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

Tales from the Toolbox: A Collection of Behind-the-Scenes Tales from Grand Prix Mechanics

by Michael Oliver

A professional motorsports writer, Oliver has great affinity for his subject, as befits someone who was only weeks old when he was taken along to F1 races, and he likes to say that he learned his numbers by looking at the roundels on the side of race cars.

Ships and Shipbuilders: Pioneers of Design and Construction

by Fred M Walker

To the uninitiated, “Rina” may sound like the name of the girl next door but RINA, or rather the RINA, is really the venerable Royal Institution of Naval Architects which celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2010, which occasioned this book.

My Life and My Cars

by W.O. Bentley

The autobiography ends with a gathering of the Bentley Drivers Club at Bentley’s home in Shamely Green, in 1959; he then was in retirement and had kept close ties with the BDC. The last paragraph of the book is nearly wistful—that of a man looking back over an exciting and distinguished career. There seems to be a smile on his face.

The Last Hero: The Gallant Story of Donald Campbell and The Land Speed Record, 1964

by John Pearson

In 1964, Campbell set a record of 403.10 mph for a four-wheeled vehicle. John Pearson spent time with him during the preparations for the assault on the LSR—and through many of the long days and months of frustration, delays, inaction, and impatience waiting for the salt.

Engine Revolutions: The Autobiography of Max Bentele

by Max Bentele

This German mechanical engineer/scientist used extensive hands-on testing and mathematical analysis of the resulting data to systematically track down problems in engines and to analyze the viability of proposed new engine concepts. He became an expert in gas sealing, starting his jet engine education by solving the exploding blade problem.

McQueen’s Machines: The Cars and Bikes of a Hollywood Icon

by Matt Stone

Could Henry Mushman have become the “King of Cool”? It probably didn’t hurt his image that Steve McQueen was not saddled in real life with the nom de plume he adopted for his early motorcycle racing persona but had a name that was as properly burly as the roles he played and the things he liked to do.

BRM: A Mechanic’s Tale

by Dick Salmon

A linguist might point out the negative connotations of the word “tale” (fiction, untruth even), but here—absent any evidence to the contrary—we take it to mean “narrative of events,” in other words a story. Think of it as a memoir, interrupted by frequent elbow jabs. Wink-wink, nudge-nudge.

Fast Ladies: Female Racing Drivers 1888 to 1970

by Jean François Bouzanquet

This is the English translation of a French book. The topic of female racing drivers has been a wildly neglected one in the literature and even this book scratches only the surface by focusing only on European drivers (with two American exceptions, McCluggage and Skelton) and on only 49 of them in detail.

The Classic Citroëns, 1935–1975

by John Reynolds

First things first, this book really goes beyond 1975, devoting the penultimate chapter to the 1974–1989 GSX and a brief final chapter to the 1976–2000 cars built by the PSA Group in the post-Michelin era.

Alfa Romeo: From 1910 to 2010

by Maurizio Tabucchi

Alfa Romeo is in the enviable position of celebrating 100 years of operations, 1910–2010. All sorts of books will laud the centenary, and Italian publisher Giorgio Nada of Milan has produced two. One is a €500, 200 page limited edition of 1998 copies by various authors and then this much more affordable tome.

Mark Donahue: His Life in Photographs

by Michael Argetsinger

This book is a companion volume to Argetsinger’s excellent bio Mark Donohue: Technical Excellence at Speed. Publisher David Bull clearly has his fingers on the pulse of what readers want—and are able to afford.

Mark Donohue: Technical Excellence at Speed

by Michael Argetsinger

This biography consists of two books, this 344-page text version with only 40 photos and a second volume consisting of several hundred photographs with relevant captions. Argetsinger has written a remarkable and fitting tribute to one of America’s greatest race drivers.

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