Racing Reviews

This book was fantastic. Let me explain. I own a 1985 V65 Sabre. Right smack in the middle of this engine's development and controversy. This book gave me more details, more background, more meat,,, than I have been able to garnish from all other sources combined. I've read it twice, so far...

This book is a MUST have for any Honda V4 owner , a real mine of infos , technical explainations , pictures : anything you should know on all Honda V4

Excuse me for gushing a little but this is an absolutely wonderful book. Sometimes an author, even if he's a Brit, gets it all right and Mr. Ryder has done himself proud with this one. Engrossing story of the V4 and how its creation exemplifies the Honda culture. Great research and writing with beautiful, crisp pictures. Honda's history unfolds as you follow the V4's development from a humble beginning to the pinnacle of motorcycling . The first book I read of Mr. Ryder's was his "World Superbikes the First Ten Years" and it was very good. As good as that book was this one is a level up. He's on a roll. Do yourself a favor and get this one. You won't be sorry!

I've read more than a dozen Dick Francis mysteries. Most are good, some are great, a few are not quite up to par. But this one definitely stunk. Instead of a tightly written 200 pages, it was 300 repetitious, boring pages. The main character was a cipher and his "love interest," a married woman, just happens to become free at the very end of the book. How contrived can you get? Prior to that, in the last 60 or so pages Francis lived up to his best plotting self, although the main character's near death experience was not original. Oh well. I bought it for 50 cents at a book sale and wasted only a few hours reading it, so I can't really complain.

Dick Francis is a formulaic writer, which is to say that one has a pretty good idea of the shape of the novel before one even cracks open the cover. While this would be a death knell for longevity for many, it hasn't been for Francis. This arises from the fact that his characters are so memorable and the milieu in which he casts his tales so rich and well defined that we totally forget that some of the plot mechanisms feel familiar.

Banker is a tale of a young British investment banker involved in a syndicate financing the stud career of a well know champion race horse. After the deal is sealed there arises a problem--it appears the horse is genetically defective. Our Banker suspects this is not entirely a natural phenomenon and starts investigating. As always with Francis, this leads to intrigue, violence and murder.

Francis' ability to skillfully enter into a wide array of worlds in his novels is another strength--the world of investment banking is brought into sharp focus in a way that makes it interesting--not terminally boring, as one would imagine.

Banker is one of Francis' very best works--the characters are vivid and compelling, the mystery here is more refined than usual, the suspense builds very nicely.

If you haven't yet tried Francis, this would be a great book to start with. It will set you on the path to a lot of great reading!

Dick Francis has a winning formula: take a youngish man of about 30, who holds a job that most people would think is boring; have him solve a mystery and prove that he is far more observant, more intelligent, and cleverer than anybody expected. Along the way, have his family, who doesn't appreciate him and takes him for granted, find out that he is more important to them than they to him. And an intelligent, middle-aged woman who recognizes his value and will help him in his future career. Stated in a formula like this, it doesn't sound like that much, but the details Francis gives in each book make it fascinating.

Some people might hesitate to read a Francis book, as I did for years- I thought they were just about horse racing and jockeys, and as that wasn't a particular interest of mine, I didn't bother. However, in most of his books written in the last 25 years, although horse-racing is always a part of the plot, the main characters are in all walks and fields of life, and one does not have to love horses and jockeys to read these books.

In this case, our hero's career is investment banking. Some people would start to doze off at the thought of banking, but Francis provides us with details of the job that show the exciting parts of it, the skills required, and the variety that can enter into it.

When the banking firm finds itself asked to invest in a race horse, Tim Ekaterin, the poor relation of the family, turns out to have the knowledge needed for this risk. He also knows enough to recognize that when something goes wrong, it may not be due to natural causes. We meet veterinarians, chemists, and other researchers, all of whose work is described accurately enough to make one suspect that Francis has a friend or relative in every field mentioned and has pried every detail of their daily lives out of them.

The ending is good; the bad guys get their come-uppance, and greed is punished, while our hero is finally rewarded with some recognition in both his personal and work lives.

Almost every day of the week, if you are a fan of NASCAR, you can read Mr. McGlaughlin's column on the internet. McLaughlin's columns usually take NASCAR to task for becoming a major league sport and wishes it could go back to the days of dumb hicks in the stands spitting tobacco while watching illiterate moonshiners drive beat up wrecks on a dirt track.

Thankfully the sport has moved on and is now the nation's fastest growing sport. It's left unsophisticated rabble like McLaughlin behind, yet he continues to spew his dribble on the internet and in this book.

Suprisingly enough he has crafted a book with an occasionally compelling story. It's far too long and overwrought at times, but it's readable if you really enjoy motorsports and aren't predisposed to disliking McLaughlin because of his anti-NASCAR columns and tone.

