Racing Books

Be clear on one point: this book is not for general consumption. Helm is writing for a particular audience, and that is thoroughbred horseracing handicappers and bettors. That said, I cannot recommend this volume highly enough. Witih the explosion in computer technology over the past several years, and the attendant availability of rafts of information, there are very few true "frontiers" left to the race handicapper. Pedigree -- a horse's bloodlines, and all that they suggest about his/her abilities -- are, in Helm's view, the last unexplored territory. He begins with a compelling examination of the current state of the thoroughbred breeding industry. But his truly original contribution to the ever-growing literature of handicapping follows, as he creates a cogent technology for applying pedigree information to the analysis and playing of specific types of races. In Helm's view, the real opportunities at the racetrack arise when one can, based on reliable data, project that a horse will be able to accomplish something that it has not yet attempted. So, a first-time starter may be backed with confidence...if the bloodlines suggest precocity. A sprinter may be backed in a distance race...if the pedigree suggests stamina. And so forth. Races that previously appeared to be unplayable become golden opportunities. Bottom line: this stuff works! Since this initial volume, Helm has published several updates, and puts out annual "Sire Ratings," so that those of us who use his essential technology can work with the most current information.

With the publication of Exploring Pedugree horseplayers finally have available information(an a perspective of how to use it) that allows them to intelligently evaluate debut runners in maiden races, as well as young horses stretching out, switching to the turf or trying an off-track for the first time.

"A quantum leap in handicapping consciousness." The Cramer-Olmsted Report

"A major breakthrough in handicapping." Daily Racing Form

After having just read Gary Paulsen's book Winterdance, I was anxious to learn more about the iditarod race and this book answered every question I could have dreamed up and more including history of mushing and the race, how mushers and dogs prepare for the race, what kind of equiptment they carry, and descriptions of the trail itself. It also has a very large bibliography which gave me a list of other books I would like to read.

This is a great book. The training section helped me with ideas for my dogs, as did the parts on equipment and feeding.

For anyone interested in cars, photography, and interesting stories this book is a treasure. Of the several Ferrari books I own this one stands out as both artfully done and a good read.
Well worth the price.

A great book. Maybe I'm just partial because of the vivid five page stretch devoted to the Comp Daytona.

There are lots of Ferrari books out there, good books, filled with well researched bore-n-stroke, nuts-n-bolts facts, but I've always hungered for something a little more subjective, a little more visceral.

With this one you get visceral.

The cover doesn't look very promising, does it? With its distinctly unhistorical 599 and convoluted invocation of "The Ferrari Legend" I was expecting a bland model-by-model, race-by-race statistical history. But John Lamm's discriminating compilation does Ferrari history justice; it is told in first hand accounts by those who, (as honestly stated in the title), "lived the legend."

The number of anecdotes, photos and especially voices contained in here is staggering: you get the ubiquitous Phil Hill, but also Enzo Ferrari's personal secretary Brenda Vernor; you hear Mauro Forghieri's thoughts on Villeneuve; Andretti's on Forghieri; you get Sam Posey describing in detail his 1971 Le Mans drive in a 512M; Surtees talking about Dragoni and team politics; Gurney on going to Italy in `58 to try out for the Ferrari team in front of Mr. Ferrari; Dario Franchitti on why he loves his F40 and F355, not so much the more recent cars.

This is not another competent but impersonal coffee-table book, (Ferrari 1947-1997, Ferrari 60 Years, etc.).

Here's Steve Earle describing his experience as a teenager watching Phil Hill in the glorious 412 MI at Riverside in `58: "...you were standing in the pits, you could hear that car around the whole track...You thought, `Oh my God,! This is the most amazing car in the world.'" Then Earle describes what it was like to OWN this one-off car, and use it at the very first Monterey Historic Races, (which he organized). The book has similar interviews with a number of enthusiasts that really help flesh-out the non-competition aspect of the legend. Everyone from the life-long collector who bought his first Ferrari off the New York Motor Show stand in 1956 to the dude that crashed his Enzo on a public road in Colorado while doing 206 mph gets a chance to tell his tale.

