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An ongoing project...
LOST CIRCUITS of Southeast Asia
While Snakes & Devils was the definitive account of the Singapore Grand Prix, Lost Circuits of Southeast Asia is the culmination of over twenty-years of work on the history of motoring and motorsport in Southeast Asia. Snakes chronicled the 13 golden years of Grand Prix racing in Singapore in one packed 288 page volume with 400 photographs and instantly became the only definitive historical account of the original Singapore Grand Prix. The book, published by Marshall Cavendish, was released to the public on 9th June 2008, limited to a single print run. A special corporate edition, commissioned by TAG Heuer, was issued in conjunction with Singapore's first Formula 1 Grand Prix held in late September 2008.
Lost Circuits, a much larger project, looks at motor racing in all its forms in the region. In its original form, each chapter focused on the individual states and the events that took place there, arranged in chronological order. For example, under Singapore, the 15 or so sites used for sprints, hill climbs and circuit racing were all covered in detail, including numerous photos and illustrations that were not present in Snakes & Devils. Each of the Malaysian states was covered in detail, including the various hill climbs, sprints, and circuit races, including the failed Swettenham Aerodrome Grand Prix that would have predated the War Effort Grand Prix of November 1940. Other countries covered included Brunei, Indonesia and the Philippines, with mention of the races in Sri Lanka and India. But as with all projects, circumstances change and ideas ferment. Instead of just a single book covering all the above, the author decided to extract parts of the mss. and run them separately. The second book in the series will therefore be The Unfederated Grand Prix - 70 years of the Johore Grand Prix. This will hopefully be followed by the history for the Grand Prix held in Selangor, titled The Third Milestone. This will be followed by a book on the sprints and hill climbs of the entire region - covering Singapore, Seremban, Perak, Penang, along with the various other circuits used in the region.
About the Author
Eli Solomon has spent a lifetime, punctuated by a spell as an equity salesman in an investment bank, in the company of good and bad cars and good and bad company. His interests are varied, and his latest venture is into the world of rare Southeast Asian books with the formation of Singapore Rare Books LLP. He now spends equal time between Hong Kong and Singapore.
He has acted as historical consultant for a documentary film for Singapore television on the history of the Singapore Grand Prix as well as been a guest on TV talking about alternative investments. A short spell with a local vintage car club saw his enthusiasm for such machinery and for such clubs severely dampened by vandalism within the club (which the Hon. club secretary even referred to as "AN ACT OF TERRORISM"), so much so that he had to remove himself from any association with the club to safeguard his private property from those members who have a more sinister agenda.
In the early 1990s, his interests centered around the very early history of Singapore. A coffee-table edition of his early work on Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles appeared as The Raffles Book of Days, published by AOTO. A bibliography on Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles for the National Library of Singapore was then undertaken, soon followed by a chronology of the life of Colonel William Farquhar, first Resident of Singapore, for Singapore Resource Library.
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