Jupiter’s Travels in Camera

Ted Simon’s picture book has finally come to fruition. All three pounds of it have popped out of the printer’s womb, and I couldn’t be more delighted. Creating it, over the last six months, has been like living that wonderful adventure all over again. Writing fresh words to accompany more than 300 pictures took me back as nothing else could. And seeing those old Kodachrome slides turn into spread after spread of glorious colour, under the brilliant direction of Erdem Yucel, was truly exciting.

Please forgive a father’s enthusiasm. The book has been a twinkle in my eye for nearly forty years. In the year 2000 it almost came to life, but there were technical difficulties that couldn’t then be overcome. Now at last, and just in time for the 40^th anniversary of the journey itself, technology triumphs and the dream has become a reality.

The book is in a square format, ten inches by ten inches, and has 256 pages. It is already on the market. The cover price in the UK is £30 and in the US as close to $50 as dammit, but Amazon of course has its own ideas.

As I write I am actually on my way to the Greek Islands, riding that same old Funduro that I’ve been using – and crashing – in Europe for many years. When I come home in October I’ll have the book on my web site at the proper price because that’s what you pay for my signature and dedication. I have no illusions that Amazon won’t outsell me.

However we, the Ted Simon Foundation, have plans to create a limited number of special editions to bolster our funds, which are currently somewhere close to zero. So if you are looking for a way to help us along, you might want to hold off for a bit. There will be goodies.