A Boot Full of Right ArmsAuthor: jawapro
Date: Thu 12/05/2011 04:31 PM
Sometimes things can take on a meaning far above their own innate value.
The book "A Boot Full of Right Arms" is an excellent book - and quite a collectible one too, but it means more than that to me.
It’s the story of some Australians who took a Leyland P76 into a London-Sahara-Munich car race. It’s sort of like an early Dakar, but they did it in a large two-wheel drive family car.
The thing is, my Grandfather was very keen on the old Leyland P76s. While some people may bag them out - he had a few over the years and even his Landrover was powered by a P76 engine.
He loved this book. My Uncle (who didn’t read many novels) read it and loved it too. It was lent around the family like no book before it. It became a family classic - I’d heard about it long before I was old enough to actually read it.
I’d always imagined the ‘arms’ in the title referring to guns - but I was wrong. The competitors driving the P76 kept being told "I’d give my right arm to be going with you" - so figured by the end they could have had a whole boot full.
When I eventually read it, I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was a brilliant book with a legendary sense of humour and adventure. It deserved it’s fame.
It’s also a rare book. Evan Green is a well known Australian Author - but this particular book hasn’t been republished for a long time and is rather sought-after. It’s very hard to find - and when it does appear on eBay it normally sells for around $80.
I found a copy on eBay the other week. It was currently $20, and I thought it would sell for much more than that, but I put a bid in anyway.
Well, it turned up this week. I still can’t believe I won it for less than $30 - but more than that, it’s actually signed by Evan Green! That makes it doubly rare and I got it for a bargain! If only the seller had realised what he’d had.
So there are now two copies in the extended family. I believe my Uncle still has the original one since my Grandfather passed away - and I’ve now got this one too.
Both due to it’s inherent awesomeness, and the sense of family connection - this book will take a place of pride in my collection.
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