Archive for Author 'John Aston', only excerpts shown, click title for full entry.

The Fred Opert Story

by Peter R. Hill

If your team’s alumni include, inter alios, Keke Rosberg, Didier Pironi, Tom Pryce, Patrick Tambay and Alan Jones, you really deserve a biography of your own. And now, thanks to Peter Hill, Fred Opert finally has one.

Shadow: The Magnificent Machines of a Man of Mystery

by Pete Lyons

That man of mystery was the quiet if not secretive Don Nichols, founder and principal of the Shadow team/s that competed quite successfully for 11 seasons—before fading into oblivion. For the first time, a proper book connects the dots.

Niki Lauda: The Biography

by Maurice Hamilton

One of the greatest F1 drivers of all time, he died in his sleep at age 70. He had worn many different hats in his life on and off the track, one of them to hide the scars of that near-fatal accident at a race he, then the defending world champion and points leader, considered so unsafe that he attempted to arrange a boycott.

The Blunt End of the Grid

by Dave Roberts

Roberts’ approach to motor racing is the polar opposite to the clinical diligence of an F1 team. The best testament to this book is that if former McLaren head honcho Ron Dennis read it, he would need specialist counselling.

Richie Ginther, Motor Racing’s Free Thinker

by Richard Jenkins

I hate to see anything broken” is a strong candidate for the most unlikely quotation ever attributed to a Grand Prix driver. But Richie Ginther was no ordinary driver, and no ordinary man. Here is the first-ever authorized biography.

Taking the World by Storm

by Malcolm Cracknell

A rollercoaster ride of a book about what might have happened in an alternative history of the Le Mans 24 Hours in 1997.

Karl Ludvigsen’s Fast Friends, Stars and Heroes in the World of Cars

by Karl E. Ludvigsen 

If you’re around car books at all there’s really no way you’d not know this award-winning author’s name. He’s been around, he’s seen things, he’s forgotten more than you will ever know. Here are 23 examples of people that left an impression on him—not least his father.

Niki Lauda: His Competition History

by Jon Saltinstall

He won two of his three F1 championships after the fiery crash in 1976 that almost killed him. The courage and willpower this takes defies description. So does losing the title one year by one point and winning it another by half a point. Racing is about so much more than car control; this book paints the picture of a driver who applied himself with unprecedented  commitment.

One Formula – 50 Years of Car Design

by Gordon Murray and Philip Porter  

“Don’t Think Twice It’s Alright” – the extraordinary legacy of oenophile, soap box racer, and Bob Dylan disciple Gordon Murray. He is the man who also created the road-going sports car that won Le Mans, who designed  F1 cars that won 50 Grands Prix, and who is still pushing every envelope he can find.

Porsche 911 – The Practically Free Supercar

by Robert McGowan

Are you thinking of scratching that 911-shaped itch but worry about the cost? This book might help you get a good night’s sleep in that regard—but, if you thought yourself immune to the lure of the 911, it may also give you ideas . . .

My Greatest Defeat

by Will Buxton 

“What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger.” Easier said than done! Even if it does, extreme experiences leave their mark and take a toll. Racing drivers are always only one step away from crippling disaster. Here twenty of them allow a look behind the PR-polished façade.

Enzo Ferrari – Power, Politics, and the Making of an Automotive Empire

by Luca Dal Monte

Every minute you spend reading this review, Ferrari will sell 100 items with their name on them. Not cars—they, intentionally, hover around the 8000 per year mark—but “stuff,” from socks to books to engines for Maseratis. What is it about Ferrari that so many want to buy into its cachet? 1000 pages offer some answers.