If you're someone who longs for the "good old days" of NASCAR, maybe you'll like this book, but of course you might be illiterate so why would you be looking for books in the first place? If you're a fan of what NASCAR is today, I would avoid this book like the plague.

Matt just happens to be a friend of mine through his writing at SPEEDFx.com. But this fact does not influence my rave reviews for this first novel of his. This is a book that is VERY hard to put down(and it's a LONG book)once you start reading it. It made me laugh and it made me cry-just what I like in a book. If you are a fan of NASCAR or racing in general, if you are a Dale Earnhardt or Tim Richmond fan, you must buy this book! I guarantee you will LOVE it! Anybody who bashes it just isn't a NASCAR fan-it's that simple!!

This book is much more than just a racing novel. It follows a young man along his journey to adulthood. Of course, he drives race cars all the way there. I could not put it down and have since re-read it several times. I recommend this book to any racing fan, from the casual to the enthusiast.

Uneventful fluff about british horse racing. No mystery, no murder, a good way to kill time as well as brain cells.

High Stakes was an excellent novel. I chose to read it because it focuses on horses and because I have read other books by this author. This novel was a page-turner because there were several twists in the plot. It was easy to relate to the main character and feel what he was feeling, as if his life was yours. The book had certain sections that the reader really had to think about, because the plot was complicated at times. Also, the author has a way of not describing something until the last possible moment. For example, the characters discussed a critically important plan, and the reader themselves did not know what it was until the plan was executed. At times this made the novel some-what confusing, but did not result in the book being misunderstood. In the future I would read another book by this author.

High Stakes marks the beginning of Dick Francis' (or Mrs. Dick Francis, depending upon who actually writes his books) writing for the American market. Tho' not the bone-cruncher the earlier books were, his toy maker is one of the more likable protagonists and the beginning zings!

Dick Francis is one of those rare authors who can create a multitude of characters, changing characters from one novel to the next. This makes the stories stand-alone novels which can be read independently. That is a marked contrast to authors who write series of novels about the same character, a practice that often requires reading an entire series to understand the characters.

The present novel is not exactly a whodunit because you can identify the guilty parties (or most of them) early in the game. The main plot is how to track them down and bring them to justice. The chase runs from England to Australia to New Zealand then back to Australia. As usual with this author, there are horses and racing involved including, in this case, the Melbourne Cup. There is an interesting system for placing bets.

The main character, Charles Todd, is an artist who paints oil paintings of horses. There is some interesting side information about the chemical deterioration of oil paints on older paintings, an area where most people are probably not well informed. There is also considerable information about counterfeit paintings. Let the buyer beware. The death of his cousin Donald's wife during a burglary sets Todd on the chase. The main story is fast action over a couple weeks.

Francis writes the kind of books that you just can't put down. This one is no exception!!

This is a good read, and it is one of the Dick Francis books where you feel like you get a peep into a different world, in this case the worlds or art galleries and Australia. This one has good character and good action, and also has a poignant story of personal loss for the hero's cousin, whose wide is mysteriously murdered.

This book includes the shortcuts of CTR,and tips on how to get the crystals in Skull Rock,Rampage Ruins,Rocky Road,and Nitro Court.I wouldn't want to say that the guide is bad,but it dosn't help in many levels.

This guide book is very nice and easy to understand and read. It is fantastic for hints, etc. It's like any other guide book, or should I say good guide book. It will definately help you out when you need it.

As with anything, shop around on prices. I think all of these guide books are a little over priced, but that's just my opinion.

it'll help you with getting the crystals and coins but most of all this helps you with the shortcuts so you can beat nitros oxide

The real problem with this book lies not in his treatment of his dogs, but in his treatment of other mushers. It is odd that he could be so critical of so many of the other mushers from the back of the pack. While not quite an armchair quarterback, he was definitely throwing some cheap shots from the sled runners. I had a suspicion while reading this book that he was searching for a way to justify his utter lack of speed, instead of just reveling in the moment. While it is nice to hear about a musher that cares deeply about his dogs (as most do), I felt that he simply did not have the rapport with his dogs that most succesful mushers have.

This book tells the story of one man's first experience of the Yukon Quest, and the problems and triumphs he encountered along the way. Very informative for some-one like myself (an armchair musher!)covering aspects which would never occur to me i.e. arranging food drops in advance!

A real page turner, i finished reading the book in one day.

In Honest Dogs: A Story Of Triumph And Regret From The World's Toughest Sled Dog Race, journalist and family man Brian O'Donoghue shares the story of his experiences upon entering the Yukon Quest Sled Dog Race at the age of 41. Brian writes with wry humor of sharing the trail with his Alaskan huskies Khan, Hobbes, Scrimshaw, and Cyclone, as well as a diverse collection of rival racers and resident bush rats. Honest Dogs is a candid, vivid account of a punishing personal journey and relates the strategies, dreams, and disappoints of the contestants, the antics of the furry canine athletes, the sheer drama of the race, and the unworldly wilderness setting in which Brian and his dogs found themselves. Honest Dogs is highly recommended reading for armchair adventurers and dog lovers everywhere.

