Jul 6, 2022
Please note: £30 is the special price for non-trade customers who purchase this book directly from Porter Press.
by Martin Port
When Philip Kohler left his native South Australia in 1955, his sights were firmly set on the UK, yet his continued appetite for travel eventually led him to Northern Rhodesia – a move that would ultimately see him fulfil a deeply held desire to complete a solo crossing of the Sahara desert.
With only his thoughts and the mechanical outpourings of his Series II Land-Rover for company, Kohler spent three years traversing his way across a remarkable continent that was in the midst of revolution and change – documenting his journey with his trusted Leica camera – before arriving back in London in the latter half of 1962.
The adventure provided not just new experiences, but also shaped the rest of his professional life – his photographic ability, as well as a chance encounter with John Wayne, resulting in a hugely successful career in the international film industry. Lavishly illustrated with the beautiful photographs that he took along the way, and written by award-winning author Martin Port, this new book from Porter Press International tells the story of Philip Kohler and his trans-African Land-Rover.
Specifications:
ISBN: 978-1-913089-29-0
280 x 240mm, 144 pages
Jacketed hardback
Over 300 period photographs and original documents
The Author
Martin Port has owned and run classic cars for 30 years – from humble Morris Minor to AC Buckland and Porsche 912 – but his overwhelming passion is for classic Land-Rovers.
Since buying his first as an antidote to Porsche ownership, he has travelled through Europe and North Africa at the wheel of various examples and has been the proud owner of the 1959 Trans-Africa Series II since 2016, using the 63-year-old example as his preferred daily mode of transport.
Martin has been working as a graphic designer, writer and photographer since graduating from art college in 1993 and was Classic & Sports Car’s art editor for 16 years before embarking on a freelance career in 2019.
He is author of JUE 477: the Remarkable History & Restoration of the World’s First Production Land Rover, Mini Scrapbook: 60 years of a British icon and JCB Scrapbook: celebrating 75 years of engineering innovation, and designer of Camel Trophy: The Definitive History – all published by Porter Press International.
He has written for Land Rover Monthly, Classic Land Rover, Classic & Sports Car, Octane and Magneto and is editor of the Series 2 Club magazine, Built 2 Last.