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

Edoardo Bianchi, 1885–1964

by Antonio Gentile

Bicyclists will instantly relate the Bianchi name to famous professional racing and mountain bikes. Artists may remember that Picasso had a Bianchi bicycle in his studio and thought of it as “one of the most beautiful sculptures in the history of art.”

Big Sid’s Vincati: The Story of a Father, a Son, and the Motorcycle of a Lifetime

by Matthew Biberman

Biberman’s first motorized two-wheeler was a Schwinn bicycle powered by a Whizzer kit paid for with money from his bar mitzvah. The feeling of “moving effortlessly through space” on his bike set the course for his life.

The Motorsport Art of Dexter Brown

by Robert Edwards

This biography in words and pictures in the publisher’s fine series on automobile art coincided with an exhibition of the artist’s “The Way We Were” series of some 50 paintings at the John Noot Galleries in England in October 2001. Brown was present at the gallery opening to sign copies of this book.

Of Firebirds & Moonmen: A Designer’s Story from the Golden Age

by Norman J James

If you were a newly-minted designer in the 1950s, the place you would want to go to work would be GM. Legendary Harley Earl ran his design division as his own private fiefdom, and his Knight’s Errant were his designers.

1965: Jim Clark & Team Lotus, The UK Races

by William Taylor

A 208-page large-format book about just eleven race weekends that took place 45 years ago in England seems fairly indulgent. But when the subject of the book is the incomparable Jim Clark, and the year is 1965, it all makes sense.

Equations of Motion: Adventure, Risk and Innovation

by William F Milliken

You’ve heard the saying about someone having “forgotten more than the rest of us will ever know.” This certainly applies to Bill Milliken, except that he hasn’t forgotten anything! He was 95 years old when he published the first version of this autobiography, the hardcover edition.

Equations of Motion: Adventure, Risk and Innovation

by William F Milliken

When the first edition of Equations of Motion was released in 2006, I wrote in a published review that it was unequivocally “the most interesting and well-written of the 50-some-odd books that I’d read during all of that year.” Now, with the publication of the 2nd edition, this time in softcover, you get more for less.

The Man Who Supercharged Bond: The Extraordinary Story of Charles Amherst Villiers

by Paul Kenny

The Bond in the title is “Bond, James Bond”, created by Ian Fleming who was a friend of Villiers. Naturally, Fleming chose a Villiers-supercharged W.O. Bentley for Bond in his book Casino Royale that was later made into the iconic film of the same name.

The Miller Dynasty

by Mark L. Dees

Inspired by Griffith Borgeson’s work, fellow Californian Mark Dees began to seriously accumulate Miller lore, interviewing those still living who had known or worked with Miller, along with survivors from the prewar racing world.

Winning, The Racing Life of Paul Newman

by Matt Stone and Preston Lerner

The terms actor, philanthropist, and racer combine to describe only one man, Paul Newman. Although he didn’t begin his driving career until age 47, he developed quickly and competed into his eighties, eons beyond other competitive drivers.

Ferrari – Men from Maranello

by Anthony Pritchard

A Ferrari “Who’s Who.” Here, in one place, are the biographical details of more than 200 individuals who have made important contributions to Ferrari’s greatness over the years.

Walter L. Marr, Buick’s Amazing Engineer

by Beverly Kimes & James Cox

An eexcellent biography of Buick’s brilliant and innovative Chief Engineer. His contributions made the Buick one of America’s most desirable automobiles in the early part of the Twentieth Century.