Like the title says, this is a celebration of the Mini — and not the definitive Mini book. In fairness to the publisher it is a relatively inexpensive book, with some great illustrations and photography. If you are into Minis it doesn’t tell you a lot you won’t already know, and as such that just makes it another Robson pot-boiler. If you are interested in Minis and their history, but don’t know much already, this book would be a fabulous start. It looks good and it’s well designed, but unfortunately it looks so good — and given an author with the resources of Graham — you’re just left thinking about what it hasn’t got, rather than what it has. Robson clearly doesn’t like Issigonis, but doesn’t do a pen portrait on any of the Mini’s progenitors so you never find out why. Pen portraits on Len Lord, Issigonis, Alex Moulton, John Cooper and the many other personalities involved in the car, or who made their name with the Mini, would have served to illustrate the story better than a load of dry facts.
Apart from an interesting bit on the Innocenti, there is nothing substantial about the car’s production in other parts of the world.
