Racing Reviews

I knew B.K. Beckwith personally, and worked with him the last ten years of his life at Santa Anita. He was our television commercial spokesperson for the Santa Anita Handicap for several years, recounting remembrances of Seabiscuit. He was a consummate horseman turned journalist and writer, and had been at Santa Anita from the opening on Christmas 1934. He also wrote "The Story of Santa Anita," which was never published commercially, but used the same heroic and emotional Grantland Rice style that you enjoy in his Seabiscuit book. His memory was a treasure, and since he wrote this book contemporaneously with events, you can feel the horse come alive, as well as the people and the places. This is SO GREAT to have the publisher find this work of art, enjoyable for anyone who loves horses, or racing, of any age. The drawings by Howard Brodie -- who went on to great fame otherwise -- are superbly reproduced, and so are the historic photos. You can see the 'Biscuit's personality come through, especially when he's looking out of his personal railroad car at all the fans and cameras, and in several others!

Owner of Ponder Publishing Company, LLC, my first response after reading was 'I wish I had found Beckwith's story before this publisher did!' I was there! I heard Seabiscuit breathing. I saw him sweat, felt his determination, smelled the liniment. You could taste the air of early last century, to anguish and rejoice with one horse's determination to Keep on Keeping on, despite all adversity. Here, love touches a reader, as it touched the crowds who flocked to admire the Biscuit, in the flesh, his ample flesh. My Christmas shopping is done this year!
www.ponderpublishingcompany.com

Good for all ages.
Step back in time and stand with the crowds to watch the Biscuit fly down the track. Beckwith takes you there again as he did when he wrote this book more than 60 years ago. The writing style, the photos, and the fabulous drawings all help immerse the reader in the late 1930's time period. I particularly enjoyed seeing the real Seabiscuit and hearing what the owner, trainer, and jockey had to say at the time.
If you enjoyed the movie and/or Laura Hillenbrand's book, you will treasure this wonderful piece of tangible history. I recommend this edition highly. Don't miss your opportunity to own this gem!

I started riding streetluge after seeing this exciting sport on T.V. and I figured I could just build a 'luge and go. I went that route and I was wrong, I had a dangerous machine and no idea of the safety issues involved and was injured. After one of the top pro's told me about this book I went out and bought it and have never looked back. This book has all the information about the sport of streetluging that you will need to get started the right way. And it covers all aspects of the sport from building your 'luge to riding technique and picking roads & safety equipment. If you have any questions this book will answer them. Consider this as THE BEST resource a beginner can have (And even some of the experianced riders I know could benefit from going back and re-reading this book) So if you are getting started or just thinking about it, get this book and you wont be sorry. It set me on the road to riding in national level events and competing with the same guys I had only seen on T.V. before.

I am new to the sport, racing now only a little over one year. I have, however, been in the X-games in San Francisco, and will be again in this years 2000' event. I'm coming off a second place position in the Red Bull DHX in South Africa and am looking forward to a great season racing streetluge. I have read this book cover to cover more than once. It has helped me ride safely and faster and answered questions that, lets face it, most people don't know the answers to. Whether or not you want to ride in competitions, or just want to have a ton of fun on the street, this book will help you learn about set-up, safe riding, road selection, buying a luge, wheels, trucks, competitions etc... Most importantly.... the book may well save some skin on needless mistakes you might make. Have Fun!

Simply a "must read" for anyone who wants to luge, wants to learn about luge or is curious about this extreme sport. Well written by someone not only knowledgable about the sport, but able to teach it from the basics to the expert level.

The Technique of Motor Racing
by Piero Taruffi

Aloha,
Thirty years ago I was a driver for the "Jim Russell International Racing Driving School" out at Willow Springs, CA USA. One of the greatest times in my life. Jim Russell (JRS) at that time had schools simultaneously on five continents. We taught in so many languages that we did not have a textbook of our own. JRS was busy training movie stars and World Champions for Formula One Race Car Driving. JRS put students in signal seaters from day one! We use to order Taruffi's by the case. It had been "The Book!" for over ten years and was very hard to find. I think Harry Morrow would get them for us from England. They would sell out every time. We could not keep them on the shelf.

