Racing Books

Quick and easy review: the most stunning pics you will see of blue water yacht racing. Great text as well. All sailors should add this to their collection.

This book had me glued. I own a foundation bred stallion and did not know his dam's bloodlines. With each Legends book I read, I learn more of why my stud is the way he is! I have also learned how important research is in breeding quality animals and how they did it then and how it has effected now! An excellent series of books for anyone interested in their horses ancestry.

My family has been in the harness business since before I was born. I have charted many of Peters descendants including Vivid Photo and P Forty Seven not even knowing this story. I am amazed at the lengths you have gone to as a non horse person to include all the details. I also like the way it is written. I must add that while reading about Peter getting 20 lengths on the competition I even became excited. I can imagine the crowd getting louder and louder as he neared the finish line because they still do. I love when people get excited about harness racing. I also learned a thing or two while reading this book. I have seen, probably, thousands of pictures of the first high-wheeled sulkies and never thought about them weighing over 100 pounds. I found that to be an interesting little tidbit. Thank you so much for all the effort you put into bringing this story together. I am truly impressed.

Steve Matchett, now appearing on Speedvision's F1 TV coverage, was a mechanic for the Benetton F1 team during Michael Schumacher's rein. Steve can explain the most intricate technologies in an easy to read style. The book covers the exciting and not so exciting aspects of being a front-line mechanic for a top F1 team.

Long out of print, it's worth every penny (or should I say dollar) it brings on the seondary market. This book covers every aspect of Lime Rock's birth and growth to what it is today, even though the book came out in 1992. Sam Posey, the first driver to run a sub-1-minute lap, writes the intro and author Rich Taylor is at his finest writing about Lime Rock Park. Loads of photos, highly recommended, hardback cover with nice colorful jacket.

This is a great book for several reasons. GREAT. I mean it.

First off, Lloyd Ruby was an amazing driver. If you remember Ruby's stirring charges from the back to the front, and his ridiculously poor luck at critical moments, you'll never forget the spectacle. But you don't need to know about Ruby or racing or the Indianapolis 500 for this part of the story to get under your skin. You can feel the grand prize dangling before the hero throughout the book. The outcome somehow matters even though you already know it.

Part of what makes this story truly great is that we learn how this guy put in super-human performances, endured tragic losses, recovered, and lived well anyway. Maybe this is the real heart of the story, meaningful to any reader.

What emerges from the pages of drama, victories, failures, and tragic losses of precious life is the clear portrait of a great person. Again, I mean it. (As a psychologist, I really appreciate the fact that the portrait of Ruby did not seem superficial. It had a believable depth to it). Like all successful drivers, he had an intensely competitive spark, along with a superb intuitive set of skills. But despite his legendary performances and deep disappointments, he seemed to never sacrifice his values or his sense of humor. Through it all shines his remarkable calm, his ability to deal graciously and sanely with adversity, and his unquestionable integrity. This is the "good old boy" who befriended--against all odds--his "opposite," Ken Miles; who defended Janet Guthrie against detractors when she took the track, etc., etc., etc. An amazing part of the story is that the legendary champions of Ruby's time are quick to acknowledge Ruby's talents, as well as his remarkably positive personal strengths. (Al Unser, Mario Andretti, Carroll Shelby, Roger McCluskey, Andy Granatelli, to name a few). Their affectionate comments seem to indicate that even though he never led the last lap at Indianapolis, he was a leader...

I believe that the book achieves greatness in its own right, as a well-told story and first-rate biography. The depth of the story kept my interest.

Frankly, I wasn't planning to write a long review. I bought the book because I wanted to know something about the driver I cheered for as a kid.

EXCERPT (from the prologue): "As we first began to talk about writing a book on his life in racing, Ruby, straight-faced, told me one book had already been written on his life. He handed me an impressive, hard-bound copy. `Here,' he said, `this may help you with some of your research.' The book was titled, How to Drive and Win the Indianapolis 500, by Lloyd Ruby. I opened it and began to thumb through the blank page after blank page. About three hundred pages in all, and all blank. He didn't say anything. Just a slow wicked grin spread across his face."

Here's a portion of a review I posted a couple weeks ago, before I completed the book.

As a kid, used to watch races on TV and at the race tracks with my parents. I didn't know much about the racers, but something about the way Ruby raced captured my imagination and he became my favorite Indy racer. The year I started paying attention was the year Mario won (1969), and Ruby was spectacular. I was rooting for Ruby and my twin brother wanted Andretti to win. Ditto in 1970 and the years that followed. From this kid's eyes, Ruby was amazing. But something always happened to keep him out of victory lane at Indy. When they interviewed him or his fans, he and they had about the strongest Texas twang I've ever heard, and sometimes he wore a giant hat. I grew up in L.A. where people don't sound like that, but I thought it was great stuff.

I was watching this year's Indianapolis 500 and hearing about Michael Andretti, who may very well be the other greatest driver never to win the race. I couldn't help thinking about Ruby. So I did a search and came up with this book. I think the idea that he was a man of character, but also a "character," sums things up nicely. And for Indy fans, he's definitely not someone to forget.

In summary... In my opinion, this is the second greatest racing book that never made it to the New York Times Bestseller list. I'd probably rate it higher, but maybe that wouldn't be consistent with the story line.

A real page turner. THE best sprint car biography I have ever read. Wonderful writing style & great story of one of the best ever.

Bob Wilder is a professional journalist, newspaperman, and sports writer with an especial interest in horse racing. In Long Shots And Exactas: How To Win At The Races, Wilder provides the reader with a simple and straightforward encapsulization of basic self-taught principles to improve the odds of turning a profit when betting on the "sport of kings". A basic primer that grounds the reader in key practices such as how to eliminate most horses from consideration; how to judge which animals are most capable of winning; and walking through a typical day at the races and more, Long Shots And Exactas is especially recommended for anyone new to the leisure activity of horse race gambling.

The text is well written and reads easily, although it is slightly encyclopedic. The book manages to try to document all the racing that went on in the years it covers while at the same time placing the bare facts into context with some anecdotes about the drivers and the cars. But what really makes it a five-star book is the collection of photographs and other historical documents.

I suspect that it would not be of general interest, but as someone who is involved in the current-day Pacific Northwest sports car driving scene, I find the history to be fascinating. I'm very much looking forward to the next volume.

This book was published in only very limited numbers and was (as far as I know) self-distributed by the author. That makes it hard to find.

This is the story of 9 men attempting the greatest adventure around the earth: solo circumnavigation non-stop. You will find excerpts from Moitessier`s Longue Route, Crowhurst`s last voyage...

It is a chronographical description of nine races, as each sailor was on a world of his own. Each boat has it`s own noises, it`s own history and all nine are well blended together.

An excellent book about the pionneers of solo sailing