Racing Reviews

The book is a quick, easy read and a good introduction to the very basics of auto racing. However, the author's jocular deprecation of the female intellect is unnecessary and surprising in a book written for women of this day and age.

I've been driving VW's since my teens but I'm thinking about investing in a Dragster after reading this book. So I'm exaggerating a little bit... but it's only because this book was so hysterical. I'm hoping the author has a few more books up her sleeve.

Didn't know a thing about auto racing nor did I want to . Someone gave this to me as a lark -- I loved it because it was fun and irreverent.

If you are cycling nut like I am, this book is a must read. I'm 63 and only race track on Friday nights in the Stock Bike races so you can't class me as a racer and even so I got a lot from this book. The interviews with the different racers were very enlightening. Cycling is such a technical sport that you can't become proficiant without help from others and this is what this book provides. Knowing what motivates people and how they ride, what gears they use can add more to your own abilities. I've met and talked to three of the people mentioned in the book namely Greg Lemond, Rebecca Twig and Eddy Borysewicz all great people and a benefit to cycling. I also rode with Mary Jane Reoch and never new about her accomlishments until reading the Statistics and Results in the back of the book.

I really like the book. Great pictures. In depth stories, and great list of velodromes worldwide in the back of the book. Velodromes I bet people would not be on the book were listed with the specs. The best book on track racing from the USA thus far.

I have rarely felt compelled to thank an author but I really appreciate the efforts of Sutherland. This text is brilliant because not only do I come away with an understanding of the events and their intricacies (strategy, specific training), but also the dynamics of the individuals in each event. Sutherland explains the events and the rules and then gives us a flavor of the range of personalities that we may encounter at the track. Sutherland has brought together present and past champions and given us an indepth and revealing look into the competitors and why they are competitors. She does this by interviewing the personalities and then using their exact words. After I read the interview with Whitehead I am ready to go out and ride against sone of the nastiest guys that ever rode in the U.S. (Whitehead I'm ready for you!!). Simply put, thanks Sandra for the compelling read and the amazing photos that accompany the text. My only question is when's the next book?

Personal Ensign is truly one of thoroughbred racing's finest and most inspiring legends. Here is a filly who could run with the best of them, even the colts. Not only did she win every single race she was ever entered in, but she was able to recover from a broken pastern bone (a break that is often fatal), and race in top form again thanks to the wizardry of a remarkable surgeon and the devoted care of her trainer and stable crew.

Unfortunately, the author tries to do too much, attempting to cover the lives of not just the filly, but her ancestors, trainers and owners as well. If the book was several hundred pages long, and the author had the time and space to really develop his subjects, it could have been intriguing. Instead what we get is a mismash of information that never allows the reader to really experience and feel what it was like to own and train a top quality thoroughbred. He doesn't begin to touch on the horse herself until Chapter 5.

My reaction is of course partly due to personal preference in reading material. When I buy a book about a famous athlete, whether it be a cyclist, thoroughbred or dancer, I am wanting to know what makes that athlete special, the circumstances that shape his or her personality, the people and situations that determine how a career unfolds. I want details, coherence and insightful commentary on how the story unfolds. I don't want a lot of casual facts and extraneous data.

What I missed in this book was Personal Ensign herself, which is a shame since even her photographs make it clear that she shone as a personality as well as a racer. Not a book for those who really want to feel what this horse was all about.

I really enjoyed this book because it gave great insight into the personal life of the champion. What a great racemare, I hope people read it and recognize that fillies can be special too.

Anyone who loves the superfilly and admires the job her handlers and owners have done shouldn't hesitate in purchasing this book. Not only does it tell her story from birth to undefeated champion to broodmare of the year, it tells the stories of the Phipps family, trainer Shug McGaughey and Shug's assistant trainer Buzz Tenney, all of whom clearly cooperated to a great degree in the writing of Ensign's story. I thank them all for such a wonderful tribute to a magnificent filly, and for sharing their stories.

Stevenson starts out simply enough with a straight narrative focused on Carraciola, but soon gets distracted and never again picks up the threads.

I would have forgiven some of the purple writing and technical errors, as I would have forgiven Stevenson for barely touching on some of the truly great stories (ie, Varzi's fix at Tripoli and his tragic decline afterwards), but it's the last few chapters where the author spins off into wild, unsubstantiated speculation better suited to a tabloid than any book about historical events that I find completely unforgivable.

