TonyMac 720 Posted October 2, 2004 We at Backtrack and Retro Speedway are delighted to announce that John Berry's brilliant new book, CONFESSIONS OF A SPEEDWAY PROMOTER, can now be ordered direct from us! Order from us before November 1st (publication date) and you will receive your copy FIRST, POST-FREE, BEFORE it goes on sale in the shops. That's right, we'll deliver it direct to your door anywhere in the UK at the cover price of £14.99, with no extra P&P charges. Despite their premature advertising, Amazon has now confirmed by email to us that they will NOT be stocking this book and the title will be deleted from their catalogue in the next five days. Visit our website to order 'CONFESSIONS' by email, telephone or post. All details about the book and how to order can be found at our website: http://www.retro-speedway.com In our opinion, this is the BEST SPEEDWAY BOOK EVER WRITTEN. Backtrack readers, and fans of speedway in the 70s & 80s, will lap it up. Tony Mac Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
norbold 7,053 Posted October 2, 2004 It should certainly be a good book, but I'm not sure I can agree with your title of "Best Speedway Book Ever"! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Grachan 7,314 Posted October 4, 2004 So, will Robin Askwith be starring in the movie version following his trial run in Eastenders? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
StevePass 3 Posted October 4, 2004 Any one know why? taken from mail sent to me by AMAZON Dear Customer, We are sorry to report that the release of the following item has been cancelled: John Berry "Confessions of a Speedway Promoter: John Berry Reveals the Truth About Speedway in the 70s & 80s" This item has now been cancelled from your order and we can confirm that you have not been charged for it. Please accept our apologies for any disappointment or inconvenience caused. Steve Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Richard Tyrrell 16 Posted October 4, 2004 Whilst I have no reason to doubt that the book might be 'the best speedway book ever' and do intend getting a copy, I would be interested to know why Amazon have deleted it from their stock orders. Do they think it is not good enough for them to deal with? If so, why? Who do we believe? Regards Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
spiegal 294 Posted October 5, 2004 I have spoken with a vastly experienced Speedway Jouno who has read the drafts and told me the book is "superb, a marvellous read and amazingly frank and controversial" The man is a good judge and i for one have already ordered mine. John Berry was one of Britians very top Promoters/Managers with scant regard for reputations and I hear that many household names have had a good "working over" in the book. If you are fan who idolises the stars,then don't bother. If you want honesty,warts and all you will not by all accounts be able to put it down. A great Xmas gift, thos don't think certain household names will be too impressed !! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TonyMac 720 Posted October 5, 2004 Steve (and any others with an Amazon query). To clarify, Amazon will NOT be stocking 'Confessions'. This is most definitely NOT because they have any doubts about the book's quality or appeal. It is simply that we, as publishers, do not wish to supply them because their terms are unacceptable to us. They have now withdrawn their offer at our specific request. As you will hopefully appreciate, speedway is very much a niche area of the book market, where copies are sold in their low thousands and even hundreds. The margins of viability on any title are so tight that it is just not viable, as publishers, for any of our books to be sold at 30% discount. While no doubt J K Rowling and the publishers of her Harry Potter books (for example) can absorb those kind of large cover price discounts when they are selling so many millions of copies, we, as small publishers, cannot. I hope this explains the situation and that everyone understands our situation more clearly now. Finally, congratulations to 'Shazzybird' for being the first to order 'Confessions'! I'll ask JB if he can fly over from Perth to make a special presentation! Cheers, Tony Mac Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
King Jamie 350 Posted October 5, 2004 I have spoken with a vastly experienced Speedway Jouno who has read the drafts and told me the book is "superb, a marvellous read and amazingly frank and controversial" The man is a good judge and i for one have already ordered mine. John Berry was one of Britians very top Promoters/Managers with scant regard for reputations and I hear that many household names have had a good "working over" in the book. If you are fan who idolises the stars,then don't bother. If you want honesty,warts and all you will not by all accounts be able to put it down. A great Xmas gift, thos don't think certain household names will be too impressed !! <{POST_SNAPBACK}> sounds as if Mr Berry has read my book and thought "i like that kid's style, i think i'll have to write my own memoirs!" as i said elsewhere, i'll prob buy it to see what the competition for the Christmas no.1 slot is like PS there's loads of humour in my book too - hope he hasnt gone down that line as well - wouldnt want them to be too similar now, would we? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Richard Tyrrell 16 Posted October 5, 2004 Tony Mac, Thanks for the reply, I now appreciate and fully understand the reasons for Amazon not making the book available. I will be ordering my copy from the Backtrack website in due course. Regards Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TonyMac 720 Posted October 5, 2004 It should certainly be a good book, but I'm not sure I can agree with your title of "Best Speedway Book Ever"! <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Norbold, you are quite right, it's a subjective thing, and all due respect to you as a prolific author yourself. OK, so how about...the most controversial, honest, hard-hitting and eagerly awaited speedway book ever published! Who can argue with that? Tony Mac Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
norbold 7,053 Posted October 6, 2004 That's better! But I was only joking. I'm sure there are a lot better books than mine on the market already....well, not a lot.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tape2tapevideo 0 Posted October 6, 2004 We at Backtrack and Retro Speedway are delighted to announce that John Berry's brilliant new book, CONFESSIONS OF A SPEEDWAY PROMOTER, can now be ordered direct from us! Order from us before November 1st (publication date) and you will receive your copy FIRST, POST-FREE, BEFORE it goes on sale in the shops. That's right, we'll deliver it direct to your door anywhere in the UK at the cover price of £14.99, with no extra P&P charges. Despite their premature advertising, Amazon has now confirmed by email to us that they will NOT be stocking this book and the title will be deleted from their catalogue in the next five days. Visit our website to order 'CONFESSIONS' by email, telephone or post. All details about the book and how to order can be found at our website: http://www.retro-speedway.com In our opinion, this is the BEST SPEEDWAY BOOK EVER WRITTEN. I will have one please Tony, can send cheque or meet up and pay you, have to film at Rye on Sat and Reading Sunday Backtrack readers, and fans of speedway in the 70s & 80s, will lap it up. Tony Mac <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wimbledonwomble 0 Posted October 6, 2004 (edited) The best books out on speedway at the moment are: "How to win friends and influence people" By A. Dane "Out of this world" By David Norris. "Any track you travel you will still arrive" By Ole Olsen "Amateur Dramatics" By Rune Holta "My life as Saddams information Minister" By Steve Shovlar. (Sorry could not resist it Lol...) Who is John Berry anyway? Edited October 6, 2004 by wimbledonwomble Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sandman 0 Posted October 6, 2004 The best books out on speedway at the moment are: "How to win friends and influence people" By A. Dane "Out of this world" By David Norris. "Any track you travel you will still arrive" By Ole Olsen "Amateur Dramatics" By Rune Holta "My life as Saddams information Minister" By Steve Shovlar. (Sorry could not resist it Lol...) Who is John Berry anyway? <{POST_SNAPBACK}> John Berry was a tall, succesfull promoter whose stature was only exceeded by the size of his ego... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
arnieg 3,605 Posted October 6, 2004 PS there's loads of humour in my book too - hope he hasnt gone down that line as well - wouldnt want them to be too similar now, would we? <{POST_SNAPBACK}> If you want a really funny book try NL90 by John Callaghan and if you wanta really controversial book, try: NL90 by John Callaghan (JC was a contributor to Milton Keynes programmes until the MK promotion was instructed by the BSPA to stop publishing his views following a piece about a ban on Miichael Lee) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites