[Books] Book: "The Quest for Le Mans"

[Mike Dodman]

Hi all,
This book is sub-titled "Behind the scenes of the Peugeot Team Victory at the 24 hours of Le Mans 2009".
I bought it recently in a bookshop in Hay on Wye. I then discovered that, according to Amazon, it is a "rare and limited edition produced in collaboration with Peugeot Sport and never sold in bookshops."
This has aroused my curiosity!
How rare is "rare"?
If a "limited edition", how many were printed?
If never sold in shops, who was it given to?
My email to Peugeot UK Customer Relations resulted in a "suggest you contact Peugeot Sport in France" reply. My email to Peugeot Sport came back "don't know. Suggest you contact the book publisher."
My email to the (French) publisher remains unanswered.
(When I showed the book at my local Peugeot dealership, there were blank looks all round)
Is anyone on here a Peugeot enthusiast who knows anything about the history of this book and can answer my question as above?
Or give me any contact details for someone here in UK who may know the answers.
Thanks in anticipation.
Mike Dodman
(motorsport book collector)

[thetool]

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Quest-Mans-O...dp/B00ADCCJP4/

[Samoan Attorney]

Originally Posted by Mike Dodman

Hi all,
This book is sub-titled "Behind the scenes of the Peugeot Team Victory at the 24 hours of Le Mans 2009".
I bought it recently in a bookshop in Hay on Wye. I then discovered that, according to Amazon, it is a "rare and limited edition produced in collaboration with Peugeot Sport and never sold in bookshops."
This has aroused my curiosity!
How rare is "rare"?
If a "limited edition", how many were printed?
If never sold in shops, who was it given to?
My email to Peugeot UK Customer Relations resulted in a "suggest you contact Peugeot Sport in France" reply. My email to Peugeot Sport came back "don't know. Suggest you contact the book publisher."
My email to the (French) publisher remains unanswered.
(When I showed the book at my local Peugeot dealership, there were blank looks all round)
Is anyone on here a Peugeot enthusiast who knows anything about the history of this book and can answer my question as above?
Or give me any contact details for someone here in UK who may know the answers.
Thanks in anticipation.
Mike Dodman
(motorsport book collector)

It was a promotional item that was given away by Peugeot to partners, media etc., back in the day. There were French and English versions and it was paid for by Peugeot.

Jean-Marc is also editor of the Le Mans Annual, so was the logical choice to pull it together. I doubt that it is particularly rare, there will have been several thousand copies printed, most of which sit on the shelves undisturbed like mine.

I also bet that there is a cupboard in a Peugeot office somewhere in France that is full of of the books that were not sent out at the time and have been forgotten. Audi have done many similar editions since arriving at Le Mans in 1999, as have many other teams.

[Mike Dodman]

Thanks for the clarification.
Mike Dodman.

[rich07]

I'm quite intrigued by this book and looking at buying a copy, what are your thoughts on the book Mike? Good photography, much text etc.

[Mike Dodman]

As a keen photographer (amateur not professional) I enjoy looking at books which tell a story through pictures rather than words. More photos than text, lots of "behind-the-scenes" shots which convey the atmosphere and drama of the event (and the build up to it). I'm not disappointed. It will keep its place in my collection even though I'm not actually a Peugeot fan!!

[rich07]

Originally Posted by Mike Dodman

As a keen photographer (amateur not professional) I enjoy looking at books which tell a story through pictures rather than words. More photos than text, lots of "behind-the-scenes" shots which convey the atmosphere and drama of the event (and the build up to it). I'm not disappointed. It will keep its place in my collection even though I'm not actually a Peugeot fan!!

Thanks for your thoughts. I'm really interested in this because Brabs was one of the drivers of the winning car so the 2009 win was something that made me very happy. I like behind the scenes shots so it sounds like I'd enjoy this.