Book Reviews
Reviews of the latest media that interest motoring enthusiasts.
Form Follows Function: The Art of the Supercar
While very few of us ever get to actually own a supercar, just about everyone can appreciate the often striking beauty of their design. Stuart Codling certainly does, and with the help of some exquisite photography by James Mann, he brings us the 20 supercars that he thinks are the finest ever, in his book Form Follows Function: The Art of the Supercar. From… Read More
Austin-Healey: The Bulldog Breed
If you tend to refer to automobiles as “motor cars” and often check under the bonnet or store things in the boot, you’re obviously a fan of British cars. Well, here’s a Must Read for you. Austin-Healey: The Bulldog Breed, by Jon Pressnell. It’s a full history of the famed British marque; with details on every model produced and even some behind the scenes stories… Read More
Ford versus Ferrari
These days when we talk about Ford doing battle on the race track, it’s usually against Chevrolet, Dodge, and Toyota. But there was a time when they had much loftier competition. And you can read all about those epic on-track battles, as well as all of the work that went on behind the scenes in Ford Versus Ferrari: The Battle for Le Mans and Sports Car Supremacy… Read More
Steve McQueen, The Last Mile Revisited
There have been no shortages on books about steve mcqueen that take up residence on our shelves. But none quite like this one. Instead of the usual stories of his racing exploits or pictures of his car and motorcycle collections, “Steve McQueen, The Last Mile Revisited” takes a look at the last few years of his life as he was winding down his acting career…… Read More
Driven by Desire: The Desire Wilson Story
Those of you who think that women in auto racing begins and ends with Danica Patrick need to get an education. And a good place to start would be by turning the pages of Driven by Desire: The Desire Wilson Story. Written by her husband, race track developer Alan Wilson, it chronicles this South African woman’s rise from beating the boys at the Go Kart track at… Read More
The One Percenter Code
In a dog eat dog world where people do whatever’s necessary to get ahead, it’s refreshing to read about a group of people who still live by a code of honor. “The One Percenter Code. How to Live Like an Outlaw in a World Gone Soft,” by Dave Nichols shows there’s a lot more to motorcycle clubs than what you’ve seen on cable TV shows and bad biker flicks. And whether… Read More
Formula One at Watkins Glen
While Indianapolis and Daytona may get a lot of the fanfare when it comes to American race tracks, there are many historic tracks in this country with stories to tell, and Michael Argetsinger celebrates one of our favorite circuits in his book Formula One at Watkins Glen. Throughout its photo-filled 160-pages is a race by race account of the 20-years that Watkins… Read More
Driving on the Edge: The Art and Science of Race Driving
No matter how long you’ve been driving or how much track time you’ve logged; there is always room for improvement. And those looking for some will be well served by reading Driving on the Edge: The Art and Science of Race Driving by Michael Krumm. For those of you not familiar with Krumm, the German born racer progressed through Karts and Formula cars to GT… Read More
Steve McQueen, A Passion for Speed
Very few people have managed to successfully merge Hollywood and motorsports like Steve McQueen. Truly an icon in both fields, McQueen always felt more at home around fast machines at the track, or in the desert on a motorcycle, than he ever did around cluttered movie sets. But in his book “Steve McQueen, a Passion for Speed,” French author Frederic Brun uses tons… Read More
Route 66
Perhaps you’ve dreamed of hitting the road to see America in all of its back roads glory. Maybe you’ve even dreamed of doing Route 66 in its entirety along the way. Well, that’s exactly what Sal Santoro and Bob Walton did; as they made their way from New Jersey to Santa Monica, California in a 1968 Cadillac. Fortunately for us, they took plenty of pictures and… Read More