"...a masterpiece of writing and research; every paragraph is packed with relevant information and often, many new facts."
Veloce Today.com
Read more..."Nigel Trow’s latest work - and his most ambitious yet – is a very traditional kind of marque history.
That is not to say that Maserati, the Family Silver is old hat. Far from it: Trow has deliberately set out to provide a new, definitive, record of a marque that has been poorly served compared with its Modenese neighbour, Ferrari. For your £195 you get a 900 page, slipcased, two volume history that covers Maserati’s story in two chunks: 1881-1944 and 1945-2015. It’s almost entirely illustrated in monochrome; however, as the jacket of volume two states, ‘[this] is primarily an accurately researched and argued text, not a coffee table picture book’.
So, yes, aesthetically it does come across more as an academic tome than as something you would keep on your bedside table. The author’s text is far from dry, though (and the font and layout blessedly easy on the eye) so pick a page at random and you will quickly become engrossed by whatever part of the Maserati story is being discussed: a race car, a personality, police shooting protesters outside the company foundry in 1950…As you can see, Maserati’s fortunes were inextricably linked with Italy’s wider social and historical context, and we found the WW2 years particularly fascinating: there was a plan for Italy to convert many vehicles to battery power, and Maserati built a number of electric lorries, how we’d love to find one.
Apparently it took 14 years for Trow to research this book. Buy your copy now, because it’s certain to be worth considerably more in years to come."
Octane Magazine
"Nigel Trow has been very close to Maserati for many years, which has its dangers as well as its advantages, but he has put the last 15 years to good use, and his access to Maserati ‘insiders’ has produced the most thorough account of the company and its people.
It takes two volumes and 845 pages to achieve a comprehensive portrait of the Maserati and Orsi families and the company they established and saw through in both good and bad times. Trow has managed to bring the personal histories and the social, cultural and political background together in a very readable manner. I like his ‘academic’ and detailed approach to history, and to do that in an Italian context is not easy.
The volumes are divided into two periods: 1881 to 1944 and 1945 to 2014. Road cars and moderns get fair treatment, though more in telling the developmental tale of the company, so this is not a detailed catalogue of every model (that would be another two volumes…). The text is augmented with superb photos, colour and black and white; the older shots are so atmospheric. What has been achieved is a genuine feeling for what Maserati has meant to racing, to the Italian car world. To me, a non-expert Maserati fan, is the story of a ‘real’ family, told in impressively fine detail."
Auto Italia
"Once again, a book on a subject that one might think there was nothing new left to write but a dedicated researcher will always find new information and might also put right oft repeated but inaccurate theories. Nigel Trow has done both of these things.
The author’s style is clear and concise while still being entertaining; it will, however, need several sittings to read both volumes. Perhaps the first ‘reading’ will involve looking through the pictures; whilst many of them have been seen before, some are unknown to this reviewer but all have reproduced well on the 170gsm silk art paper.
This is an enjoyable book and will give pleasure of ownership because of the production quality, and can certainly be recommended to enthusiasts for the Maserati marque and those with an interest in motor racing up until the 1960s. The book is concluded by a comprehensive list of Maserati racing victories in date order, the final one being in September 2009. This is followed up by a full Maserati technical specification listing all models up to the Ghibli 3 diesel of 2014, finally there are two pages of bibliography and a proper, comprehensive index."
VSCC Bulletin
"When you’re cataloguing the history of a marque that specialises in stunning machines, the book needs to look the part. Nigel Trow’s Maserati, the Family Silver certainly does. The title is actually two separate books, one covering the Italian manufacturer’s past from 1881 to 1944 and the other dealing with 1945 to 2014. This makes the £195 price tag less eye-watering than it initially seems, especially when the quality of production is taken into account.
The classy feel is ably backed up by the words that cover the thick and expensive paper. The book begins with a letter from ‘Bentley boy’ Sammy Davis’s son Colin, which sets the warm, inviting and informative tone of the following 900 pages or so. The story of Maserati itself meanwhile is told in a way that displays Trow’s obvious knowledge and passion for all racing and cars.
The accompanying photographs are equally as absorbing. Black and white archive shots with Sicilian backdrops are always pleasing, but each shot deserves its place and commands your timer. Just like the book as a whole."
Motor Sport