Racing Reviews

For those who have read and enjoyed Conner's previous America's Cup book "Comeback", this book serves as a kind of sequel and overview of the competition that has become the obsession of many professional sailors and designers. While informative in its historical content, Conner can't seem to resist the temptation to tell a good story whether it be the imfamous Mariner design or the controversies surrounding the 1995 campaign. All in all, an enjoyable and informative book, and a must have for AC/DC addicts.

Dennis Conner and Michael Levitt have captured the essence of what the America's Cup is. From the first few chapters giving a good history of the orgin and classes of yachts used throughout the first 133 years of the America's Cup, to Dennis Conner's own first hand knowledge of the races he has been involved with, the reader is propelled into all phases of the event.

Of particular note are the accounts of the controversial 1988 races, the competition with the first editions of the International America's Cup Class yachts, and the story behind the story of "keelgate" in the 1995 Cup, which saw the trophy once again leave the U.S.

For true Cup affectionados, this is a must read of America's Cup history. No one individual has been as involved in the modern day evolution of America's Cup racing as Dennis Conner. His perspective of the history of the event is compelling, candid, and not without controversy.

I have owned the book since it's original printing and found it to be a good insight to Bruce McLaren the man and the racer. It is kept handy for two paragraphs in the introduction to the original version. I do not know if they are in the reprint.

They stand on their own without comment.

"In the dark days that followed it was realized that Bruce, the complete man, had virtually penned his own epitaph in the closing paragraph of his book From the Cockpit, written in 1964. He had put down on paper the grief he felt at the death of his teammate Timmy Mayer, killed in a practice crash in Tasmania, but he had also recorded his justification for going racing and those last few sentences in his book are a fitting beginning for this one:

"The news that he had died instantly was a terrible shock to all of us, but who is to say that he had not seen more, done more and learned more in his few years than many people do in a lifetime? To do something well is so worthwhile that to die trying to do it better cannot be foolhardy. It would be a waste of life to do nothing with one's ability, for I feel that life is measured in achievement, not in years alone."

Many of today's F1 fans don't know where the name for McLaren the team came from and this will give them great insight into the man that founded the team that in many ways still folllows his philosophy.

Eoin Young is well-known as an automotive journalist, but not many may realize that he got his start in the early '60s as the public relations manager for Bruce McLaren's fledgling racing team. So he's more than a researcher; he was a close friend of McLaren's when the New Zealander was gaining his reputaion as one of the foremost driver/engineers of his day. Completed in 1970, a few months after McLaren's death in a race car of his own design, the book is an intimate portrait of a remarkably ambitious man whose influence was so profound that the racing team he started more than 30 years ago has survived and thrived without him. But this isn't a book for those seeking insights into the McLaren organization of the last 20 years; this is a reprint of the original manuscript, with only a new foreword and introduction added.

This book could be considered an alternative to Volume One of "The Dust and the Glory" for readers who aren't interested in flathead-era Ford racing. There is really interesting coverage of the Sixties Indy engine program. A few of the photos are the same as "The Dust and the Glory," and a couple of the paragraphs read like direct lifts from it. There are some factual errors with contextual, non-Ford information (e.g., implying that Mark Donohue raced in the Indy 500 in 1968), but the primary information about the Ford racing program seems sound.

I bought this book because I love anything to do with Fords made in the 60's, and especially the racing history. This book goes into depth on every aspect of racing of that era in great detail. If you are a serious Ford fan, or a serious race fan, then this book is for you.

I found this book a little disappointing. It is a collection of different drivers views of the handling of front wheel drive vehicles in different conditions. It gives one drivers view on tarmac, one on rally, another on ice and so on. It is interesting to see how each driver sets up their car, but that is something that varys from person to person. I didn't find it too objective, I was hoping for something that would give more tips about setup, weight distribution etc, so maybe if a few drivers had been included it would have allowed me to make more general assumptions about FWD setup that could be applied to my car. This is a good book, and is a starting point for learning to setup a FWD car, but I was personally hoping for a little more depth.

