Birth of the Beetle by Chris Barber

[allsidius]

[Grant Reiling]

[Martin Southwell]

On the back of all of this feeding frenzy, I've ordered the book from Germany, obviously in German, for around £20 delivered, to see what all of the fuss is about. Is Chris Barber still alive? It's difficult to find out on-line here in the UK, as we have a famous jazz man, who has been around since the 50's, also with the same name, and most things point to this man.

[67ctbug]

Still living, born 1941. Was awarded the MBE in 2007 for service to the community in South Wales.
_________________
'67 Beetle L41
'74 Westfalia
'69 Plymouth "Adam-12"
'63 Ragtop
'73 914
'73 Dodge W200
'72 Dodge Wrecker
Go Cubs!
World Series Champions 2016

[Jack O'Neill]

I wonder why it doesn't get at least an e-book version, since there's obviously demand for it. I understand that it may be a little cumbersome to "port" to some electronic format, but it's better than the big pile of nothing that I currently have =(
I'm actually one of those from the whole world driving the demand up, but here in my country the chances of me ordering it and the thing actually <i>arriving</i> are close to zero. Even if I had the $$, I would not risk it. As it is, a price $299 is nearly 1k of what we pass for money back here...

[usariemen]

There is one again.
https://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/Birth-of-the-beetle-by-Ch...SwNchZ9PFH
Not too expensive.
If one still looks for one of those.
_________________
Master of my domain!

[favguy]

What would be really nice for us all would be for a kind owner to scan and upload an English edition of this book to the samba for reference

[mandraks]

[ZENVWDRIVER]

I am getting up there in age and don't want to leave my (much younger) wife with a lot of meaningless old VW stuff... sold all of my old book collection at a swap meet last summer. Kept Garwood volumes, oval parts book and 1954/55 shop manual... nice to have the space back.
_________________
5/50, pastel green 11G - SOLD
8/50, gray 11A Beetle
6/52, pastel green 11C - SOLD
11/4/52, black Zwitter - SOLD to my little bro.
1954 Porsche, pre A, with VW 36 horse- SOLD
1/54, black 11C Beetle - TRADED
2/55 Iceland green Beetle, on a 1965 pan
3/55 113 Beetle, stratos silver
1955 Messerschmitt KR175 - SOLD, sadly
1960 single cab
1962 SO33, with SO 42 interior
9/63 Pacific blue, Ghia
'87 Toyota MR2
'02 WestFORDia E-150, GAVE TO OUR SON

All super-heroes, wear a MASK

[Grant Reiling]

[Jack O'Neill]

I've actually took the trouble of writting them an e-mail.

My e-mail:

To: whatever e-mail is in their webpage presently
Subject: "Birth of beetle - new edition on e-book... pretty please?"
Message: "Hi there!

My name is Rafael Ruivo, and I would like to know if there’s any plans to release na e-book version of “Birth of the Beetle”. The book is legendary in the VW community, but the only way to get one now is in the second hand market – were a copy could fetch ludicrous prices.

I understand that a reprint for a book may be inviable if the demand is low (a few die-hard petrolheads may not be enough to justify a physical new edition), but what about an online version? The book is a treasure trove on the history of VW, and a very interesting look in that conturbated time period - or so I've heard, of course, since I don't own a copy =)

Please, consider this idea – the price of na used one is almost the price of a licensing deal!

Best regards"

The answer:

"Hi Rafael

Thanks for your interest in Haynes manuals, however there are no plans at present to reissiue this manual.

Apologies for any inconvenience caused.

Regards
Marion

TBS on behalf of Haynes Publishing"

So, it seems that queries on this subject are directed to the "not gonna happen" heap straight away. A pitty, but it seems that those absurd prices will only go up.

[Grant Reiling]

[usariemen]

That is not even a manual, is it?
I think "Marion" had no idea what you where talking about and did not want to care about this question and sended you that answere just to get rid of you.
I do not need one. The german version I get here for peanuts.
But for the english speakers, how about contacting Chris Barber? He might get an second edition running?
_________________
Master of my domain!

[KTPhil]

The descriptions and chronicling of the development are fascinating; but also the pictures are one if its best attributes. In that case, the cheaper German version will suffice, and you can use google translate on the photo captions.

[oldtimervw]

Yes, good idea.
I am bilingual so my German language version is just fine. I only paid €14 for a new one.
Use google translater or whatever to read what you want. Its a lot cheaper than what the used English language ones are going for.
Its a great book.
I wonder how many others have used it for their reference when writing their own VW books?
Mike

[Jack O'Neill]

[scottyrocks]

I'd pay 14 quid for an english version.
_________________
“If you care for a thing long enough, it takes on a life of its own, doesn't it? Mending old things, preserving them, looking after them – on some level there's no rational grounds for it.”
– D. Tartt, 'The Goldfinch'

[oldovaldriver]

Can anyone provide contact information to buy the German edition? I just checked on Bookfinder.com in Germany and nothing came up. What is the German title, Geburt des Kaefers? I'd consider selling my English version and trading for the German. Reading German is a kind of fun challenge for me, and certainly seems appropriate to the subject!

[srm1956]

[Blue Baron]

Forget a reprint, how about a revised edition? If you cull through the vintage photos in this forum, there are a wealth of new KdF-era photos.
I'm sure there's also new information that must have come to light in the last 15 years.

Here's a rogues' gallery of greatest hits:

And of course my favorite.

This photo alone would be worth a revised edition!
_________________
We are striving for perfection, to make our cars run forever, if possible.

Heinz Nordhoff