Racing Books

This book is excellent, I can't tell you how many times I've referred back to it. Contains tips for training horse and rider in all three phases, and common problems that most riders will certainly face sometime in their career. Lots of great photographs to show you the right (and sometimes not so right) way to do things. Advice on conditioning (which I've found to be very helpful) and gymnastics at the back of the book. If you event, get this book.

I have had the incredible opporunity to work with this man in person. He is THE most informative, patient, helpful trainer I have ever worked with. Both of his books, "Training the Three-Day Event Horse and Rider" and "Gymnastics", are must-reads for any equestrian. I can only hope he writes more!!

I am just a beginner, but this book inspired me to try hard to event. I loved the gymnastics in the back!

In 1984 I began riding in Jimmy's clinics and have accumulated numerous hours riding, watching and listening. During this time I took copious notes on his comments; measurements of his gymnastics; watched other riders and listened to Jimmy's critiques. "Training-the-Three-Day Event Horse" IS Jimmy Wofford. His concise, straitforward teaching comes through in his book just as though you are there listening to him. If I could only have one book, it would be this one. I recommend it to my students, I give it as gifts and I wouldn't leave home without it.

I was SO happy to finally read a book involving cross country with so much emphasis on good basics and snaffle bits. I am so sick of hearing trainers advocating bigger bits to control your horse. Mr. Wofford advocates better TRAINING to control your horse - what a concept. This book covers quite a range of topics; from choosing an event horse, dressage, how the horse sees jumps vs. how we see jumps, cross country, jumping, conditioning, cross country position and more. I think this is a great book!

I have been slowly reading and researching the automobiles this book mentions for the past month. The book is filled with references to never before publicized engine programs.

For example, did you know that Ford made a V12 out of their now legendary 4.6L V8? The car is used in an Austin Martin, Ford is the parent company.
Little details like this will keep popping up as you read this book. You'll never believe which V6 Ford engine was used to make the other V12 detailed in this book.

The book was printed on high quality paper, giving the images of these rare engines an almost artistic quality on the pages inside. The photo of a BMW V12 engine pulling on a dyno with it's turbos giving off a red glow is spectacular!

Ludvigen's book on the V-12 is a well researched but compulsively readable account of the extraordinary and powerful engines with the lavish specification of having twelve cylinders. While giving details of design and development, the author also evokes the mixture of power, refinement and mechanical sophistication offered by these exotic engines from Ferrari, Aston-Martin, Mercedes and BMW while not neglecting the glorious history of the American Packard and Cadillac applications of of the V 12. It is like reading a book describing food where every bite is of gourmet quality, a city where all the streets are clean and beautiful or a dinner where all the guests are witty and candlelight glows off the bare shoulders of lovely, sophisticated women.

A truly excellent work for those enchanted by the fine detail of technology. A myriad of fine drawings and half tones backed up by colour plates of the V12's birth and development through the century. Karl's fluid and emminently readable style maintains interest with pithy anecdotes like Henry Ford's reason for sticking with 4 cylinders rather than 6: "A car should have no more cylinders than a cow has teats". From 1.5 litres to 27 litres the V12 story is always absorbing.

Finally, a book that lives up to it's advertising. Every page is interesting in this voluminous 600 page masterwork. No long boring company histories and endless pictures of people here. Ludvigsen stays on subject with clear modern pictures and expert analysis from makers and users of such engines. There is not one weak point in the whole thing, I feel I got much more than I paid for with this great book.

The author is British plain and simple, and it show with whimsical sayings like 'monkey motion' and the like. Outstanding historical documentation, but the author overwhelms with minutiae like bore and stroke for every engine, and which cylinder bank is staggered forward.
Also the author completely disregards the 180 degree V-12s (not boxing, boxing has 180 Vee angle with a 180 degree split crank journal) and spends too much time on VV12s (three banks of four cylinders).
There are some errors in the coverage of modern engines, notably VW VR6 and W12 information. and the author fails to explain the inherrent balance of an inline six, and how any vee angle V12 is balanced, but not necessarily even firing.
A good value, and the color photos are icing on the cake.

I usually like the running books with a 12 or 16 week schedule pre written for you so was wondering if Salazar's book would be well suited for me, in that I would have to write my running schedule myself. After reading his book, I found his advice easy to follow and the rule's of thumb's that he recommends are very helpful when you feel like deviating from your schedule since you now know the range to work within. Rick

I'm a novice runner wanting to take it to the next level and needed some advise and inspiration. I found that I was doing several things wrong and I have made major improvements in my running since buying the book. I now have a plan of action for continued improvement, and this book can take me there and beyond.

