Alfa Romeo: View from the Mouth of the Dragon (Velocity Media's Interactive Automotive Library Series) [CD-ROM]

S. Scott Callan (Author), Kip Crosby (Author)

Book Description

Interactively follow the exploits of this legendary Italian manufacturer as it develops the engineering that put it in the Avant Garde of the early European Automobile industry. Examine the evolution of the racing car from the side-valve, to the T-head, to the supercharged twin cams of Grand's Prix Golden Age.

Digitally step back in time to navigate through the stories of the personalities, drivers, races, cars, and socio-economic times that formed this Great Marque. Through photo's and film attend the great races of the 20's and 30's; the French Grand Prix, Monza, the Targa Florio, The Mille Miglia, The Irish TT, Spa, Le Mans.

There are 540 "electric pages" to this interactive book; some pages contain up to a dozen timed animations. All pages are in full color, over 500 photos in all; modern photo's are in color and archive in B&W. Real film footage of the races of the Golden Age.
Minimum System Requirements:
Compatible CPU's:
486DX/50 (Intel), 486DX2/66 (Intel), 486DX4/100 (Intel, AMD), 486DX4/120 (AMD), Any Pentium (Intel)
Minimum 16 MB RAM, 24 or 32 recommended
85 MB free disk space
Minimum 2X CD-ROM drive, 4X or better recommended
Sound Blaster-compatible sound card
800x600-capable SVGA monitor and card (This CD has been tested with S3 and Cirrus Logic video coprocessors. We cannot guarantee compatibility. Your mileage may vary.)
Microsoft Windows 3.1, 3.11 or 95 operating system. (Not compatible with
Windows NT 3.x; not tested with Windows NT 4.0.)
Mouse or compatible pointing device.
Headphones or speakers.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Classic and Sports Car, September, 1997 :

"Make no mistake, this hi-tech CD-ROM is actually a book. Alfa Romeo: View from the Mouth of the Dragon comes from the States and traces the history of Alfa from its Darracq roots and through all the great characters such as Ferrari, Jano and Merosi. To use the book you need a PC running Windows and-be warned-it does take a little getting used to reading a book on a computer screen.

On the plus side S Scott Callan and Kip Crosby's book is an absorbing read and the big advantages of all this technology are motion sequences and subfiles on the more important figures.

An excellent 500-page "living archive' as fascinating as it is encyclopaedic." -- James Elliott, Managing Editor, Classic and Sports Car, September, 1997

From the Author

To tell the history of the automobile on CD-ROM, we had first to develop a new form of literature that transformed the traditional linear plot of print and broadcast into a multi-threaded plot. We were not interested in publishing mere electronic encyclopedias, with control-laden screens that led to statistical subfiles. It was our intent to create a new participatory experience by elaborating the tradition of the printed word with color, animation, film and sound.

"View" tells the story of Alfa Romeo by placing it in the landscape of the Early Years of the European Automobile industry. Through its narrative compositional structure we examine in depth the personalities, engineering, cars, drivers, races and socio-economic influences of the period as they impacted Alfa and its competition, on and off the track.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• CD-ROM: 540 pages
• Publisher: Velocity Group; 1 edition
• ISBN-10: 0966569504
• ISBN-13: 978-0966569506
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,192,502 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow. Simply Wow, October 9, 2001

By 

Gene Fine (Cincinnati, OH United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Alfa Romeo: View from the Mouth of the Dragon (Velocity Media's Interactive Automotive Library Series) (CD-ROM)

I first heard of this book in a review in Sports Car International magazine. As a dedicated Alfisti, I had to check it out. I was debating between the ($) printed version, or the ($) CD version. Needless to say, the CD version won. I was a little apprehensive about a "book on computer", but the authors did an amazing job. Basically, the navigation is through Powerpoint, so it's really easy to learn, once you figure out where exactly to click. Besides that, the sound and video clips make the CD worth it 10 times over. I couldn't believe some of the video, the blueprints, and such that were on the multimedia presentation. I would highly recommend this to anyone with an interest in pre-war GP racing, or pre-war Italian autos.

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow. Simply Wow, October 12, 2001

By 

Gene Fine (Cincinnati, OH United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Alfa Romeo: View from the Mouth of the Dragon (Velocity Media's Interactive Automotive Library Series) (CD-ROM)

I first heard of this book in a review in Sports Car International magazine. As a dedicated Alfisti, I had to check it out. I was debating between the ($) printed version, or the ($) CD version. Needless to say, the CD version won. I was a little apprehensive about a "book on computer", but the authors did an amazing job. Basically, the navigation is through Powerpoint, so it's really easy to learn, once you figure out where exactly to click. Besides that, the sound and video clips make the CD worth it 10 times over. I couldn't believe some of the video, the blueprints, and such that were on the multimedia presentation. I would highly recommend this to anyone with an interest in pre-war GP racing, or pre-war Italian autos.

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow. Simply Wow, October 9, 2001

By 

Gene Fine (Cincinnati, OH United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Alfa Romeo: View from the Mouth of the Dragon (Velocity Media's Interactive Automotive Library Series) (CD-ROM)

I first heard of this book in a review in Sports Car International magazine. As a dedicated Alfisti, I had to check it out. I was debating between the $ printed version, or the $ CD version. Needless to say, the CD version won. I was a little apprehensive about a "book on computer", but the authors did an amazing job. Basically, the navigation is through Powerpoint, so it's really easy to learn, once you figure out where exactly to click. Besides that, the sound and video clips make the CD worth it 10 times over. I couldn't believe some of the video, the blueprints, and such that were on the multimedia presentation. I would highly recommend this to anyone with an interest in pre-war GP racing, or pre-war Italian autos.