Archive for Items Categorized 'Biography/ Autobiography', only excerpts shown, click title for full entry.

Flying and Preserving Historic Aircraft, The Memoirs of David Ogilvy

by David Ogilvy

Can’t tell roll from bank? Ever put a fuel-soaked rag into your carb intake to encourage combustion? Ever piloted a 1910 triplane, or the first British jet? Ogilvy’s highly polished prose will transport you into the cockpit.

The Diesel Odyssey of Clessie Cummins

by C. Lyle Cummins Jr.

Cummins is not only the name behind the ubiquitous Cummins Diesel truck engine but also a world speed and endurance record holder. Readers with historical awareness will recognize in the publisher’s name a clever homage to Sadi Carnot, the brilliant young French scientist who is considered the father of thermodynamics.

Speed Queens, A Secret History of Women in Motorsports

by Rachel Harris-Gardiner

For almost ten years the author has run the Speedqueens blog, and it contains a lot of material. She has a plethora of stories to
tell, and while she crams too much information into this debut book, it also offers her and others great opportunities for further exploration.

Go Fast or Go Home: The Garth Hogan Story

by Tim Hanna

Dragster racer, record holder, FIA commissioner, founder of multiple businesses, pilot, restorer, museum founder—just reading this list makes you wonder if the differences in cyclonic motion in the hemispheres affects how time flies on Zealandia.

Raymond Henri Dietrich, Automotive Architect of the Classic Era & Beyond

by Necah Stewart Furman

Ever seen a Gibson Firebird, or a Carioca? One of them is not a car, the product category for which Dietrich is most remembered. This mammoth biography is the first to paint a full picture, drawing on material new to the record.

The White Rose of Stalingrad

by Bill Yenne

In WWII, only the Soviets had female active duty combat pilots. In fact, they had three all-female squads. Two of their pilots became aces. The long-suppressed and forgotten story of one of them is told here.

Adolph Sutro, King of the Comstock Lode and Mayor of San Francisco

by William R. Huber

He dreamed big, and achieved and built big. Though not a household name today, his legacy—one of beauty—is inspiring.

Design Between the Lines

by Patrick le Quément, Stéphane Geffray

You’d have to have been sequestered on your private island for the last 50 years not to know the name of the author of this book. Simca, Ford, VW/Audi, Renault—some 60 million cars have Patrick le Quément’s fingerprints on them, and he reshaped his industry.

The Master Driver of the World, The 1914 Cactus Derby

by Mark G. Dill

Only five of twenty starters finished this last running of the Los Angeles—Phoenix race and were lauded as “Motormen of Speed,” with the winner crowned “Master Driver of the World.” That was Barney Oldfield, he of the wild antics and colorful reputation.

Alwin Springer – Racing With Porsche in North America

by Alwin Springer with Wilfried Müller

From his days as journeyman mechanic to cofounding a legendary Porsche tuning company to working for Porsche directly, Springer has led Porsche to many of its most significant milestones in North America. He may be retired but he’s not done!

The Green Flag, Just a Bloke’s Story

by Barry Green with Gordon Kirby

“The Bloke” is an Australian whose name has become a staple in American motorsports history as a racing mechanic and team leader/owner. He’s worked with so many of the big names that it is a surprise that no one had already written a book about him.

Variable Valve Timings: Memoirs of a Car Tragic

by Chris Harris

Once, and only for a while, Ferrari banned Harris from reviewing their cars. So did Lamborghini. Such is the price of journalistic independence. He’s done a lot more than Top Gear. And he really does know cars.