This book is quick and simple to read and covers all the basics, plus more. It's been extremely helpful.

This is my favorite running book by far. Alberto Salazar is obviously trying to convey the best information he can to the reader and he does a great job. The book is weak in the area of training schedules but strong on virtually everything else. Most of the book has been useful to me on a daily basis. The only real complaint I have is that the author, like many of the older elite runners , does not personally do as much stretching as he recommends for the reader, does not use a heart rate monitor, etc. But he, as a coach, recommends it to other runners while not having a whole lot of personal experience and it shows. I use both so sometimes I read between the lines. He also does not understand cycling and its effect on the runner. A not uncommon malady among runners.

An excellent and complete review of this book was written by the Zimmermans. I would, however, like to add that from the perspective of a better than middle of the pack masters runner, that this book contains everything you need to be a successful road runner. Most of the information is not new but it is an excellent SINGLE SOURCE for anyone who wants to find a way to improve his or her running. Although co-written by an elite runner, I was pleased to read about training in a manner to which I could relate. The pace charts, age graded and other tables are excellent. Thanks to both Alberto and Richard for writing a running book that made me feel they were talking directly to me. BRAVO!

Since Alberto Salazar was a former world-class runner
himself, before retiring from competitive running, this
book is definitely worth checking out. It also helped that
elite runners like Bill Rodgers and Mary Decker Slaney also
had positive comments regarding this book.
This book is useful because it takes you from preparing
race, the race itself, and the post-race routines. It also
discusses injuries, and how to deal with them, and other
associated topics, like the psychological aspect of running,
and basics like weight training, crosstraining and nutrition.
If you're a beginner or even a veteran runner, you will
find useful advice, because there was a few things I picked
up in this book that I don't recall seeing in other running
books, and viceversa. If I had a complaint, is that it only
had a sample training schedule for someone training for their
first marathon, not including his own elite schedule when he
was running 120 miles or more weekly. This schedule was not
of any use to me, because my weekly training mileage already
exceeds the highest weekly mileage suggested in the book.
However, despite this, it is well worth the investment,
if you plan to enter a road race at some point in the future.
The topics are logically organized in a chronological fashion
that makes the book easy and simple to read. FYI, if you want
a sneak peek, here's a look at the Table of Contents, and you
can decide if this book is for you or you can take a pass and
look for another book that will fit your goals more suitably.

CONTENTS
Acknowledgements ix
Introduction From the 100 Yard Dash to 1
the Ultramarathon

Part 1. Preparing To Race

1. On The Road To Racing 9
Why Race*Coaching What Nature Gave You*
Before You Start*Stages of Life*Medical Issues

2. Basic Principles of Running Faster 23
Muscle, Power, Fuel and Oxygen*Base Training*Speed
Training*Lab Tests and Training Theory*Callusing
The Mind*Rest*Building a Workout Schedule

3. Base Training
Hard-Easy Pattern*LSD Pacing*Warm-Up and Cooldown* 38
Hydration*Maintaining Consitency*Overtraining

4. Running Form
Upper-Body Form*Leg Motion*One Ideal Form 50

5. Speed Training 61
Eyeing The Prize*The Variety of Speed Workouts*
Picking Your Benchmark Pace*How To Run A Speed
Workout*Customizing Your Speed Workout*Training for
the Distances*Other Workouts*Putting It All Together

Part 2. Oiling The Machine

6. Stretching 85
Stretching Basics*Ten-Minute Stretching

7. Weight Training and Cross-Training 95
Lower-Body Exercises (Core Program)*Upper-Body
Exercises (Core-Program)*Pylometrics*Cross-
Training

8. Nutrition and Weight Control 112
Nutrition Basics*Fueling The Serious Athlete*
The Right Weight For You*Body Composition:
Measuring The Fat

9. Aches and Pains 126
Basics of Field Repairs*Common Hurts*Excess
Pronation and its Control*Coming Back After an
Injury Layoff*DMSO*Lesser Ailments*Other Maladies

10. The Runner's Mind 157
Paying The Price*Building The Confidence*Letting Go*
Relaxation*The Mental Race: Fighting Fatigue*Long-
Term Motivation

