| Le Mans '55: The Crash That Changed the Face of Motor Racing | 
 enlarge | List Price: $34.95
Buy New: $29.99
You Save: $4.96 (14%)
Buy New/Used from $7.00
Avg. Customer Rating:   (based on 1 reviews)
Sales Rank: 828683
Category: Book
Author: Christopher Hilton
Publisher: Breedon Books Publishing
Studio: Breedon Books Publishing
Manufacturer: Breedon Books Publishing
Label: Breedon Books Publishing
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 256
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.8
Dimensions (in): 9.6 x 7 x 0.9
ISBN: 1859834418
Dewey Decimal Number: 629
UPC: 826205100105
EAN: 9781859834411
ASIN: 1859834418
Publication Date: May 6, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
|
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
The worst crash in motor racing history ? killing more than 80 people ? was produced by a ferocious and haunting combination of circumstances: nationalism, raw speed, the nature of a 24-hour race, and chance. The crash drew in Mike Hawthorn, the blond playboy from Farnham, in a Jaguar, and Juan-Manuel Fangio, one of the greatest drivers of all, in a Mercedes. A crowd of 250,000 watched hypnotised as Hawthorn set out to break Fangio, the two cars going faster and faster... and faster. Another English playboy, Lance Macklin, was caught up in the crash in his Austin-Healey, along with a 50-year-old Frenchman driving under the assumed name of Pierre Levegh. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time. It cost him his life, even as his car was torn to pieces that scythed into the dense crowd.
|
| Customer Reviews:
Interesting Subject but the author's style makes for tough reading October 10, 2005
32 out of 35 found this review helpful
My old boss at my first writing gig told me - "easy readin' is hard writin' " and he was right. This book, an indepth account of the worst car crash and loss of life in all of motorsports, was fascinating but could have been much, much easier to read. I originally thought that I was just tired as I first sat down to read, but it was the same thing the next day as I struggled with the author's difficult writing style. Since I consider Le Mans one of a handfull of great races, I really wanted to learn more about the tragedy and the aftermath. The author certainly did his research and the details, maps and drawings, calculations and photos all helped to bring this event, fifty years back, into sharp focus. A definite plus. I especially loved his explanation of the German, French, British post-war tensions and how it affected the way people formed opinions about racing teams. But I really had to strain to get through some parts because his style and sentence structures are not familiar to me.
It's on my motorsports book shelf but I don't think it needs to be on yours unless you too are a motorhead.
|
|
|
