Cobra: The First 40 Years Author: Trevor Legate more...


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The Complete Book of Formula One: All Cars and Drivers Since 1950 Author: Simon ArronGood in theory, bad in practiceThis book features pictures of most of the 750+ F1 drivers, during races or practice sessions, and the various different cars they drove throughout the years. What this book does not feature is pictures of the F1 drivers who did not qualify for a race. Plus it does not feature drivers who started the race, as they were too obscure to have pictures of them, readily available. Another negative comment is that each of the pictures are exactly 4.75cm by 3.4cm in size each! Really, really tiny and of little use, although, if you decide to count how many pictures there actually are, you could understand that it's cheaper for everyone if they were made small. Quite a few of the pictures are also extremely pixellated. The book must have been rushed to have ended up looking like this. Slightly disappointed, but there are some real gems in there.Superb photographic referenceNow this is a weird one. Respected journos Simon Arron (at Motorsport News and Autosport for many years) and Mark "brother of Warren and the bloke who should have Nigel Roebuck's job" Hughes (also of the Beano) have teamed up to produce the ultimate photographic reference book on F1.

They attempt to show a picture of every car/driver combination that's ever competed in the World Championship, and a portrait of every driver - and apart from a few very obscure ones in the 50s, they succeed pretty well. (About 30 missing out of something like 3500 driver/car combinations, many of these F2 tail-enders who only ran in one GP and none later than the early sixties).

The book's organised year by year, with a nice photographic survey of the year's championship, and then pics of the driver/car combinations in championship order. If Fred Bloggs drove three different models of car in 1966, then they show you Fred in each of the three. You can't accuse them of being less than comprehensive. Now, there's not much new you can show about most of the famous ones, but this book really comes into its own the further down you get - it's all here, private owners of customer or ex-works cars, extra works entries, one-offs, no-hopers, chancers, special-builders... there's pics of everything from AFM to Zakspeed in here. Most of the pics are very good, but some of them, probably out of the need to use substandard material to cover everything, have been fairly crudely digitally enlarged.

Possibly not of interest to pure Bernie-era F1 fans, but anyone interested particularly in the 60s and 70s when there were all sorts of weird and wonderful characters popping up in bizarrely-coloured cars (check out the chocolate brown and orange Brabham John Watson used to drive!) for odd races in strange privateer cars this is the book. It's also a great photo-essay on how the F1 car has evolved over the past 50-odd years.

Somewhere between coffee-table and anorak, with appeal to both ends of the spectrum.

I've spotted two errors. Pete Lovely's 1971 Lotus 69/49 hybrid is described as having a 4-cylinder Cosworth engine; in fact it used a DFV V8. On the same page (!) obscure one-off March rent-a-driver Max Jean is mis-listed as Jean Max, although this mistake is very common!An aficiando's dreamIt is a very thorough piece of work. It allows you to see complete Formula One grids have looked like over the years at a glance. Each driver/car combiation picture comes with an accurate note of the races competed in. It is great to be reminded of combinations like John Watson in a JPS Lotus. The reviews of the seasons offer some sensational pictures including an emotive one of Jackie Stewart whispering in Gilles Villeneuve's ear on the Imola podium in 1982. The reviews are brief and the lack of teams from some years due to non qulaification is frustrating but overall it is an impressive referance book. more...


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Benetton Formula 1: A Story Author: Pino Allievi more...


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Damon Hill: Through the eyes of Damon Hill Author: HillDrivers come and drivers go, but few have caught the imagination of Formula One fans like Damon Hill, the 1996 world champion.

Hill's decision to walk away from the pit lane and hang up his gloves, after a lacklustre start to the 1999 season, left the sporting public awaiting the arrival of a new talent to fill his seat and take to their hearts.

But Damon retired from the track safe in the knowledge that he has emerged from the shadows of his late father, double world champion Graham Hill, to command his own place in history alongside the greats on the grid.

F1 Through the Eyes of Damon Hill is a frank account written during his first season with the Jordan team--a year which started sluggish but ended in ultimate triumph at Spa-Francorchamps.

Looking back, the 1998 campaign was a roller-coaster one which in many ways mirrored Hill's own career behind the wheel.

The pages are glossy and packed with superb colour photographs by Keith Sutton, which are worth the cover price on their own. And Hill's observations and explanations give the reader a probing insight of what goes on inside that distinctive blade racing helmet.

There really is something for everyone--Hill openly writes about the highs and lows, his rivalry on the track, the cloak-and-dagger way teams operate and, of course, his family.

Alas, the chance to see Hill competing on the F1 stage is history, but this winning book keeps the memories ticking over and will merit pole position on any sports reader's bookshelf.The excitement of Formula1 effloresces from this book!There is little more I can add to the comments made in the previous reviews. An excellent book, even fans of Michael Schumacher will enjoy this!Superb Book...A must read for any F1 fan, Hill or not!!!!After reading Damons other publications and F1 material in general, I didn't think this book would offer me anything new! How wrong can you be!?!?!?! After recieving the book and reading it from front to back then again I found this book to be absolutely superb. It touches on aspects of Damon's career and F1 drivers careers that other books fail to.

Any doubts I had about Damons hunger for victory and his commitment to F1 have been completely dispelled.

Keep it up Damon!

If you only by one F1 book this year, make it this one!Wonderful insights with pictures that truly capture F1.Hill is without doubt one of the most talentled drivers in F1, known for his ability to test cars and communicate with the engineers. What this book demonstrates is his continued desire to win, and his belief that another championship is possible with Team Jordan. Being the oldest driver on the grid, he is well aware of the competitive nature of the sport, but he is undeterred. Keith Sutton's pictures perfectly capture the magic of F1, and Damon offers a fascinating insight into a successful racing career. A must for all fans. more...


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Motor Racing at Goodwood in the Sixties (Those Were the Days ... S.) Author: Tony Gardiner more...


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Mille Miglia, 1952-57: The Ferrari and Mercedes Years (Mille Miglia Racing S.) Author: Mike Lawrence more...


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Indianapolis 500 and Indy Racing League Indycar Series Author: Jeremy Shaw more...


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John Force: The Straight Story of Drag Racing's 300-mph Superstar Author: Erik Arneson more...


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Motor Racing at Brands Hatch: In the Seventies (Those Were the Days ... S.) Author: Chas ParkerAn Absolute Delight!During the period covered by this book I lived just the other side of the Thames from Brands, and turning the pages brought back memories of a variety of journeys through the old, single tunnel, Dartford crossing to spectate and marshall at the track.
Muddy days on South Bank with the obligatory car horn salutes to the victors, trying to pull the John Player girls, that wonderful sloping paddock with such great access to cars and drivers and, most of all, some fantastic racing.
This is a cracking little book, and I think I'll go and make a cup of tea and enjoy it again. more...


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Bernie's Game Author: Terry LovellincomparableMore information on the little man than I've ever seen in one place! No other biography of him is this complete.
Gives a pretty good idea of what drives BCE; the final chapter(s) have yet to be written...

One comment - get a better proofreader.
Some of the grammatical & contextual errors could have been corrected by a child. more...


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