Part 3. The Race

11. Getting Ready 171
Choosing Your Race*Planning Your Race*Tapering*
Registration and Packet Pickup*The Night Before The
Race

12. Race Day 179
Rise and Shine*Warming Up*The Start

13. After The Gun 190
Split Times*Race Strategy 101*The Dictates of Nature*
Fine-Tuning Your Pace*Hydration*Gels

14. The Finish and Beyond 207
The Final Mile*At The Finish Line*Recovery*Setting
Your Next Goal

Part 4. The Marathon--And More

15. The Marathon 219
Marathon Training*The Big Day*The Recovery

16. Masters Running 240
Masters Physiology: Bad News/Good News*Masters
Training*Age-Graded Performance Standards

17. Advanced Challenges 255
Race Strategy 102: Racing People Rather Than The
Clock*Cross-Country and Trail Running*Relay Races*
Alternative-Format Races*Mega-Races*Triathlons*
Ultramarathons

Appendix: Pace Chart of Common 273
Workout and Racing Distances

Index 279

All in all, this book is fairly easy and fast to read. You
could probably finish the book in 4-5 hours, since there

are diagrams, charts, and other detailed information. It's
nearly 300 pages, but a person could probably polish it
off in a weekend or less if they devote a couple of hours
or so each day.

Great inormation for adults and kids a like. We loved this book as a family and find that all of us pick it up to read and look at. Great inspiration.

This book is great, it has beautiful pictures and info. However, I did find a few things that were not to great. First of all, when describing the Alaskan Malamute, the illustration had a pure black dog... Malamutes are NEVER pure black, they can be all white but that's the only exception for all one color, the only labeled pic of malamutes are an all white and all black, no markings! They also had very vague info on them. Malamute's real name is ALASKAN MALAMUTE, no where in the book did it say ALASKAN in front of malamute, well howcome you put SIBERIAN and ALASKAN in front of the husky? And two, I got a pup this August and I'm going to start training, so I read the chapter called "How to train Sled Dogs" it had absolutely nothing about training them except for, start training as pups! Blank spot! On what do you train them? All in all though, this was a beautiful book, I just use it for the pictures now.

"Born to Pull" was a joyous surprise. I expected the usual photos and line drawing illustrations accompanying the "how to" text, but was delighted to see the exquisite watercolors of my favorite subject, sled dogs. The artist and author make an excellent team in this effort, rather like champion duel lead dogs! A must for any mushers' library, armchair or otherwise. Perfect for gifts.

"Born to Pull" was recommended to me by the owner of the kennel where our family would be going for our first mushing experience. Though aimed at upper elementary kids, the amount of information is amazing. The illustrations enhance the content beautifully; particularly stunning is a painting of a team pulling under the Northern Lights.

Most enjoyable are the stories interspersed throughout; stories from well-known mushers such as Gary Paulsen and Jamie Nelson. Stories of dogs that decided to run the wrong way at the end of a race, and of dogs who found the way home in a raging storm.

Reading this book did not guarantee that I would not wipe out on the sled, but when I did, I knew just what the snow hook was!

I found this book in the kids' section while looking for Christmas presents. Knew nothing about it, and sled dogs are not my dog-of-choice, but was immediately compelled to buy it even tho it cost more than I'd planned. Amazingly full of good information, understanding of dogs and pulling, but there was a twinkle in the eye of the author, too. Imagine the runway team surrounding the ice-fisherman and eating all his catch!

The illustrations too are extraordinary. Such obvious awareness of the inner workings of dogs is unusual. The expressions of each dog are wonderful.

Highest recommendation for sled-dog enthusiast or any dog person, young or old.

I have the listened to the BBC dramatization of Enquiry at least a dozen times and the unabridged version several additional times and it never fails to entertain me. It was the first of the Dick Francis stories I listened to or read and it is brilliant from several points of view. The development of all the characters is done so well, especially Kelly Hughes and his helper Roberta and minor characters such as the sleazy detective and the horse trainers and owners. You meet so many memorable characters as Kelly seeks to clear his name and Dexter Cranfield's as well. Kelly Hughes was the kind of hero several stories could have been done about and I wish there were more. While not all the Francis stories were written quite as well as this story, I listen to this one several times a year. I strongly recommend this book/audio to all fans of Dick Francis and the hourse racing business.

Jockey Kelly Hughes and trainer Dexter Cranfield have their licenses suspended by the Oxford stewards for supposedly throwing a race. Hughes believes that they were framed and he sets out to clear their names and get the licenses restored. Who would want to ruin their careers? As the truth is revealed we hear a story of sexual deviation, blackmail, fixed evidence and attempted murder.

