Automobile/motorsports book thread
Discussion
Hi everyone,
I didn't find a thread like this so I figured I would start one...
1) Only here for the beer - Gerry Marshall (1st edition is collectable)
2) one of my all time favorites although it is in french : Olivier Gendebien, Quatre fois vainqueur au Mans http://philippe.chemin.78.perso.neuf..._Gendebien....
3) everything written by Paul Frère
4) Speed was my life - Alfred Neubauer
I didn't find a thread like this so I figured I would start one...
1) Only here for the beer - Gerry Marshall (1st edition is collectable)
2) one of my all time favorites although it is in french : Olivier Gendebien, Quatre fois vainqueur au Mans http://philippe.chemin.78.perso.neuf..._Gendebien....
3) everything written by Paul Frère
4) Speed was my life - Alfred Neubauer
Speed with Style- Peter Revson;
Motorsport Explorer-Julian Hunt-2012- a guide to the 800 motorsport venues in UK - past and present;
Tiff Gear- an entertaining romp through Mr Neeedell's career;
Lost Generation- David Tremayne- utterly brilliant work about the careers and premature loss of Brise, Williamson and the sublimely gifted Tom Pryce. A must read;
Working the Wheel - Martin Brundle- surprisingly insightful guide to major circuits with lots of anecdotal stuff which is fascinating,
Karl Ludvigsen's book on Colin Chapman- fantastically well researched;
Drive On- LJK Setright - the master's take on the motorcar. Eclectic , iconoclastic and borderline bonkers;
The Death of Ayrton Senna - Richard Williams;
If you can get it the anthoogy of Russell Bulgin's work is great- there was a man who could WRITE...
Is that enough for starters?
Motorsport Explorer-Julian Hunt-2012- a guide to the 800 motorsport venues in UK - past and present;
Tiff Gear- an entertaining romp through Mr Neeedell's career;
Lost Generation- David Tremayne- utterly brilliant work about the careers and premature loss of Brise, Williamson and the sublimely gifted Tom Pryce. A must read;
Working the Wheel - Martin Brundle- surprisingly insightful guide to major circuits with lots of anecdotal stuff which is fascinating,
Karl Ludvigsen's book on Colin Chapman- fantastically well researched;
Drive On- LJK Setright - the master's take on the motorcar. Eclectic , iconoclastic and borderline bonkers;
The Death of Ayrton Senna - Richard Williams;
If you can get it the anthoogy of Russell Bulgin's work is great- there was a man who could WRITE...
Is that enough for starters?
Speaking as someone who has a house full of Motor Sports books, this is such a vast field that its difficult to just to start listing what's available without knowing individual interests. There are many pot-boilers that can be picked up for a few quid in charity shops across the land and this includes pretty much anything that Jeremy Clarkson has written.
My all time favourite autobiography is by the very much larger than life Duncan Hamilton "Touch Wood!", he was a sports car racer and Le Mans winner in the 50's, but there are biographies and (usually ghosted) autobiographies by the score available and most tastes are covered : Gerald Donaldson's works on James Hunt and Gilles Villeneuve are excellent, but I wouldn't bother with the more recent Tom Rubython biography of Hunt.
As mentioned above David Tremayne's The Lost Generation is excellent, but very sad as is Adam Cooper's book on Piers Courage. Both are well worth reading, as is Tony Brook's recent autobiography Poetry in Motion which is unusual in not being ghosted.
I've read Perry McCarthy's entertaining book as well as Tiff Needell's autobiography and Susan Watkin's book on Bernie Ecclestone. I mention all three of these as they'll probably be recommended in this thread. I enjoyed all three, but wouldn't bother to read them again so passed them on. All the books I recommended above are "keepers", all in IMHO of course
My all time favourite autobiography is by the very much larger than life Duncan Hamilton "Touch Wood!", he was a sports car racer and Le Mans winner in the 50's, but there are biographies and (usually ghosted) autobiographies by the score available and most tastes are covered : Gerald Donaldson's works on James Hunt and Gilles Villeneuve are excellent, but I wouldn't bother with the more recent Tom Rubython biography of Hunt.
As mentioned above David Tremayne's The Lost Generation is excellent, but very sad as is Adam Cooper's book on Piers Courage. Both are well worth reading, as is Tony Brook's recent autobiography Poetry in Motion which is unusual in not being ghosted.