1. He asserts that Eberhorst was an incompetent designer (!) partly responsible for Rosemeyer's death.

2. He asserts that Hitler (!) somehow orchestrated Rosemeyer's death, and goes to great length to explain how Rosemeyer, knowing of the plot, bravely and stoicly went to his death to avoid bringing the wrath of the Nazis down on his wife and young child.

3. He postulates that had Rosemeyer lived, his popularity would soon have eclipse Hitler's, and that Rosemeyer would somehow wrench the Reich away from Hitler and lead Germany to avoid the carnage of WWII.

It would be impossible to fabricate more ludicrous theories about the events of this fascinating period. I bought this book because I was starved for more reading material about the subject, and couldn't bring myself to spend the money for the excellent (but expensive) Chris Nixon works. Do yourself a favor, skip straight to Nixon's efforts and leave this sort of bizarre revisionism on the shelf.

Very entertaining book. Plenty of exciting race action and fascinating characters. A great read -- it pulls you right in!

I found Driving Forces to be a educational, entertaining and comprehensive look at the little known world of early Grand Prix racing. Peter Stevenson's automotive expertise and extensive knowledge of the historical subject matter resulted in some facinating insights. His intuitive representation of the drivers and other key figures added a very human aspect of the story that was truly touching. I think it would make a great movie too!

This book has some great ideas, with alot of percentages for examples, but it is primarily for the individual that wishes to go into the horse racing business. Theres not too much info for the person that wants to make money having a riding facility, or giving trail rides. Basically its for someone that wants to make a quick profit buying horses and fastly turning around and selling them. I would not recommed this book for the person wishing to start a nice casual back yard business.

Maybe my horses are just lazy but none of them have been able to hold down a job for more than a week and they can't seem to pick up even the most basic accounting skills. I have had a modicum off success using them to haul people around but that seems to be a bit arrogant and callous.

Anyhoo a got a showbiz gig lined up at some place in Tijuana that sounds promising.

This book is an excellent source of information. The material is presented in a down-to-earth way that can be understood and put to practical use.

The idea of having a NASCAR atlas to help people find race tracks along with seating diagrams of race tracks is a good idea. There've been sports atlases in the past designed to help people find stadiums.

However, this atlas suffers from a few problems. First, the instructions for finding the tracks aren't very good. Usually there'll be a regional cut-out with an arrow pointing out an unmarked spot in a general ara. If the maps can't be specific then text instructions would be helpful. They could cut and paste from the text instructions in the 2001 Nascar press guide.

Secondly, this is by far the poorest atlas of its format on the market. Any other large format road atlas -- National Geographic, American Map Corporation, and Rand McNally are all signficantly superior. While you can say a state map is a state map, it's hard to know what counts as a major attraction. In this atlas, you can't find the Hoover Dam, because it's nonexistent.

It's almost impossible to find anything from the metropolitan maps. No attention's been paid to what areas most people would want to see within a downtown area. The map of Honolulu is ridiculous -- it's features lots of unidentified lines going all over the place -- if a line's not identified it shouldn't be included. There are some very basic tenets of maps that the creators of this atlas haven't taken into consideration.

If NASCAR wants to continue with this, they would be better off trying to partner with an atlas company that has a better product. This atlas by The Lawrence Group is in need of such a major overhaul/makeover that I'd be astounded if many people gave the 2002 version a second chance.

I travel quite a bit and use the Road Atlas to find all my destinations - it is very clear and easy to read. I plan to give one to my mother-in-law for the holidays - She'll love the fact that it has all the national park web-sites listed.

I am 55 years old and I travel to at least 5 NASCAR races per year. I purchased this atlas because I can find the tracks much easier and and I use the seating diagrams of the tracks to order tickets. I will be ordering the 2002 atlas when it comes out so I can get the 2002 racing information.

Extensive development history of the racing desmoquattros with lots of beautiful and rare pictures. Written in stilted euro-speak; awkward phrasing and somewhat tortured writing style. Whoever designed this book should be shot. Very few captions for the wonderful photos, so you're left scratching your head and wondering what bikes are linked to what riders, what year and model they are, etc. Photos are not indexed to text in any coherant manner. Worst typography I have ever seen in any book; it is literally unreadable. If I hadn't received the book with my 851, I'd never buy it.