"Yesterday I lost my licence."

That's how the book begins ... and indeed Kelly Hughes, a leading jump jockey , has been indefinitely suspended from racing after being found guilty of deliberately losing a race.

He knows that someone has rigged evidence against him, and rather than sit back and wait for the ban to be lifted , he sets out to find his secret enemy.

Hughes isn't a detective, and just as he doesn't really know how to carry out an investigation, the reader can't guess at how the plot will develop. My favourite highlight is when Hughes is driving home after a dance. At first it seems to be just a 'filler' scene, but it turns into something more dramatic - and the writing here is particularly well-crafted.

The two main characters are Hughes himself , a widower, and Roberta, the snooty daughter of his employer. Near the start of the book Roberta asks him:

" "That picture .. that's your wife isn't it?"
I nodded.
"I remember her". She said. "She was always so sweet to me. She seemed to know what I was feeling. I was really awfully sorry when she was killed"
I looked at her in surprise. The people Rosalind had been sweetest to had invariably been unhappy. She had had a knack of sensing it, and giving succour without being asked. "

Unfortunately Roberta has been brought up by her father to regard jockeys as an inferior social class, and it takes a long time for the two of them to kindle any real friendship, let alone romance.

Francis is particularly good in this book with the minor characters - such as the aristocratic Bobbie, who clearly is very fond of Roberta but can't help hinting that Hughes is a better match for her, or Derek the diffident mechanic who kept most of his brains in his fingertips.

The plot doesn't flag, the tale builds to a satisfactory climax and I only wish Hughes had appeared in another of Francis' books.

This was the first Dick Francis book I have read and I must say that I am impressed! I bought it because I had nothing to read one rainy afternoon and because I am interested in horseracing. I read it in one day. The characters were real and the plot was interesting. If you look at the copy I have you will see all kinds of scribbles in it where I have marked quotes and phrases that I liked. For example, Kelly describes how he feels after his accident as "Not so much as banging the head against a brick wall as being actively attacked by a cliff". Yep, I know that feeling...Francis just said it better than I could have. Just one warning...don't pick up this book unless you can afford to spend the whole afternoon reading it.

The primary reason I continue to seek out and read Dick Francis is that he continually creates heroes that are efficacious and rational. He avoids the common pitfalls of most modern writers, and instead invents characters who pass the ultimate test: "Would I like to meet and know this person?" If you can answer "yes" to that question then there is great potential for enjoyment in the fiction centered around that character. If you answer "no" to that question, why even bother reading further?

Dick Francis' characters almost always recieve an unreserved "YES!" Read "Enquiry," it's not the best from Francis but it's still furlongs beyond the rest.

Bought this for my boyfriend... He loved it. Good for guys/girls that are really into the history of drag racing. Great pictures and lots of information

I love this book. It takes me back to a time when you could weld some tubes together, drop in an engine , pour in some nitromethane, and run it out. These are the stories of legendary men and women of our time that made history on the asphalt strips of California. There will never be a time again of such pure simplicity of art expressed in men and machines.

The title "Fuel and Guts" says it all. It's all about guys strapped into frame rails, feet against clutch cans, flames from headers, smoking tires and chutes blossoming at top end as told by the heroes themselves.

This was one of the first projects I worked on when I joined the Motorbooks staff. A rather cranky guy named Tom Madigan called me on my first morning, looking for some photographs he had sent with a book proposal about a year earlier. I told him I hadn't been a Motorbooks employee back then, but I'd be happy to see if I could locate the missing pix. When I found them, I immediately took them to my new boss, explained the situation, made him look at the photos, and asked if they weren't some of the coolest old drag racing pictures he'd ever seen. Then, I called Tom back and told him I'd found the photos and could send them back right away, but I'd prefer to keep them because I wanted to do a book with him. Thus began a long, sometimes tedious, but ultimately insanely rewarding journey.