I use the principles I learned every time I take to the road. I believe it has helped make me a safer and definitely faster better Motor Vehicle Driver. Probably contributed to my long life, considering I am in the habit of winning on or off the track.

For decades I did not see Taruffi at all. Sometimes I would pick them up in old bookstores. I am glad for the sake of all future drivers that someone has had the wisdom to keep Taruffi in publication. Just the fact that it is around after all these years should tell you something.

Even today, you will seldom see them sold used. You will never see them sold cheap. Many driving books are about the author. Some are about street driving. Taruffi is pure Racing!! How you can drive a car faster. The essence of driving. I do not see how things could have changed enough to invalidate anything Taruffi has had to say. Decide for yourself, you can always return it.

If you have read every book on Motor Racing ever published. You will find The Technique of Motor Racing not only has a lot to offer you. It may just be the most compact bit of Racing Knowledge you have ever found in one place.

Pass Um`
-ooO-(GoldTrader)-Ooo-

What a superb book on motor racing. Mr.Taruffi excelled in giving facts & information on motor racing technique. With all the diagrams, charts & photos added, it makes this book a must for beginners in motor racing. Mr. Taruffi excelled marvellously on driving topics such as cornering, braking and even general advice relatively on motor racing. With his vast experiences in racing such as Mille Miglia & Grand Prix along with top drivers during the racing hayday such as Juan Manuel Fangio, Ascari, Farina and others, it makes him a truly proffesional author to write on this matter.

The timeless book which has taught hundreds of racing enthusiasts to exceed their expectations and conquer the race track. Although this book was originally written 40 years ago, there are few books which detail the techniques and concepts behind motor racing so clearly. This is definately a book that belongs on every true racing enthusiasts bookshelf.

"Girls can't drive harness horses," Theo muttered. "Stupid."
Theo loves pacing horses. Every day she stares off to the International Stock Feed Farm and dreams of horses. But her mother doesn't think horses are worthwhile. She's always talking about Theo's wonderful sister Claudia. Theo is furious. Then, when her sister becomes ill with polio, Theo slips away, dressed as a boy, to get a lousy job of picking things up around the stable. She meets Dan Patch, her idol horse, but it is still a tall ladder to her dream of driving--but Theo decides to climb it. But how long can she live a lie?
This book is excellent. It makes you feel like you are really there and feeling Theo's emotions. You can almost hear the horses snorting, see the sweat shine on Dan Patch's bay flanks, and smell the horse sweat. You can feel the horror of Claudia's sickness and the joy of meeting legendary pacers. A great introduction to the somewhat unpopular world of harness racing.

Since I'm not a big horse fan, I wasn't too excited when I checked this book out. When I started reading it, I couldn't stop. It's so well written, everything is described well and you get a real feel for the characters, especially the main character: Theo. It's inspiring, and shows that sometimes the same dream can take a different shape. There's a good romance going on throughout the book, which adds to it's charm. I definitly recommend this book toanyone, especially girls, horselovers, or aspiring writers between the ages of 8 and 15

Since I'm not a big horse fan, I wasn't to excited when I checked this book out. When I started reading it, I couldn't stop. It's so well written, everything is described well and you get a real feel for the characterS, Especially the main character: Theo. It's inspiring, and shows that sometimes the same dream can take a different same. I definitly recommend this book toanyone, especially girls, horselovers, or aspiring writters between the ages of 8 and 15

I am just a beginner, but this book inspired me to try hard to event. I loved the gymnastics in the back!

I was SO happy to finally read a book involving cross country with so much emphasis on good basics and snaffle bits. I am so sick of hearing trainers advocating bigger bits to control your horse. Mr. Wofford advocates better TRAINING to control your horse - what a concept. This book covers quite a range of topics; from choosing an event horse, dressage, how the horse sees jumps vs. how we see jumps, cross country, jumping, conditioning, cross country position and more. I think this is a great book!

