dei ex machina: anybody have the book?

Just found a picture of the cover; what I need to know is,if you have it on your bookshelf, is there by chance any pictures of Carroll Shelby in it? I guess it's the story of Mimmo Dei's Centro Sud which sponsored Shelby for a time when he was racing Maserati 250F GP cars. I can hardly read the publishing company's name on the tiny picture of the cover but I think it's Fucina Editore and it was published in 2008.Do they publish a lot of books? the only Italian publisher I know off hand is Nada but he'll have this book in his bookstore if I can find out if there's something I want to see in it. Thanks for any info.

 

I found a maserati site that lists the book which apparently is an autobiography. Here's what the Maser site says about the book:
------------------------------------------

Dei Ex Machina
La storia dalla Scuderia Centro Sud.
La mia autobiografia.

by Mimmo Dei


Published by Fucina Editore 2008

Softback. Contains 96 pages.


"Twenty five years after its drafting, the previously unpublished autobiography of Mimmo Dei, one of the more important and charismatic characters of Italian motor sport, will be arriving in your bookshop."

Text in Italian


"Venticinque anni dopo la stesura, arriva in libreria l’inedita autobiografia di Mimmo Dei, uno dei personaggi più importanti e carismatici della storia dell’automobilismo sportivo italiano.

Nato pilota, poi diventato notissimo concessionario di Maserati sportive e da corsa, Dei è stato il creatore della leggendaria Scuderia Centro Sud, la prima e, fino agli anni Ottanta, unica scuderia privata tricolore a essersi distinta in F1. Attiva tra il 1956 e il ’65, la Centro Sud ha aperto le porte del mondo dei Gran Premi a tanti giovani piloti, sia italiani sia stranieri, da Masten Gregory a Carroll Shelby, ma a uno su tutti: Lorenzo Bandini.

Mimmo Dei però non è stato soltanto un “malato” di motori. E’ stato un uomo straordinario, un catalizzatore di idee, passioni e risorse. Ed è riuscito nell’impresa più difficile che sia consentita a un essere umano: inventare, dal nulla, se stesso. In questo libro racconta in prima persona la sua affascinante vita."



Born a driver, he then became the most famous Maserati concessionaire for sport and race cars. Dei was the founder of the legendary Scuderia Centro Sud, the first, and until the Eighties, the only private Italian team to distinguish itself in F1. Operational between 1956 and 1965, Centro Sud opened the door to the world of Grand Prix to many young drivers, both Italian and foreign, from Masten Gregory to Carroll Shelby, but to one above all: Lorenzo Bandini.

But Mimmo Dei was not only "mad" about engines. He was an extraordinary man, a catalyst of ideas, passions and resources. And, he succeeded in the more difficult undertaking that is consistent with a being human: to invent himself, from nothing. In this book he recounts, in person, his fascinating life.

This portrait format paperback book measures 14cm x 21cm (6ins x 8 ins) contains 96 pages with many illustrations. At only EURO 15 (around GB £13), it should be a must for any Maserati enthusiast.

Cover photo and text courtesy of Fucina Editore at www.fucinaeditore.it"
--------------------------------------------------------------

The publishers have their own website. Let me know if it has lots of Shelby pics, otherwise I'll have to put it on my back burner (my bookshelf is only soooo big.)

 

I wasn't aware Dan Gurney drove anything owned by Centro Sud. Gregory is always interesting--I wonder if he bought or rented the Centro Sud cars he drove? He was wealthy enough that, at a race, if his own car broke, he could walk down the line and buy another car on the spot. I wish that his biography had been picked up for a movie, I think he's an interesting driver, especially winning LeMans in a car that originally they thought a loser.