Book Review

My Little Green Book of Advanced Motorcycling. By Eddy Lambah-Stoate. Published by Whitehead, Parkwood and Impact. £10.

More Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance than a Haynes manual on advanced motorcycling. Eddy Lambah-Stoate's My Little Green Book (it's green in colour) of Advanced Motorcycle is required reading for all bikers who are interested in riding safety. Robert M Pirsig's 1974 bestseller delved into the metaphysics of quality and forever linked biking and philosophy – two subjects which in the minds of all serious bikers are interconnected. Eddy's book, takes the subject of advanced biking and links in numerous amusing stories, anecdotes of riding tips.

We learn about limitless control, distance = speed x time, dipidydoodah, cluck clucking and how to retain control on a teflon roads. There are chapters called Explain, Demonstrate, Imitate - which is self-explanatory and the almost novelesque A Winter's Tale. It's high time biking had more books like this – afterall bikers are generally a cerebral lot – and if this volume saves one life, it's been worth all of Eddy's time and effort. The stalwart of the Cheddar Advanced Motorcyclists in Somerset has a gifted way of writing: dry, witty and engaging. A neat stocking filler for every biker and proof that IAM members have a sense of humour.