I've read Perry McCarthy's entertaining book as well as Tiff Needell's autobiography and Susan Watkin's book on Bernie Ecclestone. I mention all three of these as they'll probably be recommended in this thread. I enjoyed all three, but wouldn't bother to read them again so passed them on. All the books I recommended above are "keepers", all in IMHO of course
psgcarey said:
Survival Of The Quickest - about a chap that drives an old Porsche across Africa. Was quite a fun read, and cheap as an e-book at the moment on Amazon.
And is a PH member who is now planning on driving a Corvette and Rolls Royce from the UK to Vietnam!More of his adventures here: http://www.bencoombs.net/
Other notable books:
- Spark Your Dream (Zapp) - A couple take a 1928 Graham Paige automobile on an epic drive from Argentina to Alaska. Great trip but the translation isn't the best and it comes across a little preachy.
- Driver (Alex Roy) - Roy (of Gumball fame) drives an E39 M5 in record time form coast to coast. Decent book, quite interesting re all the technology/prep work required for such a feat.
- Long Way Down - Ewan Mcgregor and Charley Boorman ride BMW motorbikes from John O'Groats to Cape Town.
g3org3y said:
- Driver (Alex Roy) - Roy (of Gumball fame) drives an E39 M5 in record time form coast to coast. Decent book, quite interesting re all the technology/prep work required for such a feat.
I'm glad someone else mentioned that as I really liked the book, and would say it bordered on unputdownable(sic) although I suspect that this is because he is a very good story teller. The actual subject matter is perhaps a little marmite but he has a very adept way of describing situations that hooks you into it. If anyone's read either of Paul Carter's oilfield books (Don't tell mum I work on the rigs, she thinks I'm a piano player in a w
ehouse etc) then the writing style will seem familiar. Both I would hazard a guess like to stretch reality a little and embellish what happened but hey, I don't care, it's a good read even with a pinch of salt!There are a couple of others I've really enjoyed, including the large hardback of the 2007 Peking-Paris historic rally. It's a book to dip in and out of but always leaves you wondering how you could go about doing something like that yourself.
coppice said:
Picked up Ben Collins Stig book in library- thank God it did not involve paying the man money. Unbeleivably badly written garbage- may appeal to 14 year old boys who are the only people I can think of who can cope with Collins ghastly testoterone drenched prose.Awful!
You can say the same of 90+% of all autobiographies.Most are rushed out to satisfy a flash of celebrity.
Tiffs is quite enjoyable, but andy priaulxs is pretty full and repetitive.
M
Archie and the listers:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Archie-Listers-heroic-raci...
an amazing book- very well written about a truly incredible person at the birth of formula one. Archie won effectively formula one races whithout the use of his left arm or leg which were deformed due to childhood polio.
this is the time of moss, fangio, lister jaguar, ferrari, maserati.
review from amazon sums it up better than me:
An absolutely superb read. Pick this up and you won't put it down !!! Archie Scott Brown ... what a star !! Born with horrendous birth defects did he sit on his backside and feel sorry for himself ? No.. he went motor racing and was damn good at it. Tired easily, short of breath, stunted legs, no shinbones (!!!) deformed feet, missing toes and no right hand and he still put the wind up Moss, Fangio and the rest !! Makes todays F1 stars look a bit antiseptic !!
As usual the good always die young but this was in the days of no safety regs when racing drivers were the gladiators of their day and death was pretty inevitable in a 180 mph Lister Jaguar.
The Lister story ? Brian Lister taking on the big guys Ferrari, Maserati, Jaguar etc and winning before computer aided design and big money snuffed out the small dedicated teams who were doing it on a shoestring.
Can't recommend this book more highly. It's well written, factual, funny, heroic, poignant and absolutely rivetting. Enjoy it.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Archie-Listers-heroic-raci...
an amazing book- very well written about a truly incredible person at the birth of formula one. Archie won effectively formula one races whithout the use of his left arm or leg which were deformed due to childhood polio.
this is the time of moss, fangio, lister jaguar, ferrari, maserati.
review from amazon sums it up better than me:
An absolutely superb read. Pick this up and you won't put it down !!! Archie Scott Brown ... what a star !! Born with horrendous birth defects did he sit on his backside and feel sorry for himself ? No.. he went motor racing and was damn good at it. Tired easily, short of breath, stunted legs, no shinbones (!!!) deformed feet, missing toes and no right hand and he still put the wind up Moss, Fangio and the rest !! Makes todays F1 stars look a bit antiseptic !!