In 1984 I began riding in Jimmy's clinics and have accumulated numerous hours riding, watching and listening. During this time I took copious notes on his comments; measurements of his gymnastics; watched other riders and listened to Jimmy's critiques. "Training-the-Three-Day Event Horse" IS Jimmy Wofford. His concise, straitforward teaching comes through in his book just as though you are there listening to him. If I could only have one book, it would be this one. I recommend it to my students, I give it as gifts and I wouldn't leave home without it.

...This book is indispensible. It's written for the race car driver who does at least a little bit of their own fabrication. And that's almost any club driver, and many entry-level pro drivers. Making sure additions to the car stay put, supsension bits adequately bear their loads and stresses, and repairing these things in a pinch, is no small part of winning races.

This book doesn't explain everything ther is to know about fasteners. And it isn't dripping with technical detail; ...

But this book does provide something more valuable: explanations. It looks at a couple dozen of the most popular fasteners in each category and explains why a fabricator or mechanic would or would not want to use them. Carroll uses his incredible experience and approachable, conversational writing type to discusses their strengths and weaknesses, applications, and design.

I think the book isn't limited to racing applications; it's useful for anyone who works metal, and will offer something of value to anyone who's ever tried to replace a fastener in an emergency. Were you overwhelmed when you went through the fastener aisles in your local hardware store or home supply center? This book can help.

The book is a little weak in two areas. First, there's few pages devoted to plumbing. Of course, this is about real plumbing: laying lines and connecting them with pressure-tight fasteners. It explains Army-Navy fasteners and their applications, and discusses all the subtleties of pipe flange fitting. The book isn't about stopping a leak behind your toilet.

Next, the book is showinng its age. It doesn't treat some of the materials that were not exactly commonplace ten or more years ago, but are quite common now. For instance, I can buy titanium lug bolts for my car. (Well, I could, if I had a spare $500 lying around.) Carroll doesn't make much mention of the more interesting alloys being used more commonly in fasteners these days. He also doesn't spend much time discussing the material to be fastened: holding down a carbon fiber body panel is different than getting the same bit fabricated from fiberglass to hold. Some of the illustrations look like they were drawn by a plotter 20 years ago: terrible resolution, confusing lines, poor perspective. Freshening some of the illustrations would be a real shot in the arm for the book.

Those shortcomings withstanding, I can't give this book less than five stars. Mr. Smith's incredible reputation and outstanding experience hold up a dry subject, and give the reader more background than a broader (or deeper) technical reference ever could.

Admittedly this is a dry subject, but this book should be considered required reading for anyone who is serious about building a safe race car. There's more to fastener technology than most of us realize and a right and wrong way to do things. Mr. Smith gets the information out in an easy to understand format with splashes of well-timed humor. While we have all blamed a poor performance at an event on a broken fastener, Mr. Smith explains how to eliminate these problems, plus your vehicle will be safer. You won't even think about using grade 8 bolts from the discount hardware store on that flywheel after reading this book. The section on plumbing was particularly helpful to me.

Fabulous book on fasteners. Up front it sounds really dull, but C.Smith makes it painless. You will find out things here that simply are not available elsewhere. Must reading for people into cars, airplanes or machinery in general

It's been some time since I last read this biography of Wayne Rainey, but I certainly remember the emotions, and especially the growing pride, I felt with each turned page. The writing was very easy to read, and the content flowed well from Wayne's childhood and foundation of a Champion in the making, through his personal relationships, and to the present (time of writing). I recommend this book to all that loved to watch his battles with Eddie Lawson, Kevin Schwantz, Freddie Spencer, and Mick Doohan, and wish to simply know more about the Champion. And I recommend it to anyone that thinks the world and life aren't fair. Perservere!

Wayne Rainey is my favorite Road Racer. This book really let's you know what it takes to be a World Champion and the struggle when its taking away. For any race fan this book is a must have!

