Synopses & Reviews
It was invented immediately after the war, in the factory a far-sighted English military man had set up to turn the German economy from making machines of warfare to more pacific products. By the seventies that dream had been amply fulfilled, as the VW Campervan became the conveyance of choice for West Coast hippies, Australian surf bums and Europeans taking the overland route to find enlightenment and good karma in India. It had also become, indeed, still is, the first choice for any couple, or family, seeking a cheap camping holiday with wheels attached. So never mind the oddly off-centre driving wheel, the vagaries of the air-cooled rear engine, the VW Campervan had become more than a vehicle; it had truly become a way of life. Mike Harding's first ride in a Volkswagen Camper Van was back in 1961, when it was the carrying around the gear and band members of his rock band the Manchester Rainmakers. Finally, in 2009, he could wait no longer, and bought his own, a 2001 Type 2 bay window Brazilian import Danbury conversion in hot orange and off white. Add in the endless curiosity of the author of eight monographs on church architecture, and the hilarious sense of humor of one of Britain's best stand-up comics, and you have a wonderful social history of the postwar years through the prism of a single transport icon.
Review
"It is perhaps fitting that the introduction to the definitive book on Volkswagen's Transporter reads like a blissed-out hippie's stream of consciousness....Someone really has to pick up the movie rights..." - MOTOR MOUTH, driving.ca"Part history, part memoir, the book is sure to delight the most diehard of devoteesâ??and fully entertain those who are merely curious." - BOOKPAGE.COM"This is a very personal and highly readable book, and will appeal equally to hardcore bus freaks as well as those who know little about the VW bus. I was sad to reach the final page and wanted more!" - VW Camper and Commercial"Harding has some great anecdotes. strangely enthralling." - Classic Car Weekly"Well written and really engaging." - Auto Express"This paen to the 'Bulli' is part tribute, part novel, part history book, and a fun route into the model for the non-obsessive." - Classic and Sports Car"It's as much a cultural history as one of the vehicle itself, Harding recalling his first dalliance as an owne, falling in love with 'Molly' on first sight in the romantic environs of Preston... A fun read." - Octane"Mike Harding's engaging account of his love affair with that icon of laid-back hippy chic, the VW Camper, tootles along as niftily as a well-preserved Splitty." - Eastern Daily Press"Love letter to a vehicle forever associated with peace signs, surfer dudes and Aussies making the overland trip to London's 'Kangaroo Valley." - Lonely Planet Traveller"Harding writes as a fan." - Camping
Review
"If you have ever owned, loved or labored on a VW bus,
VW Camper Van: A Biography is the book for you.
This history of the VW bus, matched with humorous stories, offers a multi-generational social context in addition to heart warming stories. Surfers, hippies, young folks looking for a budget vacations, people simply looking for an adventure or a home: all of them have found a friend in the Volkswagen bus.
I can and will talk for hours about my vanagon westy. I absolutely loved this book." - Boing Boing
Synopsis
A wonderful social history of the postwar years through the prism of a single transport icon.
About the Author
Mike Harding is the author of
A Guide to Tying North Country Flies and eight
Little Books for Aurum, including the perennially successful books on the Green Man and Gargoyles. He is also a high-profile radio presenter with his weekly folk music show on BBC Radio 2, and hosts the annual BBC Folk Awards. He lives in West Yorkshire.