Books and other good readings

[allof6]

Over the past couple of years there has been some very good feed back and suggestions on some good reading material. I haven't seen anything lately, Any suggestions!

[Purple Frog]

Rand and I spend a stupid amount of time reading lots of books covering many aspects of the American Civil War. He has a habit on every race trip to visit nearby battlefields etc.

On the racing side, most books are just PR babble. But, recently I found in a junk shop "My Sweetest Victory" by Alex Zanardi. It was sort of interesting because it read as if he wrote it and not a ghostwriter.

A great little paperback that Rand told me to read: "The Men Who United the States" by Simon Winchester.

[rickrep]

Racing in the rain

[Bob L.]

Howden Ganley's life story, out for a bit over a year, now.... Very well written, good stories from that glorious era of "our" youth...... a blue collar DRIVER, worked to achieve... Unlike many recent racers, not born to a "silver" shifter cart.

Great read!

Okie

[CGOffroad]

'How to Drive' by Ben Collins. This is good bathroom reading. It is kind of text book on good driving practices mixed stories from Top Gear.

'Go Like Hell' by A.J. Baime I figure every gear head has read this book. But if not, you have simply missed the boat !!

[Peter Olivola]

Flat Out, Flat Broke 3rd Edition: The Original Stig: Perry McCarthy

[provamo]

"Carsick" by John Waters LOL

[John Nesbitt]

If you are of a certain age, or even just interested in F1 history from a completely different time, try:

The Lost Generation: The Brilliant but Tragic Lives of Rising British F1 Stars Roger Williamson, Tony Brise and Tom Pryce, by David Tremayne

and,

Piers Courage: Last of the Gentleman Racers, by Adam Cooper

Both are biographies of brilliant young British F1 drivers who died too young. Both highly recommended.

[John Merriman]

Excellent additions to my bookshelf in 2016 have included:

Just Call Me Carroll by Phil Henny - A quite unique perspective on Shelby

Inside SHELBY American by John Morton - SUPERB ! THE inside story and Morton's progression from sweeping the floors to racing at LeMans is a captivating tale

Forghieri on Ferrari by Mauro Forghieri - A must for Ferrari Lovers

NART - A Concise History of the North American Racing Team - Exceedingly interesting. Even just seeing the roster of NART drivers is worth the price but the amount of racing detail and history is fantastic

And most recently - TONY SOUTHGATE - From Drawing Board to Chequered Flag - Anyone who followed international racing through Southgate's time period, as I did, will really find this to be a exceptional read

Of course, if you still want MORE.......pick up THE BROTHERS RODRIGUEZ - at 600 pages and 4,000 photos it doesn't leave out any detail.....and Yes, the story of these astounding kids does need 600 pages to convey !!!


Hey !! How come I can't get BOLD TYPEFACE anymore??? Some sort of tricky setting?

John M.

[marjon]

"Mon Ami Mate" by Chris Nixon, the story of Mike Hawthorn and peter Collins

If you want some thing from WW2 "War Diaries" of Alan Brooke was Chief of staff and a close adviser to Churchill, quite revealing, certainly not a love in.

Merry Christmas to all

[pepperbowe]

Older, yet still good reads....

(1) The Unfair Advantage, Mark Donahue
(2) The Mudge Pond Express, Sam Posey

[DanW]

online autobiography- Free on his webpage.

By Kirk F. White

http://www.dontwashmine.com/

[provamo]

i hate to be a naysayer but i felt that Bob Riley's "The Art of Race Car Design" was lame

[Steve Demeter]

Older, yet still good reads....

(1) The Unfair Advantage, Mark Donahue
(2) The Mudge Pond Express, Sam Posey

Have them both under my bed for those sleepless nights.

they never get old.

[butch deer]

Equations in motion by William F Milliken.

Fascinating autobiography of Bill Milliken- some great insights into the early days of the SCCA. A story of his career in aviation and then vehicle design.

[TimH]

"The Last Open Road" series by BS Levy is fun light reading.

[marshall9]

"My Super Bowl Memoirs"

Dan Marino

Short read for when you are in a real hurry.

[ChristopherBernard]

Racing and Sports Car Chassis Design
By David Phipps and Michael Costin.
Old , still relevant, seems more interesting as a result.