Those of you who have read the first edition (the second edition is being printed as I write this) might have noticed that Kent Fuller's name is mispelled pretty much throughout the book as "Ken Fuller." That was my doing. Before you start thinking I'm an idiot, turn to page 181 in the book and look at the cowl of Roland Leong's "Hawaiian" dragster. What does it say? That's right, it says "Ken." I saw this just before we sent the proofs to the printer. Now, I know that Kent Fuller's name is Kent Fuller, but there it was, right on Roland's car: Ken. I panicked. I thought I must have been wrong all these years. I looked in Dr. Bob Post's seminal book on Top Fuel racing, High Performance, and it reaffirmed what I had thought I knew to be true. Why, though, would Roland have painted the wrong spelling on his car? I called Tom, but he was out of his office. So I made an executive decision. The wrong one, it turned out. Okay, now that you know the whole story, you can go ahead and tell me I'm an idiot. (As an aside to this story, I saw Roland at a book signing Autobooks/Aerobooks in Los Angeles had for Fuel & Guts. I immediately informed him of the trouble he'd caused me. To this day, he maintains that he really thought it was Ken, not Kent. No, Roland wouldn't do anything like mispell somebody's name to get a rise out of the guy, would he? Not Roland! Who, by the way, is one of the nicest people I've ever met. Which either says something about him or the rest of the folk I've encountered in my life.)

So, the basic point I'm making here is that Fuel & Guts is an oral history. There are occasional mistakes, people misremember things (I mean, most of the people in the book are approaching their 200th birthday, for crying out loud), people have axes to grind or they just want to poke fun at their peers -- it's everything a good oral history should be, and it'll give you a really good idea of what it was like to create a brand new form of motorsport. If you couldn't be there yourself, reading these stories is the next best thing. I thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of making this book, from working with Tom Madigan to meeting a few of the drag-racing heroes of my youth. It was a labor of love, and, judging from all the nice reviews, it sure has paid off. Thanks to all of you for making it possible. Now quit reading this stuff and buy the book. You'll like it.

This is a great book for anyone interested in the history of drag racing. Great stories, pictures and technical information. Brings you back to when drag racing was raw and gutsy. Makes you want to get out on the track (again?). Good for the novice and the old timers!

I got this book for my husband for xmas. He reads it almost nightly and is always reading me exerpts from the true stories of drag racing's legends. The pictures are awesome too.THANKS FOR A GREAT BOOK. HE LOVES IT!!!

Great mix of static and action shots, with extended captions. Steve shares a lot of his personal knowledge of the drivers and crews. Coverage tapers off around 1975. Not much coverage of the match bashers.

If you care anything about the early years of Funny Car racing, you need to get this book. Steve Reyes was there in those great years of the sport.
National events, match racing at many tracks that are now gone. All the great drivers of the day with awesome photos and many very interesting stories to remember the fun times. I may have to get another copy as I'm sure mine will get worn out.

If there is one book on 70's funny cars to own this is it! Tons of color photos with some of the classic magazine cover shots and handout photos. The greatest!!!

Ok nitro fans, here's the complete story, in Steve's own words and photos, on the growth and popularity of one of the all-time greatest, most exciting classes of race car in the history of motorsports.

If it had to do with drag racing, Steve Reyes was there with his cameras. Great job, Steve! You've recaptured my youth with this great book and your stunning photography.

a must have for drag racing fans!!!!!!!!!he has great shot of cars that were rarely seen.

This book is poetry. A story of a medieval horse race in Italy, with different sections of an ancient city sponsoring different jockeys and horses. A lot of plotting and undercurrents happen during each race --the race is easily the most important civic event in the city. A young jockey nurses an unlucky horse back to health, and his bond with his horse makes them an unbeatable team. The illustrations are magnificent. The story had me entralled. I read it when I was 11, and absolutely could not put it down.

Gaudenzia is an outstanding blend of horses, history and human interest. As a child I loved the story of how the cart horse became a champion. I thrilled to the traditions and pageantry of the Palio. As an adult I read this book to my son and realized there was a second story of the rider, who had persisted in his love for a horse.Even if you are not a horse lover,there are also some subtle lessons of ethics and loyalty in the story.
My college-age son recalls that the rider had a childhood so poor that his family would rub a saugage with bread for lunch to get a bit of grease, because the precious sausage had to be saved for dinner.This made a big impact on him.
Did this story influence two generations? Yes! Although I have waited over 40 years to make the trip, this July I will finally see the Palio in Siena - with my son.

How can this beautiful book be out of print! This is the story of the medieval (in every sense of the word) Il Palio race around the walled town of Siena, Italy. Horse clubs (contrade) from the 17 wards of the city gather to form alliances against others, horses and jockeys evaluated and selected and a very strenuous and difficult race around the town plaza is portrayed. I can still remember the scene, banners of the contradas flying, their symbols (the Wave, the Snail) and the subterfuge and plotting to win this race, which lasts only a minute or two. Not only accurate, but a dramatic tale of a young jockey. Brilliant. I hope it is someday reprinted.

