Land Rover

The Story of the Car That Conquered the World

By: Ben Fogle

Narrated by: Rupert Farley

Length: 10 hrs and 20 mins

Publisher's summary

As quintessentially British as a plate of fish and chips or a British bulldog, the boxy, utilitarian Land Rover Defender has become an iconic part of what it is to be British. It is said that for more than half the world's population, the first car they ever saw was a Land Rover Defender.

It mirrors many of our national traits - stiff upper-lipped and slightly eccentric. The car has remained relatively unchanged for nearly seven decades and has spawned an industry that includes dozens of publications, car shows, clubs, associations and even model car collectors who dedicate their lives to the Land Rover.

To understand this national love affair, Ben has travelled the length of the British Isles in an old series one Land Rover, spending time with Defender enthusiast Sir Ranulph Fiennes, the Royal Marines and the Dartmoor search-and-rescue teams.

His journey continues via the Bristol dockyard from where thousands of Defenders are dispatched around the world and onto the Western Isles of Scotland and Islay, the island used as a testing ground by Spencer Wilks in 1947 to put several of the early series Land Rover prototypes through their paces.

After 67 years and 2 million vehicles, the Land Rover Defender has ceased production, and this book is a fitting tribute to this most British institution, which has stood as a beacon of durability and Britishness across the world. Every Land Rover has its own unique story to tell.

This is the story of the world's favourite car.

©2016 Ben Fogle (P)2016 HarperCollins Publishers

Critic reviews

Praise for Ben Fogle:
"Funny, entertaining and really rather inspiring, too." ( Daily Mail)
"A great escapade told with refreshing frankness." ( Independent on Sunday)
"Passionate and well-researched." ( Tatler)
"A must-read for anyone with an interest in the history of man's relationship to dogs, regardless of breed, and Fogle's typical adventure-style storytelling keeps the narrative light and entertaining." ( Independent)

A mist read for every land rover enthouseist

A trully marvelous work about the history of land rover til 2016 a definite must hear

Covers it all, though jumps around a bit

Rather than a year by year chronology, this book describes phases or chapters within the Land Rover timeline. As a Series Rover owner myself, I had heard of many of the stories but not with so much detail. Plus I learned way more about others items not often mentioned elsewhere. I enjoyed it and would recommend it to other LR junkies.

Great book for enthusiasts

A great commentary on the history of LR and why owners grasp to the culture of the vehicle. I recently bought a Disco 3 and was always wondering why I always got waves, now I understand!

As a Landy lover

I own many Rovers ... this story is one I can relate to and appreciate. Excellent.

Emotional, Intriguing and Outstanding!

For fanboys and aficionados alike. This book is an excellent telling of the history of the Land Rover brand through the eyes of a man who's life has been constantly influenced by the vehicle. Obviously, the book focuses on the Series and Defenders and only briefly touches on the Discovery and Range Rover, in relation to how they helped and influenced the original Land Rover. A huge portion of the book focuses on how versatile the original Series and Defenders are. The author visits numerous people who have made a living either with their custom Rover or building custom Rovers. I had a smile on my face while listening to the entire book. For the Landy fans and motorheads, this is a must read/listen!

A story that should be told, but not by Fogle

As an owner of a Land Rover this book left me very frustrated, very frustrated. I struggled to finish listening to it for over a month. It's not the subject matter because Land Rover has a rich and varied history. It's the author. The story is jumpy. For example he will start a story and drift off never returning to its conclusion. It leaves you multiple times throughout listening shouting well how did that end, what the hell happened! He will also lightly touch on a very interesting Land Rover subject, only to hurry past and dive into another personal anecdote. His use of personal anecdotes is excessive to say the least and although they generally hover around the idea of Land Rover more than half this book leans to the personal side. He often comes off as that annoying persona at a dinner party humble bragging. He often refers to himself as a "minor or small-time celebrity". Which from a personal stand point is an instant turn off. Personally he also comes off as more of a fan boy then a genuine enthusiast. More than one of his anecdotes go on about how he discards Land Rovers throughout his life only to buy one in a moment of fancy. His wife made him get rid of his first Land Rover, and he makes a point to bring every instance that this happens to someone else to light. He often repeats himself as if trying to fill out pages, which is where a majority of my frustration comes from considering all the stories and histories he skips over or does not finish. He interviewed dozens of genuine Land Rover
fanatics, some of who were key persons in the history of Land Rover or people who own hundreds of Rovers. I wish one of them would have wrote this book. Ben Fogle primary work is with the BBC and it shows, the book often feels like a news piece struggling to fill out a newspaper than a genuine believer wanting to capture the whole story of Land Rover.