Many of the iconic photos are from the Road & Track archives, which is great for American readers whose first introduction to the marque came via these images; they are reproduced in gorgeous detail far surpassing their news-stand quality. My favorite shot is used as the splash-page that introduces us to the decade of the 70's: Bob Bondurant four-wheel-drifting a 308 at Sears Point --you can even see Bobby's hipster sideburns flaring under the G-load.

Also, the book tastefully avoids over-emphasizing the recent decade of F1 domination. Attention is paid to the latest road cars, like the 599 Fiorano that makes the cover (wouldn't you have preferred to see a Comp Daytona?). But these post-Commendatore chapters are not the main meat of the book. The Schumacher years are dutifully recorded, di Montezemolo speaks, but you can sense the author's disinterest in Schumacher the man, whose words are nowhere to be found. And that's fine by me.

Greetings! Mike Irwin of the StockCarFans Newsletters here...

I just finished book #6 of the Rolling Thunder series, "First to the Flag".

The book tells the tale of "Rocket" Rob Wilder, a young racer discovered at a small out-of-the-way track by the legendary Jodell Lee himself. The discovery gets Rob a job driving in the Grand National series for car owner Billy Winton, formerly "head wrench" for Jodell's Cup team. The Winton Racing Team has a highly visible software firm, Ensoft, as primary sponsor. Ensoft's head of marketing is Michelle Fagan, who just might have a crush on young Wilder. For some reason, though, Michelle introduces Rob to her cute blonde sister, Christy. Rob and Christy hit it off right away, and become "an item".

The book follows the path of "Rocket" Rob and Winton Racing through the Grand National season, including Rob's first trip to Daytona to race in the Daytona 300. Will Rob be able to handle the high speeds and drafting? How long will it be until he visits Victory Lane? Will the ol' green-eyed monster mean Rob has to choose between two attractive sisters? Read the book and find out!

Of all the books in this great "Rolling Thunder" series, I liked this one the most. The story moves along at a good pace, and the characters are well-developed. The book is extremely clean, and I recommend it for all ages. There is no bad language or adult situations, other than some drinking that ol' moonshine, and some kissing at the door at the end of a date. The book is suspenseful, and exciting, with a little romance and intrigue thrown in for those who enjoy those elements.

I have read every book of the series from the beginning up until this one with the exception of Young Guns the one before this one, and yet I didn't really miss anything. I found this book to be just as easy going as the style it is written in and like the rest just as clean. One thing I did miss was the linking of the modern day legends with the roles of the book. If you have read the others you know what I mean as in Richard Petty talking to the likes of Jodell and Bubba and Joe. Maybe they will get back to that in the new one which I have now. Other then that I have one more thing to say. Buy the book and enjoy it you want be let down

everyone in our house loves this book. Fun for the kids...AND informative for the adults. GREAT for any collection!!!

This book was really neat! Any NASCAR fan of any age will enjoy this book!

As a fan of open wheel racing and F1 in particular this book is an absolute joy. I have always marveled at the team aspect of the sport. Drive and engineer working along side of the mechanics as a team to produce the fastest car on Sunday. TV couldn't show you how this is being done, but you knew it was happening. The engineers were reviewing the data, talking to the drivers and then focusing the mechanics to get the car that extra 10th of a second. Then back at the factory, the aerodynamicist are working 24/7 to get even more out of the car.

This book shows the fruits of their collective efforts and explains them in a way the fan and the engineer can understand and appreciate. A first rate father's day gift and an excellent choice for any other occasions for a racing fan. I'm going back and buying the rest of the series!

The F2002 was easily one of the most dominant Formula One cars in recent history. Not since the early '90 Williams or the last '80 McClarens has there been such a dominant car in one season. In addition, Ferrari had the best driver on their side, which resulted in one of the most lopsided Championship battles in F1 history. In short, Ferrari's constructor points for the year were exactly the sum of all other teams that participated in the 2002 Championship. And it was all due to the radical car design that was leaps in bounds above both its predecessor, the strong F2001, and all of the combatants.

