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

Charles Rolls of Rolls-Royce

by Bruce Lawson

If the Honourable C.S. Rolls is remembered today by the general public at all, it is for the very thing he did the least—and had the least lasting interest in: automobiles. This book sheds more light on him, but shadows remain.

Ford, Henry [Three books about_]

This towering American industrialist did much, said much, thought much. Not everything got recorded right, interpreted right, remembered right. Time for some periodic housekeeping!

Nuvolari: Legendary Champion of International Auto Racing

by Count Giovanni “Johnny” Lurani with Luigi Martinatto

Tens of thousands are said to have attended the funeral of “The Flying Mantuan,” the fastest driver of the day—who had selected the tortoise as his mascot. He was a legend in his lifetime. But why?

The Knife and Fork Man, The Life and Work of Charles Benjamin Redrup


by Bill Fairney

It was said that engineer Redrup who worked in a simple home workshop made his engines with little more than a knife and a fork. He made engines for air, water, and land use but this book is the first to explore his work fully.

Race Man Jim Travers and the Traco Dynasty

by Gordon Chance

Traco was never a household name, and its founders didn’t care if it was, but it was probably the largest producer of racing engines in the world. Written by an engine builder who also did his Traco stint, this book explains the who, why, what, when, where.

Amédée Gordini: A True Racing Legend

by Roy Smith

There was a time when The Sorcerer and his cars were fixtures on the racing scene and some of the greatest names hitched their wagon to his train. Technically, Gordini could mix it up with the best but financially. . . . This book puts it all together.

Harley Earl

by Stephen Bayley

An opinionated appraisal of the larger-than-life American designer from a British perspective.

Mickey Thompson, The Fast Life and Tragic Death of a Racing Legend

by Erik Arneson

He was one of racing’s great innovators, accomplished major sporting feats, ran successful businesses—and still his life had never been fully chronicled until now.

Heroes and Landmarks of British Aviation

by Richard Edwards & Peter Edwards

Higher, faster, further. This book traces the successes and failures of the men and women—and even the industry as a whole—that advanced aviation.

Negative Gravity:
 A Life of Beatrice Shilling


by Matthew Freudenberg

This aeronautical engineer solved a vexing problem in a famous WWII aero engine, raced motorcycles, had a long string of letters after her name, but resolutely marched to her own beat—which is why today few remember her!

Motor Sport Greats in Conversation

by Simon Taylor

Put a good meal and an even better drink in front of someone and chances are they’ll loosen right up. Twenty-four luminaries from the racing world let their guard down a bit and talk about this and that and the other.

Agriculture, Furniture & Marmalade: Southern African Motorsport Heroes

by Greg Mills

Name three South African race drivers. Can’t do it? Tsk, tsk. The title may be too funky for its own good but the subtitle is unambiguous. You’ll be surprised at the African Connection.