"CIRCUS LIFE" by Don Cox...a book review on a just published history of Australian Motorcycle Racers in Europe in the 1950's....

“It is a world which survives only in black-and-white photographs, and in the memories of the people who were there: the world of European motorcycle road-racing more than 50 years ago, in the 15 or so years after the end of World War Two.”

 Thus Don Cox introduces us to a fascinating photographic and literary journey with the men and occasional women who travelled half way around the world to the hub of motorcycle road racing with often only a mate or wife for company ...to take to the road in a converted truck as their "motorhome", camping in the paddocks of the race circuits through the UK and Europe...being part of the "Continental Circus" - a happy go lucky band of motorcycle racers.

For us from the antipodes reading this book, the it seems the Anzacs have arrived again.

"Circus Life" as Don so aptly named his voluminous, long overdue story, has been a love that has consumed him for some 8 years...

As we discussed when I visited him at his home the other evening to borrow the copy I've used for this review.....supplies of the book are imminent into Sydney, with a book launch on 9th October 2012, but more of this later.....
When do you have all the information? 
When have you interviewed all who were there or had photographs to share?

Judging by the copy I've seen, Don has got it together right now....

 

Don Cox has been known to motorcycle enthusiasts for many years now, publishing several books and writing articles for  Australian motorcycling journals including "Two Wheels"...and I mentioned these in an earlier preview of "Circus Life"

I'm looking forward to reading the whole book, the over 500 pages, in detail when I purchase a copy shortly, having to regrettably return Don's pre-release copy after a day.

How to get a copy?

The RRP for the book is AUD$99 with postage within Australia of $12,

Plimsoll Street Publishing Pty Ltd now presents…
Circus Life, Australian Motorcycle Racers In Europe In The 1950s
Stocks will be in the Sydney mailing house by the first week of October.
Ordering is easy!
Please email circuslifebook@gmail.com and include your mailing address.
How to pay…
Via Paypal. circuslifebook@gmail.com is the account name.
Or, directly to the Plimsoll Street Publishing account, BSB 032 298 account no. 348961. Please put your name in the Description box.
Or, send a cheque/money order in Australian dollars to: Plimsoll Street Publishing Pty Ltd, PO Box 356, Haberfield, NSW 2045
AUD$99 plus AUD$12 post & packing; handling for books in Australia, mailed from Sydney.

Don has made arrangements for those in the UK and presumably Europe to receive a posted copy from the UK, but you need to email him first on.....

 circuslifebook@gmail.com

He will reply with the postage costs to you and payment will be to his Paypal account as above....

So, lets have a brief peek at some pages from the book....a whetting of the appetite as they say....

 

Amusing incidents such as below bring a chuckle, but also show the last serious use of a works Velocette engine,gearbox and front brake from 1952 factory racers to historians.

Harry Hinton jnr and Eric Hinton....

Washing day in the paddock.....

“The experience of the New Zealand Riders largely matched that of the Australians on the continental Circus in the 1950s, right down to sharing digs at Rose Villa in the Isle of Man. The only noticeable difference was that the NZers sailed to England via the Panama Canal rather than Suez, and travelled further than the Australian to race in Europe.

The Shakey Isles produced an extraordinary number of internationals per head of population, with many success stories…”

 I've said before that if I was restricted to one motorcycle book on my bookshelf it would be Phil Irving's Autobiography, a book always beside my bed that is often opened randomly and read before I retire for the night....

There looks like another  serious contender...looks like two volumes beside me from now on....!