[robert11]

I read a lot and will list some books that I have enjoyed , and or authors that have multiple books to their name . Some funny , some adventure , mostly good reading . I have read racing in the rain and enjoyed it .
Books by j Maarten troost - sex lives of cannibals and others about travel and living in the pacific
The Oregon trail by Anker buck , modern day covered wagon journey on the trail
Devils teeth , and others by Susan Casey about sharks at the farralon islands in San Francisco
Savage harvest by Carl Hoffman about Michael rockefellers lost in New Guinea and thought to be eaten by head hunters
Running the Amazon by Joe Kane , a trip from the source by kayak
Carl hiaason books funny about south Florida
A green mile mile about a record setting ride Down the Colorado river in a dory great true story
I could go on but I have probably lost many of you so happy reading
Needless to say I am always looking for a good book happy new year
Robert

[fvthree]

Robert Daley's "Cars at Speed" and "The Cruel Sport" are classics. Both are easily sourced. They describe European sports cars and F1 in the late Fifties and very early Sixties. Well written. The concepts never age.

Michael Keyser's "The Speed Merchants" follows the World Makes Championship from 1969 through 1972. I remember seeing the Toad Hall Porsche at the Watkins Glen Six Hours of Endurance in 1972. Great photos. A companion DVD with the same title is available. The scenes from the Targa Florio alone are worth the price of the disc.

Great thread..........I have already ordered some of the recommended titles.

Thanks.

[Neil_Roberts]

I think someone around here wrote a book once. I can't quite remember who it was, though.

[Diamond Level Motorsports]

I truly thought about posting about Neil's book but decided not to because my selfish nature doesn't want any of my competitors to see this information. Sorry Neil, please take this as a massive complement.

Best racing book in my library and I have them all.

Please ignore this post and continue on..........

I recommend Racing in the Rain!

[HayesCages]

Anyone into Ford should've already read this:

https://www.amazon.com/Ford-Dust-Glo.../dp/0768006635

I guess there is a part deux:

https://www.amazon.com/Ford-Glory-Ra.../dp/076800814X


Racing in the Rain was okay, skip his other books ;-)

[marshall9]

I think someone around here wrote a book once. I can't quite remember who it was, though.

Very good book, practical ways to improve, especially for us on a budget. Learned a lot about 'Old School" set up.

[Pi_guy]

I think someone around here wrote a book once. I can't quite remember who it was, though.

Bob Knox, Chris Brown?

I have Neils book also an excellent book.

Currently working on two O'Reilly books
Doing Data Science and Becoming a better programmer.

Car books acquired during Christmas
Can-Am 50th Anniversary Flat out with Americas Greatest Race series
90 years of Nurburgring I had wanted "Brian Redman: Daring drivers, deadly tracks" was out of stock will be coming later.
One on "Lost Race tracks" --exact name not sure book is home

Then since I added some new machinery to my shop I picked up:
Machine Shop Trade Secrets

[Jeremy Soule]

If you are in the LA area there is a great bookstore devoted to racing cars and aircraft in downtown Burbank. Autobooks-Aerobooks "worlds fastest bookstore", they have a great selection of new and some used books too, as well as online shopping/ordering availability. Always good to support a brick and mortar bookstore especially one devoted to our interests. see photo…. love the flag out front.


I second Neil Roberts book, Think Fast a racer's why-to, I was referring back to it a few weeks ago during the chassis stiffness thread here on Apex.

[Bob Wright]

The Stainless Steel Carrot by Sylvia Wilkinson. About John Morton and the BRE Datsuns in the '70s.

Beast- about the Mercedes Indy car motors Penske developed

And then there's 'Stand on it' A bit dated, but still off the charts....

[Dog Licked Racing]

I have the "Think Fast" ESR bodywork out in the shed.

If you are into Fords read - Fordlandia: The Rise and fall of Henry Ford's Forgotten Jungle City

[Daryl DeArman]

If you are up for jury duty I have found that reading a copy of Ted, White and Blue or If Democrats Had Any Brains, They'd Be Republicans will get you promptly thanked for your time and excused from service for the year. . Reading Far From the Tree now after seeing Andrew Solomon's moving TED talk.

[Purple Frog]

So many of my friends are engineers, mechanically inclined, work easily with tools, and/or are getting very gray. Curmudgeons, all. Grumpy old men.

In that vein...

Just finished "A Man named Ove" by Backman.

Fairly quick read.

You'll keep saying one of two things. 1. I know that guy. or 2. I am that guy.

[provamo]

So many of my friends are engineers, mechanically inclined, work easily with tools, and/or are getting very gray. Curmudgeons, all. Grumpy old men.

In that vein...

Just finished "A Man named Ove" by Backman.

Fairly quick read.

