Until my good friend and Brit-car enthusiast Nigel Matthews brought me up to date, I hadn't realised that this year marks the Land Rover's 60th anniversary. Like most folks who watch movies and adventure travelogues I tend to relate Land Rovers to treks across barren deserts or through the jungles of Africa. I've never driven one and the only time I was a passenger was during a vacation in the tiny Caribbean island of Besqui where our driver never departed from paved roads. Regardless, I admire its rugged, go-anywhere character and totally functional appearance.

There's quite a story behind the Land Rover's history, thus it seems appropriate that the company has just launched "Born in Lode Lane," a book written by one of Britain's best-known motoring journalists, Gavin Green, bringing together behind-the-scenes recollections of Land Rover's history with anecdotes from Roger Crathorne. A Land Rover employee for over 45 years, Crathorne was born in April 1947 in Solihull Hospital, a mere mile from what was to become Land Rover's historic manufacturing plant on Lode Lane. The same month, incidentally, that the Wilks Brothers conceived the first-ever Land Rover vehicle.

Having served as an engineer for 15 years, he is now widely regarded as one of the world's best off-road drivers and instructors and is expert in demonstrating the vehicle's all-terrain capabilities. He has trained royalty, was deeply involved in the development of the original Range Rover, turned off-road driving into a science while traveling to all four corners of the globe... from the muddy tracks of Britain's Eastnor Castle to Central American volcanoes and Sahara sandhills. The book includes interviews with the likes of managing director Phil Popham; Spen King, the father of the Range Rover; and renowned explorer and adventurer Sir Ranulph Fiennes, all of which provide a unique insight into Land Rover's past and its future. "Born in Lode Lane" goes on sale from April 28 at Land Rover Gear. All proceeds to the British Red Cross.