Product Description

Like the modern-day gladiators of motorcycle speedway, author, observer and minutia obsessive Jeff Scott goes round in circles, Shifting Shale - just like his fearless heroes. Reading Jeff Scott, there are no brakes. To stop, you have to throttle off and put your foot down. But the buzz is so captivating, it is a very hard thing to do.

And when he leaves his tableware to the elements and wanders into the pits, the bar, car park, centre green or up to the referee's box, once more, you are actually there.

Elsewhere, he enjoys being a guest of Sky Sports at the prestigious Speedway Riders Association end of year bash, a day astride an actual speedway bike at Sittingbourne Speedway, comparing sales figures with legendary former riders, hobnobbing with riders on the Isle of Wight ferry and even spending the night sleeping with two speedway riders at the Norfolk Arena ...

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #369626 in Books
• Published on: 2007-07-05
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 344 pages

Review
"Nobody else writing about speedway at the moment can capture the speedway experience in the way that Scott can. As always, the beauty of his work is in the description of the minutiae - fleeting conversations are recorded in full and the sentiments expressed subjected to analysis" --Speedway Plus

"The book reflects the authors unique appreciation of a dangerous sport. Jeff Scott is a talented author, the like of whom speedway has not seen before. His ability to show appreciation, describe and narrate about speedway makes Shifting Shale a must for all who claim to have an interest in this spectacular sport" --John Hyam, South London Press

John Hyam, South London Press, 19th July 2007
Scott is a talented author, the like of whom speedway has not seen before.
His ability to show appreciation, describe and narrate about speedway
makes`Shifting Shale' a must!

Brian Owen, Argus, 14th June 2007
Captures the ambiance, from the humorous to the humdrum, of the
nation's speedway tracks....outstanding shots

Customer Reviews

A real gem
Speedway is a funny sort of sport: staged in some rather downmarket stadia; unloved by the mainstream press; looked down upon by terrestrial TV; under financed - the list goes on.
Yet it attracts the most wonderful people. Riders, management and fans form a community quite unlike any other sport in our country. This book, Jeff's third on speedway, captures the essence of this sport as it catalogues, through hundredes of colour photographs, a speedway meeting developing from an empty stadium through to the climax of the action. It is a joy for speedway buffs to see how many tracks they can identify; it is also a pleasure for someone new to the sport, capturing, as it does, so much of that unique atmosphere and friendliness that speedway embodies.

A great present for speedway and non speedway fans.

Great Scott - he's done it again!
When the nights draw in and the tracks go silent around the country, speedway fans look to the coming spring and the start of a new season. Those months of deprivation can be painful but the pain can be lessened with a copy of Jeff Scott's terrific book, "Shifting Shale". In his inimitable style (no holds barred here) he takes the reader through the 2006 season in prose and photographs. It's a wonderful journey, full of the characters that he meets and the stories that he hears.
This isn't necessarily a book for the speedway fan - it's a fascinating cultural history chronicling life in Britain in 2006. It's just a great read and deserves its place on anyone's bookshelf.