British entrepreneur and former Land Speed Record holder Richard Noble has signed with multiple award-winning book publisher Evro. His new book, Take Risk!, will be available as a hardback and an e-book, and will also introduce Evro to the audiobook format for the first time. Best known for Thrust 2, which brought the Land Speed Record back to Britain in 1983, and for the supersonic Thrust SSC, which set the current record of 763mph in 1997, Richard Noble has written the book to share behind-the-scenes insights into his projects and explain the immense difficulties in bringing them to fruition.
Richard Noble says:
“Without the people and companies I include in the book, none of my record attempts would have been possible. I think that their story needs to be told, to be shared with those who have followed these record attempts and who rightly feel pride that the Land Speed Record is still held by a British vehicle. I’m excited to be working with Evro to bring these stories to the world, not only in print, but in digital and audio formats too.”
Richard Noble
Eric Verdon Roe, chairman of Evro, says:
“Whether you read or listen to Richard describing his experiences, you will be captivated by his determination to overcome seemingly insurmountable setbacks. Like the man himself, his book is fast-paced and enthusiastic – it is a most enjoyable and inspiring read.”
Eric Verdon Roe, Chairman, Evro
This is a very different book from the traditional ‘speed-merchant’ genre. Richard Noble has had the ambition all his adult life to see Britain excel in engineering on the world stage. He has sought to play his part in this not just with spectacular efforts in the highly insecure world of record-breaking on land and on water but also in creating innovative new aircraft. In his book Take Risk! he tells the extraordinary stories of his 11 projects in record-breaking and aviation that all saw people and companies go out of their way to join him in his exciting endeavours — and take risk.
Key Content
- Thrust 2: The rollercoaster ride with designers John Ackroyd and Ken Norris to attack the Land Speed Record at Bonneville and how it succeeded after innumerable setbacks, including sponsor withdrawals, delays and a rebuild after a crash.
- ARV Aircraft: Creating an innovative and beautiful metal aircraft with safe forward-swept wings and a special Hewland engine, all achieved in 13 months from start-up with no design and little money.
- Thrust SSC: The momentous achievement of breaking the sound barrier on land against the odds after another fraught and prolonged struggle.
- Farnborough Aircraft: A project to create a new fast and small uber marketed taxi aircraft to provide low cost point to point on demand taxi services with 1000-mile range and potential mileage costs similar to a Range Rover
- JCB Dieselmax: Working with JCB on the diesel-powered record breaker which exceeded 350mph at Bonneville Salt Flats in 2006 and is still the Words fastest diesel car.
- Bloodhound: The 1,000mph projectile that consumed Noble’s energies from 2008 until 2019, complete with a huge education programme to enthuse British schoolchildren — until financial obstacles proved overwhelming.
Take Risk! The amazing story of the people who made possible Richard Noble’s extreme projects on land, at sea and in the air - Richard Noble Available for the first time as an ebook £7.99 Kindle and audiobook priced £16.99 Hardback Book Publication date: May 2020 UK price: £19.99 (hardback) ISBN: 978-1-910505-51-9 Format: 198mm x 129mm Page extent: 272 Illustrations: 32 photos, mainly colour
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