An exceptional book from a pictorial perspective. Good coverage on the development of the 4 valve engine and bikes, including racers. A good addition to any enthusiast's library.

OK, the book exists already for a couple of years, but if you really want some true beautiful colour pictures of the Ducati Superbikes from the Castiglioni era, this one can't be missed. Note : especially if your a scale modeller.

Mr. Hilton wrote a book which covers all drama and excitment of the races which decided F-1 World Championships. In doing so, he fulfilled a space which was empty in automobile literature. He remembers all the details, the technical aspects of the vital races ad, as his strong point as a writer, the human side of the drama. Congratulations, mr. Hilton!

In talking about the crucial races that decided F-1 World Championships since 1950 until 1992, the reader get a good general view of the F-1 evolution through the years. Very good. Includes also the ridiculous tittle by Nigel Manseell in 1992, when he drove a car that was almost guided by remote control, so high was his technoly !!!

Every season in Grand Prix racing there is a moment of consummation when a World Champion is made. This unique book focuses on the races which decided each of the F1 titles, from Ascari in 1950 to Mansell in 1992. As Hilton writes, these stories demonstrate "how difficult the World Championship is, how elusive, how maddening, how delicate, how starkly dangerous." In that sense, Mansell is "linked by an almost umbilical cord to an enigmatic Italian and 3 September 1950." This amazing book is a full of riveting drama, of absolute joy for the winners and crushing disappointment for the losers. A real gem!

I have an 1995 Integra GSR and it is probably the most modified car besides the Honda Civic. However, this book has more information for civics. It wouldn't bother me as much, except it tells how to make a civic into essentially, what a GSR is. For example, it shows how to install a short throw into a Honda. However the Integra already has a short throw. There are other mods too, but those are just common sense (Intake, headers, and exhaust, etc.) Another thing that I really don't like, is that it tells you how to make your car only good for drag racing. I would appreciate information telling how to make a good fast car that is also street legal. THis is an OK book for beginners and may be a better one for people who intend to race their car on the track only, but for me, its not worth it.

I have a basic model Honda Civic hatchback and I wanted to start making modifications to it for racing applications, but I didn't know how to start. This book provides a great base for those without Honda tuning or modification knowledge and points them in the right direction. Although limited in technical aspect, the author makes up for it by providing good examples on how to get modification accomplished (go to a pro). I would have liked to see more road racing applications covered in the book rather than drag racing.... A great compliment to other Honda tuning books!

This book cleared up a lot of things for me. The method of tuning of Hondas and Acuras was explained in great detail. It helped me get a good idea of what to do first. Also, it includes short features on some specific Honda and Acura tuners. Maybe the most helpful of all, however, was the features on the technical aspects of many not as well known modification parts. Now I know what the difference between driving, fog, and spot lights is. It also includes sections on performance wheels and tires, and how to build the perfect Civic. The book was a great overall look at Hondas and Acuras, without using too much over-tecnical lingo. You don't even have to own an Acura or Honda to enjoy it. I am fourteen years old and I loved it! I would reccomend this book to anyone who is interested in car modification.

Based on the reviews I read here, I must be reading a different book. Putting aside the absurd probability of a father and two sons making any Olympic team, the writing is amaturish, the characters are cardboard cutouts, and I hear less preaching in Church on Sundays.

I think it's great that someone wrote a novel about XC ski racing. This book gives you the general idea of the scene and the culture. The good and bad guys alike are quite interesting and sympathetic, but the race at the end makes it all worthwhile. I've raced for years and it got me going just like good action always does. This novel came out well before the big Lillehammer Olympics with their heart-dropping final relay, but reading Kevin's relay and watching the '94 relay both keep you on the edge of your seat! XC skiing doesn't have that much artful culture behind it these days. I appreciate it when it shows up!

Kickland is an entertaining and captivating story that was difficult to put down. It captures all aspects of elite-level sports competition, including grueling training regimens, petty jealousies, and race-day mind games. On top of that, the story also has some interesting legal wrangling, love interests, and local color (if you're from Michigan). It's easy to root for the good guy in this book, because the lead character, despite his shortcomings, is steadfast and honest. Overall, a very well-written book that I highly recommend.