Blood Sweat and Tyres: The Little Book of Motoring

With a quarter of million cars a day crowding onto the M25, and millions more standing nose-to-tail on our A-roads, Britain is now officially Europe's largest car park. In Germany it's illegal to drive on a motorway at less than 37mph, but in south-east England it can be a struggle even to reach such a speed during daylight hours.

You know how it is. Over-stressed, over-taxed, with petrol at how-much-a-litre and still rising, and the morning and evening rush hours rapidly merging into one, UK motorists have now become slaves to the machine rather than its master. People, even so, are still keen to go places – according to the Times the A-Z to of London is the most shoplifted book in Britain – and tragically there is still no better way of doing it than by car.

Written with the mad, suffering millions in mind, Blood, Sweat & Tyres is the antidote you've been waiting for. Casting a wry eye over the world of modern motoring, and highlighting some of its strangest and more bizarre aspects, it seeks to put the sheer awfulness of driving anywhere into some kind of sensible perspective. Failing that it might at least give the victims - motorists, their passengers, friends and families - something funny to read and to reflect upon whilst they wait for the road ahead to clear.

Book Author

David-long Well received by reviewers and readers alike, David Long's books on London include Spectacular Vernacular: London's 100 Most Extraordinary Buildings, a sequel Tunnels, Towers & Temples: London's 100 Strangest Places, and the popular Little Book of London. The trio reflects the author's longstanding interest in the quirkier, lesser known aspects of the city, its long history, streetscape and architecture, and since 2006 he has published a number of other books on related subjects together with two more volumes in the Little Book series. A writer and journalist since graduating in the 198...
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Book Reviews

  • Daily Express
    "The perfect present, packed with fun facts, trivia and interesting information."
  • Mayfair
    "Like an incredible all-knowing sat-nav for the classic-car-considering individual Mayfair’s mighty man of motoring, David Long, is here to guide you."
  • Daily Telegraph
    "Contains all the information necessary to compile at least 100 motoring based pub quizzes."
  • Sunday Times
    "A mass of useless (but invariably absorbing) information…What a fascinating book of things you didn’t know."