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It’s the last full shopping weekend before Christmas. So if you need to get something for a motorsport-obsessed loved one, or you’re a huge motorsport fan who might want to drop a little hint to those looking for a gift idea, here is your guide to some of the best books that have been released over the past couple of months that will look great under the tree come Christmas morning.
Inside F1 – Lee McKenzie (Black & White Publishing – £20)
A pandemic project turned into a lovely hardbound tome, Lee’s decision to tell the stories of her time in motorsport through the careers of seven ‘world champions’ (Massa gets the benefit of the doubt for his fleeting seconds of glory) is a triumph.
Like her interviewing technique, her writing is flowing and engaging without ducking the difficult points. Adding personal anecdotes to well-trodden stories is a nostalgic reminder of a time when drivers were more enigmatic and insight into their personal life was hard to come by, but easier to cherish.
To be devoured over Boxing Day with a mug of tea and the remnants of the Roses/Quality Street/Celebrations/Heroes (delete as applicable).
Ferrari 1960-1965: The hallowed years – William Huon (Evro – £75)
While Ferrari’s most successful F1 era came during the Schumacher/Brawn/Todt period, as a manufacturer this was nothing compared to what it achieved in the timespan covered in this beautiful book.
From the ‘sharknose’ F1 car, to the road racing ravages of the Targa Florio, via six consecutive Le Mans wins, this was a truly golden era no other manufacturer has experienced. The stories of how this was all achieved are retold comprehensively here, but not in a dense, dry way.
And while the copy does a good job of bringing the emotion to the fore, it is the stunning photography of Bernard Cahier that moves this onto another level. This isn’t a gift suitable for recent Drive to Survive converts, but to those with an appreciation of a very different era, this will be well received and loved.
Jacky Ickx: His authorised competition history – Jon Saltinstall (Evro – £95)
Comprehensive does not do this book justice. Pity the poor delivery driver as this 608-page, 3kg (I weighed it) passion project comes to your door. But is it worth reinforcing your bookshelves for?
Well, that really depends on your interest and admiration for Ickx himself. The depth is amazing. There are reports from his earliest (helmetless!) trials riding competitions right through to his Rally Raiding exploits that carried into the year 2000.
The research is seriously impressive. The hours that must have gone into the creation of this book are immense. The result is that everything feels a little bit by the numbers, with his unexpected F1 return with Ligier given more or less the same treatment as a Can-Am 4th place finish.
For Ickx aficionados this is clearly a must-have. Less so for the rest of us.
Driven to Crime – Crispian Besley (Evro – £40)
If the title alone isn’t enough to spike your interest there’s no hope for you! Those of us that have worked in motorsport for a significant period of time will have come across all manner of ‘shady’ characters, but this book adds meat to the bones (in a fully legally compliant way!).
Who wouldn’t stop to read Chapter 28: Angela Harkness – Stripper who ripped off NASCAR? While others tell more tragic and nefarious stories of murder and manslaughter. Chuck in the usual amount of fraud, embezzlement and a bit of kerb-crawling and you’ve got the best motor racing book I’ve read in years.
Fan or no fan, seriously I cannot see who wouldn’t enjoy these tales of some truly terrible behaviour. My only query: where is Payton Tapp Watkins? Maybe that tale is being saved for volume two…
Raoul ‘Sonny’ Balcaen (Evro – £30)
I have to confess that prior to reading this autobiography, I’d not heard of Balcaen (Bal-KAIN for those of you as ignorant as me). That fact betrays my Euro-centric knowledge of motorsport rather than Balcaen’s influence and standing on the other side of the pond.
Working with the likes of Jim Hall and Carroll Shelby gave him tremendous insight into the workings of some of the greatest minds of American motorsport, while national service denied him a trackside vantage point of the ignominious failure of the Scarab (America’s first F1 car) of which he’d been a junior part.
Balcaen has lived a full, rich life – the sort that’s almost inconceivable these days – and his broad, cultured tastes extend well beyond the west coast racing scene, into food, wine and motorcycle travel.
Well-paced and structured, it’s easy to dip in and out of with surprising insights into pioneering marketing techniques for good measure.
