Cars at Speed: Classic Stories from Grand Prix's Golden Age

By Robert Daley

Book Overview

Long before he became a best-selling novelist, Robert Daley was a European sports correspondent for the New York Times. In 1961, he published his first book, Cars At Speed, an historical and... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0760331170
• ISBN13: 9780760331170
• Release Date: January 2007
• Publisher: Motorbooks International
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 0.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.6" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Good book on a DANGEROUS time in Formula One!

This volume is a bit earlier, written in the 1961 season, just before Lotus introduced the goalpost 25. It is VERY interesting, capturing the period, esp. the thrill, romance in the eyes of the drivers and fans (romance and attraction of racing, rather than romantic/love/sexual), and overt deadly dangerous nature of racing from the 1950s and early 60s. It isn't glossed, highly pictured, or cover much of the more well known drivers of the later 1960s. As it was written in 1961, most weren't around yet. The illustrations that are there show the track layouts of the period. If one is very interested in the older history of Grand Prix racing (and the sports car racing up to the beginning of the 1960s and the beginning of the British rise to F1 dominance (which is still in place, as most teams are British-based and have huge contingents of Brits on the teams), then this book will be interesting. Be warned: this period of F1 was VERY dangerous and drivers died on a regular basis, often a number in a single season. Daley says it like he saw it, warts and all. For me, that makes this book even more interesting, as the reader gets to know their heroes the way they were known by those around them. Some bubbles may get burst in the process. If unwilling to experience that, don't bother to read it. As for me, I found it VERY interesting and WELL worth the price and time to read. It is practically a primary source on an era now mostly lost in romance and the fog of memory. It is from the period and of the period. To a history-person who loves F1 racing, this is a "must have" on your self, whether you agree with the author or not. Many surviving folks from the period likely HATE it, as it reminds them of the bad times that surround their good memories. I'd say it balances the story . . . I'd recommend it and am VERY glad I bought it!

Best racing book ever

I first read this book as an eighth grader back in 1964. It hooked me on racing. Over the years, I had thought many times about rereading it. I was very happy to see it had been reissued. It wasn't disappointing to reread it. If you are interested in the time period it is written about, I doubt you can find a better history. As I read it, I was reminded of the the computer racing simulation called Grand Prix Legends which is based on the racing era of the book.

A Re-Issue of a Racing Classic

I purchased the paperback version of this book sometime in the late 60s, and I've returned to it many times over the years. Apart from it's hardcover format, line-drawings to lead-off each chapter, and a new introduction by author Robert Daley, this is exactly the same book that was issued many years ago. It captures an era (the late 50s and early 60s) in Formula 1 and international sports car racing that bears little resemblance to what we see today. As Daley points out in his introduction, the two main differences between then and now are death and money. Then, several top drivers would die every year; the chance of a top grand prix driver surviving into retirement were literally less than the odds of surviving a round of Russian roulette. Now, Formula 1 has not seen a fatal accident since that horrible weekend 15 years ago when Ratzenberger and Senna died at San Marino And the money: then, the driver's salaries were comparable to that of a successful insurance salesman, and endorsements were few and far between. Why risk an ad campaign on a driver who might be dead before the campaign could even get under way? Now, the drivers make millions on salaries and endorsements, and are part of a jet-setting international celebrity elite. The world of Cars at Speed was a world in which advertising played a minimal role and in which old national rivalries were still in the forefront. The color of the car was determined by the country of it's manufacturer (red for Italy, green for England, silver for Germany, and so on). There were few if any sponsorhsip logos on the cars or on the drivers' uniforms; it was a game for wealthy sportsman and the manufacturers of world-class sports cars, not for international corporations marketing beer, cigarettes, or clothing. Daley's format is essentially to focus on the sport nation-by-nation, with a chapter on each major grand prix and sports car event (in the latter group, the Mille Miglia, the Targa Florio, and Le Mans). Daley captures the color and danger of the era very well, anecdotally and almost gossipy at times. He captures the specifics of time and place, the ambiance of the circuits. Speaking of the circuits, several of those featured in Cars at Speed - the old Nurburgring, Zandvoort, Reims - have not been used for years, victims of economics or heightened safety standards. Others - Monza, Spa, Silverstone - have seen major alterations, mostly in the name of safety - and bear little resemblance to the circuits described in Cars at Speed. Daley is above all preoccupied with the danger of the sport, and that overriding possibility of death on the track is perhaps the main theme of the book. According to Daley, that aspect of the original book drew a lot of criticism from the fraternity of motor racing journalists, who downplayed the death and danger of the era almost to a fault. (In that vein, I remember a piece in the mid-60s, written - I believe - by Road & Track's then-F1 corresponden

Another excellent book by Daly

Cars at Speed is very similar to one of Daly's other books, The Cruel Sport. Though it should be mentioned that Cars at Speed was initially published years before The Cruel Sport. The Cruel Sport had breathtaking pictures of Grand Prix racing from the era, with enough text to tell the story behind the pictures. Cars at Speed is all about the stories. The stories are excellent and another great view into the world of motorsport. The focal period of the book is the 1950s and early 60s when the author lived in Europe covering the sport. Each chapter focuses on a particular track, with other stories included as Daly sees fit to include them. As in The Cruel Sport, Daly tells us that death was a big part of the sport, and the drivers knew it could happen, but dwelling on it wouldn't do them any good. Death is a major theme of this book, lots of drivers did die during this era as motor racing was nowhere near as safe as it is today. While the focus was on the 1950s, I found the stories of the prewar era about the great Mercedes and Auto Unions of the 1930s some of the most fascinating. They way they came prepared to race as opposed to some of the smaller teams can't help but remind me of the current F1 situation of the larger teams with half billion dollar budgets and the smaller teams scraping by on fifty million. It goes to prove, the more things change, the more they stay the same.

EXCELLENT BOOK

This is an excellent book for anyone interested in motor racing, but becomes a superb read for anyone interested in F1, Le Mans, or Mille Miglia history. The stories are fast-moving and interesting.