FRÈRE
As well as being a successful race driver, Paul Frère was the most respected automotive journalist of his generation. Until the advent of Aichele’s Porsche 911 Forever Young Porsche, Frère’s was indisputably the standard and most complete history of the 911. Frère was a lucid writer with an exception strength on technical presentation. Unfortunately as his books moved through additional additions, they were not rewritten, rather additional paragraphs were inserted. Several back editions including the First Edition are available at Blocks books.
TITLE Porsche 911 Story ed 8
AUTHOR Frère
ENGLISH
ISBN 10 1844253015
ISBN 13 9781844253012
PRICE $36.00
LIST PRICE $44.95
OUT OF PRINT -- NOT CURRENTLY AVAILABLE @ BLOCKS BOOKS
Includes first generation of 997.
TITLE Porsche Boxter Story The Entire Development History
AUTHOR Frère
ENGLISH
ISBN 10 1844250091
ISBN 13 9781844250097
PRICE $28.00
LIST PRICE $34.95
IN STOCK @ BLOCKS BOOKS
TITLE My Life full of Cars
AUTHOR Frère
ENGLISH
ISBN 10 1859606709
ISBN 13 9781859606704
PRICE $32.00
LIST PRICE $39.95
IN STOCK @ BLOCKS BOOKS
FROM MY REVIEWS IN THE 356 REGISTRY:
Paul Frère has written some of the most important books for the Porsche Library, including PORSCHE 911 STORY, now in its 6th edition, and THE RACING PORSCHES. He is also the favorite road tester or new Porsches for ROAD & TRACK. He won LeMans in 1960, driving for Ferrari. However, reading his new autobiography, MY LIFE FULL OF CARS (list $39.95), it is apparent that he is much more of an all rounder. He won his class in the Mille Miglia in 1953 driving a Chrysler Saratoga. The race is interesting in that it was a standard car with Torqueflite but absolutely without brakes for the last 400 (of 1000) miles. Frère was racing it, after Jaguar turned him down with a Mark VII. He beat a privately entered Mark VII by 2.5 hours. In 1956, he was offered a 300SL by Neubauer, Rennleiter of the Mercedes team, and a Dauphine 850 by Renault. Having recently been injured in a big time accident in a Ferrari sports racer, he opted for the Renault – “which was quite quick for such a little car: however, it retained the disastrous standard rear suspension with the result that I rolled it and ended up in a field. The car was not hopelessly damaged, though the front wheels toed slightly out; it was put back on to the road with the help of spectators and went on to finish the race… Gilberte Thirion, the Belgian girl driver … drove brilliantly to win the class.” Gilberte Thirion was better known for her exploits in a Gmund 356SL. In 1957 Frère again drove a Dauphine, this time with a modified suspension (still basically a VW/Porsche swing axle), took second in class by 3 seconds after a clutch adjustment and beat his time in the Chrysler.
Frère owned both a 356A super and then a 1960 S-90. He thought the 356A an overall better car. Specifically, he didn’t think the camber compensator helped the handling, but made the car ride poorly. MY LIFE FULL OF CARS has less 356 Porsche content than a 356 aficionado would want but is fascinating precisely for it’s broad range.
TITLE Porsche 911 Story ed 7
AUTHOR Frère
ENGLISH
ISBN 10 1859608396
ISBN 13 9781859608395
Includes 996.
TITLE Porsche 911 Story 6th edition
AUTHOR Frère
ENGLISH
ISBN 10 1859608396
ISBN 13 9781859608395
OUT OF PRINT -- NOT CURRENTLY AVAILABLE @ BLOCKS BOOKS
TITLE Porsche 911 Story 5th edition
AUTHOR Frère
ENGLISH
ISBN 10 1852605022
ISBN 13 9781852605025
PRICE $20.00
OUT OF PRINT -- AVAILABLE @ BLOCKS BOOKS
Includes early 993.
TITLE Porsche 911 Story 2nd editIon
AUTHOR Frère
ENGLISH
ISBN 10 0850594820
ISBN 13 no ISBN 13
PRICE $75.00/$50.00
OUT OF PRINT -- NOT CURRENTLY AVAILABLE @ BLOCKS BOOKS
TITLE Sports Car & Competition Driving
AUTHOR Frère
ENGLISH
ISBN 10 0837602025
ISBN 13 9780837602028
PRICE $15.00
LIST PRICE $17.95
IN STOCK @ BLOCKS BOOKS
Reprinted basic and standard primer of high performance driving -- originally written in the 1950s -- not much has changed.
TITLE Porsche 911 Story 1st edition
AUTHOR Frère
ENGLISH
First Edition
ISBN 10 0668039647
ISBN 13 no ISBN 13
First Printing
PRICE $75.00
Later printing
PRICE $50.00
OUT OF PRINT -- AVAILABLE @ BLOCKS BOOKS
TITLE Porsche 911 Story 3rd editIon
AUTHOR Frère
ENGLIS
ISBN 10 085059605X
ISBN 13 9780850596052
OUT OF PRINT -- NOT CURRENTLY AVAILABLE @ BLOCKS BOOKS
TITLE Porsche 911 Story 4th editIon
AUTHOR Frère
ENGLISH
ISBN 10 1852601280
ISBN 13 9781852601287
OUT OF PRINT -- NOT CURRENTLY AVAILABLE @ BLOCKS BOOKS
FROM MY REVIEWS IN EXCELLENCE MAGAZINE:
Frère has for years written the best 911 history -- think of it as the New York Times of Porsche 911 history; as the book of record. His latest edition, the fourth, stats with quotes by Ferry Porsche in light print and commentary by Frère in dark, but within a page or two, light and dark lines become randomly interspaced. I found this distracting, though it did provide some play value as I tried to make sense of the pattern -- finally I decided there was none.
The third edition, printed in 1983 was 227 pages, while Frère’s newest edition is 288 pages. And the list price hasn’t increased at $30.00 -- though the original 1976 edition was only $15.00. New are 16 pages of color.
Frère takes the 911 from its earliest glimmers as the type 7 (aka Type 695) of 1958, with its 911 front end and Karmann 356B notchback tail, 745 and 821 engines, step by step to the Carrera 4. Included are vast amount of technical data: cross sections, coefficients of drag, valve timing charts, endless power curves and multiple appendices.
There are probably no more than a dozen of us who read Frère like a novel, and Bruce Anderson gives a much more readable overview at half the price, but if you really want to know your 911s, there is on other choice.
TITLE The Racing Porsches A Technical Triumph
AUTHOR Frère
ENGLISH
ISBN 10 0668029722 / 085059121X
ISBN 13 no ISBN 13
OUT OF PRINT @ NOT CURRENTLY AVAILABLE @ BLOCKS BOOKS
The best technical analysis of the 904 through 917 sports racers.
TITLE Porsche Racing Cars of the 70s
AUTHOR Frère
ENGLISH
ISBN 10 0668051132
ISBN 13 no ISBN 13
OUT OF PRINT @ NOT CURRENTLY AVAILABLE @ BLOCKS BOOKS
Superb follow-up to the Racing Porsches a Technical Triumph, covering the cars of the 70s including the 971/30, 934-935 and 936
TITLE Porsche 911 Story ed 9
AUTHOR Frère, Drone
ENGLISH
ISBN 10 No ISBN 10
ISBN 13 9781844259908
OUT OF PRINT -- NOT CURRENTLY AVAILABLE @ BLOCKS BOOKS
Includes 991.
