John Myers. Crankhandle Club. South Africa.
...A very important contribution to the story of the motor industry... Learnt a lot. Enjoyed the book.
As an ex-Morris Commercial Cars apprentice from 1963 til 1968 this book has filled so many gaps. For someone like myself it is an absolute mine of answers to the questions of why did that happen. This book is tremendous, I just could not put it down.
I have just re-read Brick by Brick and enjoyed it as much, if not more than the first time. I was almost overwhelmed with the details, far more than is usually the case. Your research was clearly extensive and, unlike so many authors who discard much of what they've gathered and use, at best a paragraph or two, you often go into far more detail, perhaps a page, two or half a chapter! For me, your book will, I know become a source of reference for years to come.
"A fascinating and easy read."
"The author's depth of knowledge and obvious affection for his subject matter make this not only a work of great scholarship, but really a eulogy for the lost empire that was the British motor industry. The sweep of the narrative takes in the greater part of the 20th Century, straddles continents, visits battlefields and eavesdrops on many of the greatest public figures of the era. Here, picked out in the sharpest relief, is high drama, political machination, social upheaval, sexual intrigue and the slow, painful, but inevitable - given the circumstances - demise of a once-great industrial base.
The author brings the authority of long familiarity and painstaking research to the subject, yet he engages the reader and the book remains a fascinating and easy read throughout.
This is an important book in so many ways. Highly recommended.
"You have produced a masterpiece of objective journalism...very fair in your judgements and totally honest in your analysis."
"Martyn Nutland's books are always thoroughly researched and are easily read despite the apparent academic subject matter... Nutland portrays him as a vibrant character and a more than able engineer. This book is a must for anyone at all interested in the British Motor Industry and gives excellent background to an enigmatic, and probably, much maligned figure.
"...a vast amount of research has gone into it - its packed with detail... I'm sure Austin, Morris, and BMC enthusiasts around the world will find it very interesting"
" really enjoying the book. It's more than just a biography - it' s almost a social history of the period."
"You have done an excellent and important job with the book."
"...Martyn Nutland's biography tempers an evident sympathy for his subject with a welcome rigour in his researches. The resulting analysis of the major forces in Britain's motor industry in the decades of Lord's working life produces nuggets which will be valued by both the social historian and the motoring enthusiast. The description of Lord's involvement with Austin in the prelude to war is particularly revealing.
A well considered and long overdue portrait of a fascinating life - worth every penny!"
"It does exactly what it says on the cover".
It's not a simple history of Austin's various products, explaining Leonard Lord's involvement in them per se, more a hugely comprehensive analysis of the man himself. In fact I was initially disappointed by the tiny number of photographs of vehicles. But then there are numerous other publications summarising the timeline of the Austin products and to include it all here would have been a distraction.
The amount of research, prior to publication, must have been enormous. Much of it dispells unfounded rumour and gossip printed previously about Lord and as such does the motoring history world a great service."
"...I am positively thrilled because in-depth research has resulted in a formidable biography that provides fascinating detail about a significant period of motor car manufacturing in the United Kingdom."
"Leonard Lord, is a tour de force! The stories, are fascinating and informative. Clearly a huge amount of work has gone into this book, buy it, you will enjoy it! I am off to read it again, not many books I do that with these days."
"I am very impressed, it is a far more comprehensive volume than I expected. The work, research, involved is commendable and it is written in such an ‘easy to read’ manner."