You'll keep saying one of two things. 1. I know that guy. or 2. I am that guy.

great film

[provamo]

i am looking for an affordable copy of"The Red Car" by Don Stanford the young adult book that started me down this evil path

the "Grand Prix World Championship" of 1961 by Louis T. Stanley would be nice but $1000 USD is a bit steep

i absolutely love "The World's Racing Cars" by M.L. Twite, does anyone here know how many different volumes were published (not just different editions)

[provamo]

his "Cooper Cars"which i got from John Merriman? here is fantastico

and Tom Rubython's "Shunt, the Story of James Hunt" is almost tragic

on the lighter side i was enchanted by "Medieval Warfare" by Terence Wise with regards to armour

i beleive it was a Times article that recommended "the Nuclear Express" which was so engrossing i wanted to read it straight through

[provamo]

"Villas at Table"

"Cooking Dirty"

"White Heat"

there is a book at a local coffee shop about that French Laundry guy that i should steal LOl

i suppose anything by that Anthony Bourdain would be invigoratingly enjoyable

[Michael Rand]

"Measuring America", by Andro Linklater.
Concerns North America quite a bit but really how a foot became a foot or a meter a meter or a Kilogram, or pound, or an acre or a chain, fascinating history of weights and measures and metes and bounds.
If you are working in thousandths of an inch or millimeters, you'll be interested.

[swiftdrivr]

Clouds of Glory ; Korda [biography of R.E. Lee]
Napoleon, a Life ; Andrew Roberts
The Washing of the Spears; Donald Morris [history of the Zulus]

Favorites

Africa; a biography of the continent; John Reader [he starts at the cooling of the magma!]
And Die in the West; Paula Mitchell Marks [one of the better books on the OK corral gunfight]
Three Wings for the Red Baron: Leo Bennett [tactics, aerodynamics of the triplane]
Into Africa; Martin Dugard [finding Livingstone. Africa as it was in the earliest accounts]
Lawrence in Arabia: Scott Anderson [The politics, intrigue, and powers around TE Lawrence]

and for Mike and Frog

Bruce Catton's trilogy on the civil war [reads like a novel, but it's all real]
A Diary from Dixie; Mary Chesnut [Gives a real feel for the people and the effect of the war]

[R. Pare]

Judy Stropus "The Stropus guide to Automotive Timing and Scoring"

[David Locke]

Daring Drivers, Deadly Tracks, by Brian Redman and Jim Mullen
The History of Motor Racing, by William Boddy
Formula 1 Racing: The Modern Era, by Jose Rosinski
The Lost Generation, by David Tremayne
The Story of March, by Mike Lawrence
Group 7, by Karl Eric Ludvigsen
The Last Season: The Life of Bruce McLaren, by Jeanne Beeching
McLaren! The Man, the Cars & the Team, by Eoin S. Young
McLaren Sports Racing Cars, by Dave Friedman
Can-Am, by Pete Lyons
A French Kiss with Death: Steve McQueen and the Making of Le Mans, by Michael Keyser
The Speed Merchants, by Michael Keyser
From Indianapolis to Le Mans, by Tommaso Tommasi
Bobby Rahal: The Graceful Champion, by Gordon Kirby
Jim Clark: Portrait of a Great Driver, by Graham Gauld
Jim Clark Remembered, by Graham Gauld
Faster! A Racer's Diary, by Jackie Stewart and Peter Manso
Speed With Style, by Peter Revson and Leon Mandel
The Art and Science of Grand Prix Driving, by Niki Lauda
My Years With Ferrari, by Niki Lauda
The New Formula One: A Turbo Age, by Niki Lauda
Meine Story, by Niki Lauda
Gilles Villeneuve: The Life of the Legendary Racing Driver, by Gerald Donaldson
Racing Driver's Manual, by Frank Gardner
Chevrolet = Racing? Fourteen Years of Raucous Silence!! by Paul Van Valkenburgh
With Flying Colours, by L.J.K. Setright, Derek Forsyth, and Robert Newman
Porsche: Excellence Was Expected, by Karl Ludvigsen

[mysteriousracerx]

The Art of Racing in the Rain is an absolute must. Its kind of like Ribsy or Socks, but for adults who love racing. Going Faster is always a good read, if you're looking to kill time. I'm trying to find a copy of Keke Rosberg's autobiography and the PacWest book.

[HayesCages]

If your interested in how the Kennedy's amassed their wealth and power:

https://www.amazon.com/Founding-Fath.../dp/B00BKGWFOM