LATHAM AND THE ANTOINETTES
SOME PEOPLE—and endeavors—are just plain unlucky. Hubert Latham was a pioneer French aviator with the skills of his countryman Louis Blériot. His Antoinette VII aeroplane could outclimb Blériot’s Type XI. … Continue reading
TEMPLAR AND HIS HIRONDEL
QUICK: NAME a British adventurer who drove really neat cars. Oh, that one? The spy. Yeah, him too. And then there’s Bulldog Drummond, who, I believe, drove an early Aston … Continue reading
IN FRANCE, ITALY AND GERMANY
EUROPEAN TRAVEL at the beginning of the twentieth century wasn’t nearly as straightforward as it is today. There was no European Union and, of course, no euro. Borders mattered. Frenchmen … Continue reading
SIMON JEFFES’ PENGUIN CAFÉ ORCHESTRA
SIMON JEFFES may not be a familiar composer, however his music has been danced by the Royal Ballet at the Royal Opera House at Covent Garden. There’s a BBC Concert … Continue reading
SOCCER GOALKEEPERS ARE POOR GAMBLERS
AN AMAZING thing occurred on August 18, 1913, at the Casino in Monte Carlo: At one roulette table, black came up a record 26 times in succession. Or, then again, … Continue reading
U.S. GRANDS PRIX—LONG BEACH, DETROIT, INDY
NEXT SUNDAY, November 2, 2014, is the U.S. Grand Prix, held now at COTA, Circuit of the Americas, in Austin, Texas. In the past, Formula One races in the U.S. have … Continue reading
THEORIES OF CAT AND MOUSE
“HOW LARGE Predators Manage the Cost of Hunting” is the title of an article in Science, October 3, 2014, the weekly magazine of the American Association for the Advancement of … Continue reading
WORLD CARS 1972
TO SOME of us, the year 1972 doesn’t seem all that long ago. On the other hand, those born that year are already in their 40s. And more than a … Continue reading
JAPANESE FOLK ART
I AM a souvenir hunter. And, if our home bookshelves are any indication, I’ve been successful in this hunting. Though I’ve not been to Japan recently, I certainly have lots of stuff … Continue reading
GASOGENES AND THE MILLE MIGLIA
TO SHERLOCKIANS and other high-living Victorians, the gasogene is a piece of barware, a gadget producing carbonated water for mixing with whisky. To automotive historians, a gasogene was the answer … Continue reading
Simanaitis Says 