Citroën DS

by Malcolm Bobbitt

In a recent review of Jon Presnell's book , I posed the question "Does the world need another book about the DS?".  There is an absolute plethora of books on this subject, and it is inevitable therefore that I should repeat this question.  Malcolm's book is however different.  It is part of the Sutton Photographic History of Transport series and therefore is primarily a photographic record although it does cover the history of the car, albeit not in as great a depth as either Jon Presnell's or John Reynold's books.

The book is full of pictures, the majority of which originate from two sources; Malcolm's own photographs and from Tony Stokoe and Brian Scott Quinn and will therefore be new to the vast majority of readers. 

Inevitably some of the pictures will be all too familiar, being sourced as they are from Citroën France.  However many of the pictures come from Slough's archives and to the best of my knowledge have never been published before.  Other sources include contemporary motoring magazines and these will therefore be unfamiliar to younger readers.  The British sources of many of the photographs inevitably means that there are large numbers of right hand drive cars featured which is no bad thing since the majority of books on the DS major on French built cars.  This book therefore forms a welcome supplement to John Reynolds' book "From A to X" which details the story of Citroën's UK operations. 

It is a pity that the format of this series prohibits the use of colour pictures but this gripe aside, at GBP10.99 this book represents excellent value for money. 

Citroën DS by Malcolm Bobbitt, published by Sutton Publishing Ltd.  ISBN 0-7509-2282-6.  160 pages monochrome 240 illustrations.  Price UK GBP10.99 US $19.95