Four Wheels and Frontiers: The First Overland-Singapore to England | 
 enlarge | Authors: Roy Follows, Jayne E. Follows
Publisher: Ulric Publishing
Category: Book
Buy New: $165.53
New (1) from $165.53
Avg. Customer Rating:  1 reviews
Sales Rank: 1793594
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 200
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.6
Dimensions (in): 9.5 x 6.4 x 0.7
ISBN: 0953757781
Dewey Decimal Number: 629
EAN: 9780953757787
ASIN: 0953757781
Publication Date: November 30, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Book is brand new, and has never been opened. Thousands of satisfied customers!
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Product Description
Two English Colonial Police Officers were engaged in a lethal war fighting Communist Terrorists in the Malay Emergency when they decided to make an overland journey from Singapore to England. One year later, in February 1958, they purchased an ex-army Willy’s Jeep from a local scrap yard and set out for England. This book reflects their true spirit of adventure with no mobile phones, no G.P.S., no sponsorship, and limited maps.
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| Customer Reviews:
An incredible feat. September 20, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
There are a number of cars which stand out in my own mind as classics. The E-Type Jaguar, Morris Minor and the original Mini. From the USA, I would have to include the Model T Ford and the 57 Chevvy.
Then there was that mass produced, and often overlooked, hero of just about every World War Two movie ever made, the American Willys MB Jeep. It was not a big vehicle but it was certainly robust. Just attend any of those gatherings in the UK where fans of the vehicles and uniforms of WW2 gather, and you will find far mare Jeeps than any other vehicle from that period. That alone is a testament to a well made car.
These vehicles were, however, runabouts and not designed for the arduous conditions and continual testing demanded by author Roy Follows and his fellow colonial police officer Noel Dudgeon. Just imagine the scene; It is 1957 and these two men are actively fighting communist guerrillas in the Malaysian jungle and discussing their next trip to England for some well-earned leave. Somehow, the decided to drive that 13,000 miles and chose to use a Jeep.
Perhaps the most remarkable thing was in "deciding" to go out and purchase a Jeep - rather than use one just because they had one.
What followed was the most remarkable journey. After all, their's was a small vehicle with a soft, convertible roof (i.e. no roof rack) and they pulled no trailer. They drove through jungles, removed boulders from rivers so that they could pass, they crossed rivers on ferries which had never previously seen anything larger than a cow and bribed the guards at outposts so remote that even they had never previously seen a vehicle.
It was 13,000 miles of the most gruelling, yet rewarding and always exciting of journeys. The funny part was that they even joined the Singapore Automobile Association in case of breakdown - though, of course, they never called and asked for their help.
Roy Follows writes in an immensely readable and enjoyable style. If you know of anyone who has a passion for vehicles and adventure, this is the book for them. Buy it for them, but don't open the pages before you pass it on, because you will not be able to put it down.
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