I approached Norm several years ago about bringing his book (all or part) back
out with no investment of time or money on his part, all he would have to do
is accept the money/royalties I sent him and he politely declined.
I would like to see him re-coop his time, money and investment in the project
(I have been down that same road a number of times myself)...and to be honest
a couple $$ to get my own Tiger out of the garage and on the road would not
make me frown either.
Plus I think the information should be out there to anyone who wants to know
more about their Tiger and the Sunbeam Tiger story.
In this the Digital Age, all is not lost and it could be handled a number of
ways such as on-demand book printing, CD, PDF download etc..etc...
My offer to him still stands.
I have been interested in Tigers for about 30 years but I never owned a Tiger
until fairly recently, and until I did buy a Tiger I never knew about TBON.
Had I known about the book I probably would have sprung $50-$60 or whatever it
was selling for, just because of my interest in the car...even without knowing
the details of the book. I bought both "Tiger, The Making of a Sports Car" &
"Tiger, An Exceptional Motorcar" long before owning one.
Paul
-----------------------------------
> From: atwittsend@verizon.net
> To: tigers@autox.team.net
> Date: Wed, 24 Mar 2010 09:19:35 -0700
> Subject: Re: [Tigers] Some thoughts on the Book of Norman
>
> Mauro (all),
>
> I just read Bill Martin's post after typing this, - but will send anyway.
> I'm not intending to hammer a point, only inform.
>
> To the best of my knowledge Norm spent a considerable amount of time
> creating TBON. There was a situation with his publisher that resulted in
> TBON no longer being printed. An email I have from him says it was a 5 year
> struggle to sell 1,000 books for $60. As best I can surmise a "labor of
> love" turned into a drawn out LABOR.
>
> About 2-3 years ago Norm sold a spare copy on Ebay. But unless he had
> private sales once prices rose (I don't think he did) that likely was the
> only profitable sale he had. In another instance there were a handful (I
> believe 10 or so) of printer error copies with a pages 101-116 missing. A
> party got a hold of these and sought permission to copy the missing pages.
> To my knowledge Norm profited nothing allowing this, though the selling
> party got $310 for my purchase of the last available printer error copy.
> Norm was even kind enough to sign my copy before it was shipped. I kind of
> equate that thoughtfulness to a sports star losing prized possessions
> through bankruptcy, yet still willing to sign memorabilia to the receiving
> party. Hopefully my limited (and hopefully accurate) knowledge is helpful to
> understanding the situation with TBON.
>
> Regarding the book. There are 371 numbered pages. Of those 371 pages 192
> pages (roughly 52%) are devoted to the register. That information is
> available on Norm's site and far more up to date. While I'm sure there are
> sections of the remaining book that are exclusive, I can say that I have
> seen similar information either on the web or in other books.
>
> In the end the escalating value of TBON took on a life of its own. Sadly
> the creator of the book seemed to find much frustration and little profit.
>
> In closing my Tiger and copy of TBON hold no monetary value. In my lifetime
> they are not for sale. Hopefully my son will continue to be a "guardian" of
> these treasures once I'm gone. Do rising values make me smile, sure. But as
> they say "it is only on paper."
>
> Tom
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