"In one year Formula 1 can be so intensive it is more than the equivalent of five years for normal people"
.--Michael Schumacher
, Driver
"Sure it's exciting. But racing is very difficult, complicated, hard work."
--Tyler Alexander,
Racing Engineer since 1964
For the first time, the enthralling history of one of the world's greatest sporting spectacles is told by its leading
"In one year Formula 1 can be so intensive it is more than the equivalent of five years for normal people"
.--Michael Schumacher
, Driver
"Sure it's exciting. But racing is very difficult, complicated, hard work."
--Tyler Alexander,
Racing Engineer since 1964
For the first time, the enthralling history of one of the world's greatest sporting spectacles is told by its leading players--Jackie Stewart, Michael Schumacher, Juan Pablo Montoya, Ayrton Senna, and many others--the Formula 1 drivers, team bosses, designers, pit crews, journalists, spouses, lovers, camp followers, and fans. A beautifully illustrated and hugely ambitious project, assembled by a group of top journalists who have all covered the sport for years, this compendium is packed with action photography. Often controversial viewpoints come directly from those who act out the life-and-death dramas on the road. The chronicle starts with the grainy photos and rare memoirs of pioneering days a century ago, using the words of the men who began it all, such as Karl Benz and Sir Henry Segrave. Year by year, event by thrilling event, follow the innovations in car technology and racing technique to today's high-tech, high-finance, high-danger game; where grime and glitz, pain and passion are a way of life. The photo cavalcade puts you into the driver's seat in fiery crashes and finish-line celebrations. Rare behind-the-scenes sessions and a collector-quality gallery of the most famous driving machines of all time are part of the excitement.
...more
Hardcover
,
360 pages
Published
May 1st 2003
by Weidenfeld & Nicolson
(first published April 2003)
A very well put together coffee-table book "oral history" of the sport. The author might've considered a summation of some kind for the end rather than just stopping with the last race of 2001, but this is a minor quibble. The photos alone make this an essential for devotees of F-1.
Besides being an avid and devoted frogophile, Gerald Donaldson is co-author of
The Exercise Book
, and
The Book of Days
and author of
The Walking Book
.