An excellent book for learning about fiberglass/composites. Before reading this book, I had little knowledge about composties, but a desire to learn. The information is presented in a way that anyone can understand it. Aird educates the reader about different fiber types and weaves, resins and resin systems, gel coat, trade tools, safety, and basic lay-up. He also includes information on molds, plugs, and strength/stress -- though I feel these sections make having some hands-on knowledge of composites an asset, which I lack. It is an excellent book that can take you from knowing nothing, to a point where you can talk intelligently about composites with someone in the FRP field. As other reviews have pointed out, this is not a step by step manual; but is probably a prerequisite to actually understanding one. In conclusion: I enjoyed this book and highly recommend it to anyone interested in learning about fiberglass and composite systems.

I had an interest in getting into Fiberglassing, so i bought this book. As most of the other people who reviewed this book said, it's not a step by step manual, but it offers a very good overview. Good enough that i ended up buying a second copy for a friend. If you have an interest, i would recommend this book. It's worth the price.

This is an excellent overview of materials and current practices.

You might want to consider getting the book MARINE COMPOSITES (www.marinecomposites.com) on your site to compliment Mr. Aird's good book.

It's lean on actual base jumping stories/adventures, and heavy on pretentious Zen philosophy. I was hoping for a juicy double-burger with cheese and special sauce, and I got a veggie burger with sprouts! The book's title and fantastic cover shot certainly suggests otherwise, so I was annoyed to discover no beef. It's no page turner, but at least Jakeman states his case for Zen/BASE very well. Those involved in the sport might like it more than the rest of us. But if reading this book made me better understand what a BASE jumper is made of (sprouts?), then it was worth while if not -- ironically -- very exciting.

As one of very few books written about the fringe sport of BASE jumping, Groundrush offers unique insight into the mind of a self-proclaimed adrenaline junkie. From his days as a construction laborer in London, to his nomadic travels through the English country (where he lived day-to-day sometimes packing parachutes to support his skydiving habit), to his harrowing building jumps, author Simon Jakeman paints a surprisingly literate portrait of a man in touch with his mortality. Distracting, however, are his attempts to justify his deadly habit with pretentious references to Zen "now" philosophy. Though technically accurate, and beautifully stated, such references were -- even for this experienced skydiver and BASE jumper -- a tough sell and, in places, laughable. I also found the author's heroic tone and "carrion man" motif -- a pretentious & distracting attempt to personify the carnage in the story -- to be a bit awkward. Ironically, some of the book’s most enjoyable moments were passages where the author simply described his life as a construction worker. Characterizing the challenge posed by this physically demanding profession, Jakeman quotes a co-worker as saying "If you want to run with the big dogs, you have to ... high." To this reader, Groundrush's appeal might have been greater had the author "... a bit lower". Although coloring the sport of BASE jumping in hues of Zen is more appropriate than the non-jumping public will likely ever realize, the heroic "you’d admire me if you understood me" tone I perceived between the lines only detracted from the already lean narrative.

This has got to be one of my favourite books ever. It's very short, but it's the only book I can remember that literally made my heart beat faster as I was reading. Surprisingly, Jakeman is a good writer and he conveys the darker side of his obsession with great skill. His forays into Zen philosophy could have been heavy-handed but instead they are handled with eloquence and economy. Although Jakeman seems to invoke artistic licence for some of the narrative (rival groups of BASE jumpers bumping into each other at the foot of the Barbican Centre, for example), he pulls no punches in describing the often brutal outcome of his sport. The result is a visceral, spine-tingling and extremely engaging book. The only surprise is that he doesn't seem to have written anything since. Er...

He kept all of his secrets. If you know the basics of racing you will learn nothing. Definate thumbs down!!

You don't need to purchase The Sheets to benefit from Len Ragozin's insight. You may, as some have, find a way to incorporate his theories into your personal methodology. Understanding thoroughbred form cycles is critical to successful wagering and this book shows the way. But you will have to work a little to master the concepts he presents. Until Ragozin wrote this book I was mystified by the unpredictable declines and sudden rises in the performances of young horses. Now some of my best bets come in three year old races. And I don't subscribe to the expensive figures.
What I have learned is worth many times the purchase price.

While Len Ragozin may, in part, be promoting his Sheet service, he does begin to impart very important information about the sport, handicapping, and some of the aspects of the game that necessitated the development of his number system. He actually does disclose how to develop the numbers, the problem is, partly, in getting the raw data that goes into them. Ultimately, it is the analysis of the numbers and the patterns combined with sound money management that offers the promise of success at the windows. Read the book. Adapt the handicapping principles to the information available from the Daily Racing Form, if you wish. One thing I think you will find is that Len Ragozin wants to share his knowledge and wisdom. The data, however, is for sale.