FEW people are better placed to take a look back at Land Rover's 60-year history than Mike Gould.

He started his career in the motor industry with Chrysler UK and joined Land Rover in 1972. Over more than 30 years with the company he occupied senior positions in most key departments including finance, product planning, marketing, sales and public relations.

As he loves fiddling around with cars, he enjoyed spending 'development' time on the production line and even went in at weekends to help build military trials vehicles.

More importantly, Mr Gould, who lives in Abingdon, sat alongside the key figures who helped shape the company - understanding, and sometimes making, the decisions that drove it forward.

On his retirement in 2002, he became a freelance journalist, writing for most of the major Land Rover and 4x4 magazines, and maintains his contact with the spirit of the brand as an off-road driving instructor.

On the eve of Land Rover's 60th anniversary celebrations, the Land Rover Scrapbook takes the reader on a voyage of discovery through the highs, the lows, the designs and the decisions that have catapulted Land Rover vehicles from utilitarian workhorses to worldwide automotive icons. With a foreword written by former Land Rover chief executive, Bob Dover, this well-designed, large format, glossy book is packed with more than 500 images, including many previously unseen photos, publicity shots, period ads and even designers' sketches. It is spiced with behind-the-scenes information, including the code names of secret projects, staff interviews, historical data, restoration stories, off-roading experiences and little known facts about the company, the cars and the people who steered the firm to success.

Having worked in almost every department of the company, most recently as UK PR manager, Mr Gould is in a unique position to bring the history of the marque to life. He describes the book as a must for, "enthusiasts and anyone who really wants to get under the skin of Land Rover".

He said: "The scrapbook style means it can either be read cover-to-cover, or delved into again and again - each time the reader is sure to find a new image, intriguing fact or snippet of information to inform and delight."

  • Land Rover Scrapbook, Porter Press International, £34.95.