This book does an amazing job, as it has done every year since inception, in recreating the super-detailed nuances of each Formula One car that participated in the Championship and its evolution from the prior season car to the car that closed it out in Suzuka. In addition, the book gives a preview of the 2003 cars that just wrapped the season. It would be better if this was more timely, but given the level of detail its amazing that Mr. Piola gets this done five years after the season wraps! Overall, an amazing book for the F1 fanatics who give pause to the detail of an F1 car and the struggles teams go through to get the aerodynamics just right. Yet given the detail, the well drawn pictures make it easy to see the changes made from race to race, and the verbiage is easy enough for a non-F1 nut to follow. Fantastic book, look forward to the 2003 edition.

It is a bit Ferrari-focused given the author is Italian and Ferrari have dominated the Constructor's trophy for the past five seasons.

This is a very informative book with insightful sections on the teams as well as detailed accounts of each race. Additionally there are backgound and update sections which also make for interesting reading. The photo's are great and include behind the scenes shots as well as the on track sessions. Also helpful are statistics which include race results, retirements, pit stops fastest laps etc. All in all a great book at a very reasonable price.

As a Formula one freak, I haveto say that this is a very good book. It's filled with high quality color photos, description and statistics of each race in the 98 season (which includes the track map with the names of the curves), handful of information about all eleven teams (with home address and web site for each team) and even some interesting extra stuff that has nothing to do with the 1998 season. It's definitely worth the money.

I really enjoyed reading and looking at all the great pictures in this book. I still pick it up and go through it from time to time.

This is an awesome book. The photos are excellent and all of Steve Reyes books are great. My husband and son both love his books. If your a Drag Fan...check out these books!

Dr Loving's book has long been a distance riders 'bible'. I have referred many to this book and have given as a gift to my riding friends. Dr. Loving's book is a complete resource guide for the distance rider from selection, nutrition, training and completing that distance ride. You will not go wrong following her suggestions for training guidelines. Whether your miles are 5, 10 or 100, the same principles apply. I highly recommened this book to everyone from casual trail riders to hard core endurance riders.

Written by a veterinarian, this book could be so techincal in nature that only another scientist or veterinarian would be able to comprehend everything. But it's not. This book is written in such a way as to make the information perfect accessible to anyone. Dr. Loving goes into appropriate detail about every aspect of endurance riding. Most importantly, she writes in such a clear and concise manner as to make even the more difficult subjects to comprehend, such as the finer points of conformation and the metabolic health of your horse. Well worth the money, this book goes into greater depth in the care of your horse, without confusing the reader. Photos throughout the pages, taken by the author, illustrate major points and drawings go into detail about the inner workings of your horse. If you are interested in starting endurance riding, or take it very seriously and want to do everything right ... either way, this book should be read and re-read as often as needed.

Not many Americans are aware that "exotic" racing engine technologies, like dual overhead cams, intercoolers on superchargers, and multiple valves per cylinder -- were first fully developed in Iowa, New Jersey and California -- not in Europe. A few remarkable and mostly German-American engine builders, notably the Duesenberg brothers and Harry Miller (ne Mueller) developed the fastest automobiles in the world in America in the period before the Great Depression. These cars raced on the best tracks in the world, which were hand crafted out of 2 x 4 lumber.

Americans were racing at speeds well over 100 mph on these wooden tracks by 1920 -- well before the nation had adequate roads for motorists. (Borgeson explains that the reason road racing did not catch on in the US was altogether basic: no roads).

This is a very fine book, and it is wonderful to see it back in print. Another good book on this subject is "Gold, Guts and Glory," which is an unfortunate title but a fine collection of essays on the board track era by several different authors. Borgeson's classic is especially strong on Harry Miller. The author himself re-imported and restored one of Miller's famed front drive racers, a car purchased and "emulated" by Ettore Bugatti in the mid-1920s.

At the time of his recent death in France, Grif was just completeing this second edition of this brillient work. It will be published this fall by SAE. Larry Crane, Automobile Magazine's art director say, "he was the purest iconoclast I will ever know." Automobile, Nov. 1997. His work is legendary. His research was paralleled by very few. A must read for the fan of the car enthusiast.