This is an excellent book

I ordered this book, sight unseen, for a tractor pull fan. He really liked the book, so I'm happy. But I expected something different, and since there was no photo, I assumed it would be a coffee-table book; I was mostly going on the price. I guess it's a big pricey because it's from Great Britain? Still, the person I got the book for seemed very happy with it.

By the way, the book is loaded with pictures with excellent captions!

This book showed many pictures when it explained the history of the sport. The history was detailed and very interesting. The pictures were crisp. Good for anyone who actually pulls tractors or is a fan!

Relatively complete coverage of Honda motorcycles to 1989. Anyone with a passing interest in motorcycles and/or Honda should find the diversity of these machines quite interesting. Unlike many motorcycle books, this is an ACTUAL book, with more words than pictures! Provides worldwide perspective without shortchanging U.S. models (as many "motorbooks" are produced and/or written in the U.K.).

However, the book is overpriced at list. Also, it really should have at least an extra chapter added to cover the last ten years of very important motorcycle evolution (and resurgence in popularity). But to 1989 it is a great resource.

Many books on motorcycles abound with glossy pictures but contain little facts. This slim volume by Roland Brown is quite the reverse. The majority of photos are original B&Ws, not staged fashion shots, and there is ample text. It is not a coffee table book, it is a real book! The history begins with Soichiro Honda's start after WWII and traces the company's progress to 1989. For the real motorcyclist there is plenty of technical detail which is used to show the evolution from one machine to the next, rather than being just tabulated facts. The story of the development of motorcycles, as we now know them, and the fascinating saga of a multinational company's growth, make excellent reading. My only complaint is that a book this slim (150 small pages), really doesn't warrant a price tag of $25. Never the less, I still bought it, and was glad I did.

First of all, I give this book 3 stars as it was not really one of those "can't put down" books. However, it was a good and entertaining read about the life of James Hunt. When you read this kind of book, you never realize what kind of life these drivers lead away from the track. Donaldson describes James' pursuit of racing glory from local club racer, through the F3 ranks and his entry into F1 via the Hesketh squad. This book certainly shows what racing used to be like in the "good ol' days". It's a far cry from today's sanitized life styles on the current F1 circuit. I recommend this book as well as Donaldson's book on Gilles Villeneuve.

As most motorsport fanatics will know Gerald Donaldson has written some of the best motor racing books ever written, and this could be his best. I expected a style similar to that in his popular Gilles Villeneuve biography, but instead found a very candid and sensitive coverage of all of James Hunt's life that by itself makes a great tribute to James. Painstakingly written and researched aswell. If you liked the Villeneuve book I would say buy this, it will make you laugh and cry.

This type of book get's old. It has a nice review about Alesis "suffering" at Ferrari. Jean had not too much luck in his F1 years, that is made clear in this book.

Jean Alesi the driver is loved around the world for his passion for Grand Prix racing. This book reflects the man and driver in an interesting account of his life and career.

I think this book is good and it was fun to read it shows lots of cool monster trucks and some weird tracks and how they got famous. This book had cool pictures and it was a good book

I think this book is very good.It shows a lot of really cool pictures.This is a really awesome book to learn how monster trucks get airborne.

An excellent source of info for people who are new to the Mustang hobby. The photographs are are well done.

However, I have been driving Mustangs for 10 years now. I found that the information was a bit too generalized for my needs. I did not find the information useful. I easily got bored of this book after just the second day.

Still, I would recommend it to people who are interested in buying a late model Mustang but are not sure which year they want. This book will help them to find the car that best suits their needs, budget, and personality.

This book offers any reader a thorough overview of recent Mustang history. It offers a lot of detail without getting bogged down in numbers and specifications. The writing is concise and the photography is well done. This book does a fantastic job of educating the uninformed as well as thrilling any previous or current Mustang owner.