So, er… happy 8th anniversary of the publication of this book which actually exists in the world.
It’s still in print, and you can try before you buy with the google preview which features this magnificent spanner logo
It is startlingly, gloriously, obsessively detailed — a testament to the eccentricity of hobbyists and their deep love of their subject.
One of the oddest and best things about it is that the author is also a musician who worked with Pink Floyd. One of his other books is about the making of their fifth album.
The same year, he and Roger Waters also collaborated on the soundtrack to a documentary which features this unforgettable opening track:
It’s a deeply weird record, as a glance at the song titles will tell you.
A mate of mine at school (now a GP) actually bought it when we were in the depths of our teenage Floyd obsession, and that opening track is probably the most entertaining.
But don’t take my word for it. The whole thing is on YouTube. Obviously. So, feel free to listen to Lick Your Partners and More Than Seven Dwarfs in Penis-Land and make up your own mind.
You can also see the opening section of the Vanessa Redgrave/Frank Finlay-narrated (and clearly quite odd) film:
But perhaps the greatest fact of all related to Geesin and his interest in old tools is that his first book about spanners was successful enough to warrant…
You can read more about Geesin on his website. (And you can find out more about Roger Waters on others, not least Twitter — but these days, I’m not sure I recommend it.)
