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

Stanguellini: Big Little Racing Cars

by Luigi Orsini and Franco Zagari

Automobili Stanguellini was a maker of small racing and road cars in Modena, Italy. Modena, of course, is known as the home of Ferrari and Maserati but did you realize that they and Stanguellini had their premises all within the same square mile? Stanguellini, in fact, is older than the other two.

Grand Prix Showdown!

The Full Drama of Every Championship-Deciding Grand Prix Since 1950

by Christopher Hilton

A nail-biter! You do not have to be a petrol head or F1 groupie to become totally engrossed in this book! But you do have to have a sufficiently long attention span to follow the written word, not skip ahead, and take time to savor the drama the author so purposefully built into his story arc.

Merchants of Speed: The Men Who Built America’s Performance Industry

by Paul D Smith

One of the many cultural developments that accompanied the end of WWII was the rising interest (some might say craze) for automotive performance that continues to this day. Read about the automotive visionaries that made it so.

Sunderland Over Far-Eastern Seas: An RAF Flying Boat Navigator’s Story

by Group Captain Derek Empson

This autobiography is the first account of post-WWII operations conducted by Sunderland flying boats assigned to the British RAF’s Far East Air Force Flying Boat Wing (FEFBW). Empson was 21 and a newly minted RAF navigator on his first tour of duty with just 450 flying hours under his belt.

A Victorian Scientist and Engineer: Fleeming Jenkin and the Birth of Electrical Engineering

by Gillian Cookson and Colin A Hempstead

Admittedly, this topic is a bit removed from the field of transportation but electricity is an inseparable aspect of it. Moreover, there are not many books that shed light on the state of engineering or the education and training of engineers in the Victorian Age.

The Ferrari Phenomenon: An Unconventional View of the World’s Most Charismatic Car

by M Stone & L Dal Monte

It is obvious from the first sentence that the authors asked themselves the same question a reader would: Another Ferrari book? Inspired by their own biographical moments both of them have a long-standing desire to contribute to the Ferrari universe.

Harry Truman’s Excellent Adventure: The True Story of a Great American Road Trip

by Matthew Algeo

Road trips, and the books wherein the tales of each are told, continually attract and delight readers. First-person stories from writers like William Least-Heat Moon with his Blue Highways and John Steinbeck telling of hisTravels with Charley have entertained, informed, and motivated others to go exploring.

Alan Bristow, Helicopter Pioneer: The Autobiography

by Alan Bristow and Patrick Malone

Even if helicopters are not your thing, read this book for the sheer audaciousness of its protagonist. If you have an interest in (British) politics, realize that it is Bristow’s role in the “Westland Affair” that embarrassed the Thatcher government and almost caused its fall.

Intermeccanica, The Story of the Prancing Bull (1st ed.)

by Andrew McCredie & Paula Reisner

Sports cars with sexy Italian coachwork and solid European and American mechanicals. Half a century later Intermeccanica still turns out high-quality hand-built vehicles.

Tatra, The Legacy of Hans Ledwinka (1st ed)

by Ivan Margolius & John G. Henry

Who actually designed the original air-cooled volkswagen? Was it Ferdinand Porsche, or was it a Tatra creation appropriated by the Nazis? This book gives you the Tatra side of the story.

Stirling Moss: All My Races

by Stirling Moss and Alan Henry

Forty-seven years after his career-ending crash during testing in 1962 Stirling Moss turned 80 in 2009, the year this book was published. It must be nice to turn 80 and be able to look back on a full and unusual life.

Phil Hill: A Driving Life

by Phil Hill and John Lamm

This oversize book gathers 26 of the 100-odd articles American racer Phil Hill (1927–2008) wrote in his 30 years as a contributor to Road & Trackmagazine.

Newer Entries »
« Older Entries