BOOKS Crash: The Limits Of Car Safety Nicholas Faith (Boxtree) Given the recent spate of road accidents in Hong Kong, this examination of the dangers that lurk beyond the safety of the pavement seems timely.
Did you know that, until the age of 44, the car is your most likely cause of death? Here we are worrying about cancer and heart disease - and the biggest danger before you hit middle age is your car.
Other disturbing facts gleaned from this fascinating, if disturbing, book: in the last quarter-century, cars have killed more people in Northern Ireland than the Troubles; and, in Britain, the fire service rescues more people from crashes than it does from fires.
The book also shows how, for years, driver safety was neglected by manufacturers. In America, the introduction of safety features was resisted for fear it would draw attention to the dangers of driving and so frighten off potential buyers. The notoriously ugly Ford Pinto, an American compact, had a tendency to burst into flames when shunted from behind, says the author. Ford was alleged to have calculated that it would be cheaper to compensate burn victims as a result of the fault than to spend the US$11 (HK$85) per car it would cost to rectify the fault in cars rolling off the production line. Happy motoring everyone! Armadillo William Boyd (H/H Books) Being funny is very difficult. Being funny and intelligent is the realm of the genuinely talented author. With Armadillo, William Boyd proves he is capable of taking serious subject matter and injecting it with a dark humour that probes and exposes the foibles of the human condition.
The book's anti-hero, Lorimer Black, is a young man in what is generally perceived as an old man's game. He is a loss adjuster, one of those delightful individuals who examines whether your insurance claim is valid or not.
It is a dirty job, but Lorimer has exactly the right temperament for it. He is detached, rarely flustered, and (since changing his name and identity after an excruciatingly embarrassing drug-induced mishap at university) has very little emotional involvement with anyone, even with himself.
Rather passionless he may be, but Lorimer is in control of his life, and he likes it that way. Then one morning he goes to settle a routine claim and finds the claimant has killed himself.