I love horses, love to read, and Marguerite Henry is my favorite author, and out of all of her books (I've read them all), I think this is the BEST! About a year ago, I got a book from the library called "The Wildest Horse-Race In The World". I read it, and just loved it! I found out that it's original name was "Gaudenzia, Pride of The Palio". Now, I liked that name MUCH more than "The Wildest Horse-Race In The World"! Gaudenzia is the horse's name. It means "Joy of Living". The Palio is the race, which is run on July 2, the Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and August 16. It is run around Siena, Italy, 3 times. There are many sharp, danguerous curves. Horses and riders are sometimes even killed. The prize for winning the race is a handpainted banner of the Blessed Virgin Mary.It is a religous race, and before it is run, the horses are brought into church, and blest, and the fantinos (riders) are blest by the archbishop. ...

You may have been wondering "Is the Palio still raced?" The answer is yes! On July 2 and August 16, in Siena, Italy, this ancient race that has been run for nearly 800 years is still run to this day. I would really like to go to Italy and see it! I highly reccomend this book to anyone who loves horses, horseracing, reading, and history, and is ages 7 to 107! This is a really wonderful book, and I HIGHLY reccomend it!!!

This book is easily one of Henry`s best horse tales- yet it somehow seems to get overlooked these days. The story combines her familiar young person/horse bond narrative with a fascinating look at the very unique Italian tradition of the Palio horse race. Dating from medieval times, the Palio, held in Siena, re-creates the old drama of the various rival city states. Along with this slice of history, the author gives us the character Giorgio Terni, an idealistic young man whose dream is to become a trainer of horses. He evantually does achieve this, also becoming a Palio rider and forging a friendship with the high-strung yet lovely and fast mare Gaudenzia. Everyone is ready to give up on the mare becoming anything but a work horse- except Giorgio, whose faith in her talents never falters. He devotes all of his time to her, regaining her trust in people and getting her in physical shape to race. He`s truly a good role model for animal-loving youngsters. The story never loses its momentum- as a sixth grader reading it for the first time, I could`nt put it down. I also recall how upset I was when Giorgio must ride a different horse in one Palio race, and how the rules of the game indicate that he must try to prevent Gaudenzia from winning, even to the point of striking her with his whip. These realistic dilemmas give the book an authenic feel. Like the Pie in National Velvet, Gaudenzia is an underdog horse who comes out on top regardless. I hope this one makes it back into print!

We initially found this book in one of my husband's cycling catalogs and thought it was cute. We went ahead and ordered it and it has turned out to be a big hit with our 2-year-old daughter. It is also very educational in terms of using real cycling terms and teaching the kids that winning is not always everything. Highly recommended!

great experience with this seller.
received in timely manner and book was in great condition.

I thought it was very good. I like the animals. And I think Gracie is a bit like me. And I liked that Grandma was scared to get her ears pierced.
Lucy - 7 (with her Dad's permission)

This book is a wonderful story that provides a positive message to children. If you try hard you can accomplish anything. The author applies some of her personal experiences that children can relate to in today's society. I hope to see more from this author. My neice loved it. I recommend this book for ages 5 and up.

The book is very well written with lots of good lessons. The illustrations are amazing. A great buy for sure!

This book is a great read. Full of suspense and action. A great way to put the kids to bed at night - read a chapter just before bed (just like the author did with his children). Looking forward to the next book in the series.

I was so engrossed and captivated I had to read it in one sitting. It was exciting and fun, without ever becoming dark. I can't wait for the sequal.

I read this book one chapter at a time over successive nights to my four boys, and they loved it! From John's amazing gadget-equipped race car to the cast of villains and aliens, the author's wonderful imagination was evident. Since each chapter ended with a cliff hanger, my boys could barely wait for the next night's installment. They sat enthralled at each reading. Overall it was an exciting, imaginative and engaging story that seemed tailor made for young boys. Well done!

A very well thought out, exciting, adventurous story that is fun to read to young children. You get to make a lot of car noises too!!!

I bought this book for my nephew, who is 8 yrs old, and I believe that kids of all ages will want to find out more about John Fastramp and the Dakota 3000 Challenge. I don't think that the book will stay on the shelves once kids found out how good it is!