As usual the good always die young but this was in the days of no safety regs when racing drivers were the gladiators of their day and death was pretty inevitable in a 180 mph Lister Jaguar.
The Lister story ? Brian Lister taking on the big guys Ferrari, Maserati, Jaguar etc and winning before computer aided design and big money snuffed out the small dedicated teams who were doing it on a shoestring.
Can't recommend this book more highly. It's well written, factual, funny, heroic, poignant and absolutely rivetting. Enjoy it.
I'm currently reading 'First Overland' by Tim Slessor. Written in 1957, it describes the first ever continuous drive from the UK to Singapore, in a pair of Land Rovers. While it's probably more 'travel' than 'motoring', it's still an amazing demonstration of just what a pair of Series 1 Landies were capable of in their prime, as well as being a great account of travel in a slower, more relaxed age. All in all, I'd definitely recommend it to anyone with an interest in overlanding or offroading.
Having said that, it's clearly not as good as that 'Survival of the Quickest' book mentioned a few posts back, but then again, what book is?!
Having said that, it's clearly not as good as that 'Survival of the Quickest' book mentioned a few posts back, but then again, what book is?!
The latest book by Reiner Schlegelmilch re sports car racing 62-73 is just sensational. Amazing pictures of everything from Targa Florio to Le Mans and the cars are just sublime. Lot of very poignant pictures of drivers like the Rodriguez brothers, Siffert , Bandini and survivors like Redman and Ickx. A huge book and a snip at £25 ish.
coppice said:
The latest book by Reiner Schlegelmilch re sports car racing 62-73 is just sensational. Amazing pictures of everything from Targa Florio to Le Mans and the cars are just sublime. Lot of very poignant pictures of drivers like the Rodriguez brothers, Siffert , Bandini and survivors like Redman and Ickx. A huge book and a snip at £25 ish.
I bought this a month or two back as well, and fully agree - it's a fantastic book, and an absolute bargain. Love the pictures of the battered and completely knackered-looking 250GTO's as they were in period, hard to imagine nowadays!I've just finished Shunt. I enjoyed it but do feel the book is a bit like a director's cut of the authorised biography.
I still can't decide if I admire Hunt but I certainly like him.
One book that I enjoyed was Rivet Head. It's about a chap working in on the production lines.
http://www.amazon.com/Rivethead-Tales-Assembly-Ben...
edit for link and wibbly spelling.
I still can't decide if I admire Hunt but I certainly like him.
One book that I enjoyed was Rivet Head. It's about a chap working in on the production lines.
http://www.amazon.com/Rivethead-Tales-Assembly-Ben...
edit for link and wibbly spelling.
Edited by duncancallum on Saturday 12th January 11:33
Just finished "The Limit" about Phil Hill and Von Trips.
I'm really enjoyed it. Seems a great insight into the ways of motor racing, especially Ferrari in the fifties and early sixties.
Very readable too.
Just ordered the Schlegelmilch Sportscar Racing 1962-1973 book on the strength of this thread's recommendations.
M
I'm really enjoyed it. Seems a great insight into the ways of motor racing, especially Ferrari in the fifties and early sixties.
Very readable too.
Just ordered the Schlegelmilch Sportscar Racing 1962-1973 book on the strength of this thread's recommendations.
M
Edited by marcosgt on Tuesday 5th February 11:46
marcosgt said:
Just finished "The Limit" about Phil Hill and Von Trips.
I'm really enjoyed it. Seems a great insight into the ways of motor racing, especially Ferrari in the fifties and early sixties.
Very readable too.
I read that just before Christmas and it was one of the best books I've read in a while. Very eye opening to a drastically different way of racing and how they valued a drivers life. I'm really enjoyed it. Seems a great insight into the ways of motor racing, especially Ferrari in the fifties and early sixties.
Very readable too.
Edited by marcosgt on Tuesday 5th February 11:46
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