Vroom, Vroom, Old Chap
In which I geek out about old book covers with cars on them, plus the usual blatherings about words written, read, and spoken.
While doing some research to find new covers to post on my Motor Sports in the Comics blog on Tumblr I came across an excellent online collection of old British books and annuals from the 1930s through the 1950s that feature various cars and car-related topics on their covers.
One of my favorites is the modestly titled example seen above, World’s Best Boys’ Annual from the 1930s - where for some mysterious reason the passenger is jumping from what might be an Alfa-Romeo racer in the middle of a mountainside event onto a passing locomotive. Seems a bit risky to me.
The more I dug into the collection, the more I enjoyed discovering the many different variations on the titles to let you know that these particular tomes were aimed at the young man of the house such as:
Adventure Book For Boys
Boys’ Adventure Library
Boys’ Own
Collins Boys’ Annual
Every Boy’s Hobby Annual
The Great Book for Boys
Ideal Book For Boys
Modern Book For Boys
Monster Book For Boys
Popular Book For Boys
Stirring Boys’ Stories
Stories for Boys
Thrilling Stories for Boys
Our Boy’s Tip Top Annual
Warne’s Top-All Book for Boys
Given their age, I’m pretty sure the majority of them will have text stories rather than comics inside those wonderfully nostalgic covers. But I’m still going to enjoy doing the research and (comics or not) posting them on the blog over the coming weeks.
Other Stuff
Each week when I sit down to put one of these newsletters together I’m always grateful to my subscribers - you have subscribed haven’t you? If not just click the button and join our growing community of subscribers.
Word Slinging
I was honored to be asked to contribute a few words to the Data Conversion Laboratory blog recently on how to tell that your Customer Data Platform isn't working the way you think it is.
You can check out my words of wisdom HERE
Pages and Screens
Books Read in 2024 - “Ernie Pyle’s War” by James Tobin.
Ernie Pyle was the most widely read and recognized American war correspondent in World War 2. His daily columns from across the different theaters of war from North Africa, Britain during the blitz, to Italy, post-invasion Normandy, and finally, and fatally, the Pacific brought the raw sights and feelings of those on the front line home to those wanting to know what their fathers, brothers, and sons were fighting for.
Pyle’s focus on spending time with the front-line troops rather than just regurgitating press briefings gave the regular G.I.s a voice and cemented their role and struggles just to survive. As a result, he was welcomed into their ranks as a comrade.
This excellent biography reveals Pyle was in many ways a broken insecure man who never really fully understood his place and impact. It also points out that while many of his columns were hard-hitting and poignant he was well aware of what he left out or glossed over in support of the nebulous thing called “the war effort.”
As well as being an excellent biography of one particular war correspondent it also provides insight into the role and process of news gathering and reporting during a major conflict.
Originally written in 1997 this 2013 edition includes an extra chapter on how in some ways it would be impossible for an Ernie Pyle to operate in a modern conflict zone, while reiterating that there is also always the need for folks who can provide empathic support for front-line troops.
The book ends with an Ernie Pyle primer collecting a sample of columns from throughout his career, both pre-war and during his front-line experiences.
If you enjoy the books I review here, you may want to check out my Instagram account where every book I read gets a quick review as I finish it.
We’ve also updated our online bookstore at Bookshop.org with a list of the books read in 2024 to date, so you can pick up copies of any that interest you, while also helping out local independent bookstores
Podcast Procastinations
The Long Box Crusade crew invited me back to rejoin them in Sherwood Forest to discuss another episode of The Adventures of Robin Hood, but was The Challange the episode I was expecting it to be? You can find out HERE or on your favorite podcast platform.
And if YouTube is your preferred platform you can check it out below.
Bond Briefings
In the latest edition of our bi-weekly James Bond Lexicon newsletter I reflect on initial Bond encounters, say farewell to a Moneypenny, and recommend some Bond-related podcasts I’m not on!
If you enjoy the worlds of 007 and haven’t subscribed, you can join us at the link below
Before They Were Beatles Updates
The next episode of THE FORGOTTEN BEATLES podcast now live and available on your podcast platform of choice or directly at the link HERE. I
In this episode, we cover the 3 Cs - George’s stand in Vince Calandra, acapella group The Chants, and drummer Norman Chapman.
The March issue of the Before They Were Beatles newsletter in which we formally introduce one James Paul McCartney to our story is ready and staged and will be published on Monday. If you don’t want to miss out on the expanded story of the early Beatles history when they are published, you can sign up for a subscription below.
Weekly Web Round-Up
Forest Comics - The graphic novel sales continue apace with another batch loaded onto the Forest Comis eBay store over the past week. I’d recommend you check out what we have in store right HERE.
Batman On The Cover - The journey through Batman’s comics publishing history continues this week we look at the latest Batman newspaper strip adventure books published in December 1968 in Brazil.
Most of the covers on the various Brazilian titles during December 1968 were translated reprints of existing US covers, with one exception being that month’s edition of Quadrhinos which contains reprints of Justice League of America adventures under the title of Os Justiceiros. For some reason, the local artist who came up with this particular cover decided that a somewhat greyed-out Batman and his fellow league members needed to stir a pot to summon Merlin?
Where on the Web is Alan?
You can now find links to all the places you can find me online, websites, newsletters, social media, and more in a single LINKS page on my personal website.
As always, thanks for joining me this week. If you know someone else who might enjoy the contents of this week’s newsletter, or just my weekly ramblings in general - please feel free to share by clicking the button below.
See you next time
Alan J. Porter
The Can’t See The Forest (TM) newsletter is a production of Megrin Entertainment, a division of 4Js Group LLC