The latest releases for curious minds

The  History  of Speed

THERE’S NO SUCH THING AS TOO FAST

■ Author: Martin R oach

■ Publisher: Simon & Schuster

■ Price: £25 / $46 .66 

■ Release: Out now

Breaking land speed records is a curious profession to most people who stay safe and comfortable in their daily lives. Actively pursuing activities that have a high risk of serious injury or death can seem like a perverse pastime, but that doesn’t stop millions of motorsport fans from watching the F1 Grand Prix every year. And neither did it put millions more off supporting the ThrustSSC team in the pursuit to develop the world’s first supersonic car in 1997, when it set a land speed record of 763 miles per hour – a record that still stands over 20 years later.

Bestselling author Martin Roach is a speed nut who has been following motorsport and the bleeding edge of competitive racing for decades. In The History of Speed, he brings his vast knowledge of the automotive industry and a passion for the adrenaline thrills of recordbreaking vehicles together. Chronicling the people, vehicles and places that have become legendary over the last century or so, Roach packs this coffee-table hardback with all the stats and facts that How It Works readers love to learn about. For example, what it feels like to crash in a vehicle that’s travelling at over 360 miles per hour, who was given the world’s first speeding ticket and how a record-breaking car can generate temperatures in its engines that equal the inside of an active volcano.