I met wayne as a fan in 1987 at Road Atlanta when he rode for Honda after having read so many magazines about him.I never Heard of Kevin Schwantz until that weekend and Wayne despite being very busy, courteously found time to have Shay take a photo of both of us and give me an autograph.He was so receptive and pleasant.That weekend I watched in awe his amazing battle against Kevin's Suzuki and would never forget that day for the rest of my life.Then I continued to watch him on TV from 1988 to that fateful day.The book brought tears and lumps in my throat.This book tells it all and is a must buy.I am also a racer a know the will and the determination to win at all costs.This book also helps us analyze ourselves and our personal relationship with GOD.A precious collector's item to have.

What can I say that the book doesn't already say. A great book for beginning to intermediate skiers. Including several sections covering your equipment and proper fitting techniques.

This book was written in 1993 (it is now almost 2000) and you may be tempted to think that this book is outdated. You couldn't be more wrong! Everything in this book is as relevant, if not more so, that when it was written.

The section on canting and alignment is amazing. On first reading I was sceptical. However, I have recently been correctly canted and aligned and am amazed at the difference. As an instructor and racer, I work a lot on my skiing technique. Being correctly aligned has shown the biggest single improvement in my skiing for years.

The techniques discussed in this book are also very very good. Most of them are now more relevant than when the book was written as they allow you to get the most out of the new generation of carving skis.

Buy this book, read it, read it again, be aligned and then ski better than ever.

If you buy only one book on skiing, this should be it. It is a joy to read, and re-read. Keep it on the coffee table at your ski condo and read any random chapter. You'll learn something.

Warren is the father of carving long before it became a fad. It is "how the racers ski" (which is also the name of his first book from the early 70's that is a classic).

The content if outstanding and the writing and presentation is equally as nice. Glossy pages, excellent photography.

I've given this book to more hard core skiers than I'd like to say.

The section on balance and alignment alone are worth the money. Buy it!

I DON"T KNOW WHAT TO WRIGHT FOR THE BOOK.

Karim was very close to Senna; hence she is able to capture and present Sennas personality, his motivitations, his attitude to life like no other writer. You get a chance to feel what Senna felt ..

Wonderful. That's the only word I can find to describe this book. Senna's true fans do have to read this book. Read it. It's the best book written about Senna.

Before the advance into my daily life of computers, my two favourite subjects were trucking and horses, so when I picked up a copy of Driving Force, I was instantly absorbed. This had everything.. even, to my surprise, computers!

I'm usually more of a Science Fiction/Fantasy buff, but I do enjoy a good mystery now and again, so long as: 1) I don't know who the culprit is in the first five pages; 2) It doesn't start out with "It was a dark and stormy night." 3) When the solution finally comes it doesn't present something implausible, impossible, or downright silly; and 4) It doesn't leave too many loose ends.

This book satisfies all of the above.

OK, let me say first that I like pet rabbits, and in a way, a pet rabbit is one of the heros of this story. I like a lot of Francis's books, but this one had that something extra for me.

Dick Francis has a winning formula: he writes books about a young man of around 30, in a career most people might think is boring, but which turns out to be exciting. His hero is usually taken for granted and under-appreciated by his family, and under-employed, but in the course of the book proves he is far smarter, cleverer, and more observant than anyone supposed. Usually, there's a highly intelligent middle-aged career woman who recognizes his worth and helps him along. It's a formula, but the details that Francis provides makes it work every time.

Our heros in this book include not only Freddie Croft, who owns the horse transport business, but a veterinary epidemiology researcher who is quite a character. We learn more, perhaps, about viruses, parasite-born diseases, and other related things than some people might want to know; if you're squeamish, you might not want all the details of some of the illnesses we hear about along the way.

The stock middle-aged woman character this time is a rather unusual woman truck driver; Francis has always been in the forefront of having women in interesting careers; even back in the 60's, many of the women in his books held jobs. One doesn't tend to think of mystery writers/racing writers as being on the leading edge of trends, but Francis has shown himself to be so, in having career women, gays, and the disabled as important and strong characters in his books, even in the midst of the old-fashioned and conservative racing world.

Dick Francis is one of the best writers ever! i have read many of books and this is one of my favorite. He is wonderful. I wish that I had his talent. The end of his books is always a surprise. I love his work.