F1 Fanatic reviews over 100 Formula One books

4re Nut · Jun 16, 2013

FYI, F1 Fanatic reviews over 100 Formula One books - F1 Fanatic

... The printed page has much competition for our attention and when it comes to F1 literature we are also spoiled for choice. But a well-written book can give a depth of understanding of a subject that hyperactive social networks can never approach.

Thats why F1 Fanatic keeps abreast of new Formula One book releases. Well over 100 of them have appeared here over the years.

Now F1 Fanatic offers a single page for you to browse them all at ease. The new book reviews archive has been several weeks in the making and allows you to quickly sort through reviews of over 100 F1 books.

They are indexed by subject as well as title, author and year, allowing you to quickly find books on whatever topic youre interested in. And you can sort the list by rating to separate the wheat from the chaff...
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Direct link: Books - F1 Fanatic

Fast_ian · Jun 16, 2013

Great find, thanks for the post!

Just reading some of the reviews is entertaining. Certainly added a few to my reading list, damnit!

Cheers,
Ian

Fast_ian · Jun 16, 2013

Seems Peter Warr agrees with my take on "Our Nige"!....

Nigel Mansell will never win a Grand Prix as long as I have a hole in my arse.

The memorable words of Peter Warr, former Lotus team principal and Colin Chapmans right-hand man, as Mansell left the team at the end of 1984. Warr was never short of an opinion or two, particularly on the subject of Mansell.

Not that Mansell didnt give as good as he got, claiming most of what he achieved had been on Colins coat tails in his 1995 autobiography.

The passage of time and Mansells eventual tally of 31 career wins, the fourth-highest of any driver did not cause Warr to revise his view of his former driver.

He spends over a dozen pages on Mansell in this new volume of memoirs, calling him a seriously flawed driver who threw away two championships and even claiming he got an extended contract at Lotus due to a completely uncharacteristic moment of weakness on Chapmans part.
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"Team Lotus: My view from the pit wall" by Peter Warr - review - F1 Fanatic

Cheers,
Ian

4re Nut · Jun 16, 2013

Fast_ian said: ↑

Great find, thanks for the post!

Just reading some of the reviews is entertaining. Certainly added a few to my reading list, damnit!

Cheers,
Ian
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You're welcome.

I just ordered this book from Amazon as a result of its reviews, "Enzo Ferrari: A Life" (Richard Williams, 2001) - F1 Fanatic.

Formula One is just one of the sports that Richard Williams covers for the Guardian, and that breadth of knowledge gives him a refreshingly broad approach to the often insular world of motor sport in general, and F1 in particular.

He is also the author of several books on motor sport and in this biography he tackles a colossus of motor racing: Enzo Ferrari.

The ingegnere lead an increasingly secluded life and ceased visiting Grands Prix in person decades before is death in 1988. Williams’ penetrating insight reveals the man in remarkable detail.

What emerges is a story that can only be described as remarkably unremarkable. The success of the Scuderia in the early years certainly owed much to Ferrari’s application and preparation.

But there were times when the team found themselves up against a wall, and fortune intervened.

Such as Mercedes’ arrival on the voiturette scene in 1939 with the devastating 1.5 litre W165s, only to be thwarted by the outbreak of World War Two. And the withdrawal of the same team in 1955 after the tragedy at Le Mans.

Williams peers into the back-stabbing, Machiavellian world of Enzo Ferrari’s team and the fierce competition between engineers and drivers for the affection of the ingegnere.

We see, too, Ferrari’s human side and the personal tragedies that struck him. Aside from the deaths of many of his racers (including his beloved Gilles Villeneuve in 1982) his father and brother died when he was eighteen.

His first son, Dino, suffered from Duchenne’e muscular dystrophy and died at the age of 24. “The only real love possible in this world is that of a father for his son,” said Enzo.

“Enzo Ferrari: A Life” is one of the best motor sport biographies I’ve read for some time. The text is well supported by contemporary accounts and revealing interviews. Ferrari himself is quoted at length from his own memoirs.

Most intriguing of all are two crucial decisions Ferrari took during his career: first, to quit racing as a driver, and later, to sell Ferrari to Fiat. Ferrari describes these decisions only cryptically, and these are the only two occasions where Williams’ insight into the man are severely compromised.

But this remains a compelling and engaging biography that I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend.
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I recently read Brock Yates' book, Enzo Ferrari: The Man, The Cars, The Races, The Machine, and it will be interesting to compare and contrast the two.

4re Nut · Jun 29, 2013

4re Nut said: ↑

...I just ordered this book from Amazon as a result of its reviews, "Enzo Ferrari: A Life" (Richard Williams, 2001) - F1 Fanatic...
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It shipped from London and ironically I rec'd it on the weekend of the British GP. At least I have something to keep me entertained during tomorrow's race.
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4re Nut · Oct 13, 2013

Not on the list but thought I'd post this here, stumbled across it at Goodwill for $3...
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