Car Books Thread

[Randy Winkman]

Apologies if I'm missing something really obvious. I appreciate there's a thread on the book you are currently reading and I could start my own thread on any specific book I'm reading; but is there thread where people highlight and talk about specific car books they like?

[Randy Winkman]

I used to buy those back in the 80s/90s which is where most of my car book collection comes from. Mostly Lambo/Ferrari/Porsche but also Lancia Stratos. I had lots of the magazines the articles came from but I still liked the books.

What inspired me to start the thread was that I recently bought my first car book for ages. After seeing a good review in Classic and Sports Car magazine I bought "Quest for Speed".

https://www.motorsportweek.com/2020/11/26/book-rev...

It's about speed record cars and is brilliant. So much work must have gone into the illustrations which to my mind are of more value than photographs would have been.

[Randy Winkman]

Cheers. I like the idea of a book on Niki Lauda. I'm 56 years old and remember the Lauda crash well. In recent years I've seen a couple of good TV documentaries on him where I'm still struggling to decide what I think. I was involved in a really serious accident a few years ago so know what it's like to recover and get back to "normal" life. His recovery and return went beyond the normal.

[Randy Winkman]

coppice said:

generationx said:

Look for "To Hell and Back (N Lauda)" - it's a cracker.

It is superb, as are Lauda's other books. I did find Maurice Hamilton's recent biography slightly lacking , with a disappointing absence of material about the man , rather than 'just' the racer but it is still worth the read .

Pick of the crop , however, is Jon Saltinstall's wonderful book,(Niki Lauda , his competition history ) which lists , and usually illustrates, Lauda's every event. Jon is a delightful man and his book really is something very special .

Like Hamilton , and many others, the first time I saw Lauda was at the legendary Mallory Park F2 meeting in March 1971 . Most eyes , mine included ,were on the likes of Ronnie Peterson however . But I was privileged to see Lauda win several Grands Prix from trackside , including his last GP win at Zandvoort in 1985 . That was a joy to watch .

I didn't see Lauda drive at all; he had an injury which kept him out of the 1985 European Grand Prix qualifying where I'm pleased to say I saw Senna drive a JPS Lotus. John Player Special Lotus's are why I got into F1 in the first place when my parents bought me a wind-up Lotus 72. I'll certainly get one of those books though.

Equus said:

Randy Winkman said:

What inspired me to start the thread was that I recently bought my first car book for ages. After seeing a good review in Classic and Sports Car magazine I bought "Quest for Speed".

If you're enjoying that, you might like The Fast Set by Charles Jennings, too. Not many illustrations, but a good tale about three of the important personalities from the LSR's first golden era.

Man Against the Salt isn't bad, either.

Many thanks. My liking of F1 has all but disappeared now but I still love the idea of land speed record cars and bikes.

[Randy Winkman]

Thanks for those suggestions nsa. I think they illustrate why I started the topic because it's unlikely I would have simply chanced upon them. I think I'm attracted most to "Are we nearly there yet Dad? And the one on Yugo.

The motorsport ones could be a bit hit and miss for me depending on the subject. Though I've read dozens and dozens of biographies and I have learned that the quality of the writing is at least as important as the subject.

[Randy Winkman]

Afraid not. This was my favourite series and I still have these two plus some others.