Customer Reviews

Kidnap of the Flying Lady: How Germany Captured Both Rolls-Royce and Bentley

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Walk into the local supermart of bookstores, leaf through the "business" section and within five minutes know the sum total of five best sellers. The "transportation" shelves typically offer little better: business histories that read like the old notes of a reporter or minutiae on a historical marque.

Then comes Richard Feast, with his compelling saga of the world's most revered automotive name, its trials and (sometimes) self-inflicted tribulations, linked carefully and accurately to the industry around it and to the particular travails of British industry in the second half of the 20th Century. Filled with first-rate reportage and wonderful characters, it is a wonderfully spun, brilliantly paced history that no doubt will become a reference work for generations of car lovers and business watchers.

This book is fantastic. It is a well researched look into the long chain of events that allowed the Germans to buy two prized English Legends, Rolls Royce Motorcars and Bentley. The author does not wag his finger or denounce the Germans from taking Rolls Royce away from the Brits. He lays it on the line. He details the bad decisions and market forces that eventualy forced the English automaker's hand. This book must be read for its look into the automotive industry. This book is not filled with dreamy eyed descriptions of "the best car in the world." The various executives who speak in the book are realistic in describing the problems Roll Royce had suffered over the years, regarding build quality and financial issues.