I am hoping that Mr. Steinhauser will revisit the "Ettore and the Isotta" saga. According to Bob King it was Robert Steinhauser who identified the Ettore Bugatti signature on the Isotta blue-print as being a stamped facsimile. Only 900 copies will be printed; if you can you must.

As for the Jonathan Wood book, Jeroen is searching for a copy for me. I have heard nothing but praise for his work; I believe he also authored a brilliant work on the decline of the British motor industry, called, I think "Wheels of Misfortune."

Finally, now that I have had time to reread Borgeson a few times, I realise just how perceptive Hugh Conway really is. His chapters on Ettore and his family, in Magnum, remains a source of never-ending learning for me. But I am unashamedly a Conway admirer, objectivity is not possible.

Regards
Johan

Hi,

Likewise, I am getting more and more interested in EB the man.

Am going to buy this book today and also the two Wood books - the UK Motor industry one sounds interesting - to tide me over.

Have any books been written from the perspective of someone who worked for Bugatti, or regarding the factory?

Regards



SB

Actually, I will buy 1 Wood book - The Wheels of Misfortune book is £300 on Amazon. What is it made out of? Diesel (that joke may only play to a UK audience)?

Regards


SB

Matthew's book : "Bugatti: Yesterday and Today" contains an interview with Noel Domby and a few others who either knew Ettore, or worked for him. Quite a fascinating book, essentially a collection of essays, the subjects it touches on are as fascinating as it is diverse; Fritz Schlump's last visit to "his" collection, and his loud protestations that he was robbed by the French Government is near priceless.

As to Ettore the man, be warned Stuart, you will go from worshipping the genius he was, to despising the bitter old man he became. And I still have not figured out if the fact that Bugatti, as a marque, died with Le Patron, counts as failure or achievement. A complex, infuriating, stubborn genius. Yet impossible not to love, whether because, or in spite of the man he was, I do not know. He did, however, create 8000 works of art, and in the process became immortal. Few men can claim as much.

Johan

Only after I posted did I see your second response; 300 Pounds does seem a bit steep. So I take it us South Africans are not the only ones at the mercy of Big Oil?

Shortly after 9/11, an enterprising young American held a placard aloft bearing the following : "What's our oil doing under their sand?" I know exactly how he felt.

J