Racing Books

One of R. A. Montgomery's most sophisticated and bleak works, Last Run takes the reader inside a murky and sinister conspiracy. The protagonist is more richly detailed than most "you" characters, the setting (the Italian Dolomites) is interesting, and the endings, while largely unhappy, are dramatically satisfying. A must-read for all CYOA lovers.

I really enjoyed it, but for some reason, I could not find a ending where I demolished the Meridians. I wish that I did though. I thought that the plot was perfect. This was my most challenging Choose Your Own Adventure ever! It was well written and what I would say was the most wonderful and greatest book ever published. As a critic and fan of Choose Your Own Adventures, this was the literary masterpiece of young adult fiction everywhere. I acclaim it as a 10

Award-winning author Edward L. Bown continues his chronicle of the most skilled, wise, and successful racehorse breeders in Legacies of the Turf: A Century of Great Thoroughbred Breeders, volume 2. Picking up where volume 1 left off, Legacies of the Turf covers the last fifty years and traces both equine and human family lines with exacting precision. Black-and-white photographs illustrate the meticulous narration; all equine geneaology material is heavily researched and condenced in tree form at the close of the book. A "must-have" for horse enthusiasts avidly interested in following and learning from generations of human and animal legends.

In Legacies Of The Turf: A Century Of Great Thoroughbred Breeders (Vol. 1), racing historian and expert Edward L. Bown presents the stories of some of the greatest Thoroughbred race horses in history and the often charismatic, powerful, or quirky individuals who supported them. Capitalists, philanthropists, and women working with the bloodlines of champion steeds soon learned that the stellar a few sires and dams dominated racing circuit, and true rivalries between both humans and horses, on and off the race field permeate this fascinating, nicely illustrated, and highly recommended horse racing chronicle.

Wonderfull History of the breeding of Foundation Mares & Stallions of the AMerican Quarter Horse. I would not be without all 4 volumes in this series. I refer to them when considering a new horse purchase to research bloodlines for Temperment, type,usability and many other factors.

This is and excellent book in a series of four (so far) about sires and dams of significance in the Quarter Horse Breed. I learned about the horses from birth to death, successes and failures and the people in their lives. A pedigree is provided, and links are made from ancestors and offspring. I found it an excellent reference tool and enjoyed reading it. Another well written book from Western Horseman.

This is an excellent book for all the "old timers" who followed real stock car racing through the 50's and 60's when many drivers ran totally unsponsored. Drivers such as Rex White, who ran unsponsored many times but still managed to win the championship in 1959, the Allison brothers, and many others who struggled through the lean years, are the true backbone of stock car racing. Those were tough years for the drivers who were trying to make a living at it but as far as I'm concerned, they were really the best years for us as spectators. I have had the pleasure of meeting Fonty Flock and Fireball Roberts, and having dinner one evening with Rex White. The Flocks, Roberts, Allisons, Whites, Pettys and many others like them, are the real heroes of stock car racing and this book relates the stories of many of them and the sacrifices and struggles they and their families endured.

Whether you are a long time follower or a newbie to the sport this book is for you. It documents the careers and tells about the legends of the sport who made it become the most popular motor sport today.
From the moonshine runners like Buddy Baker and Fonty Flock to the modern hero, Dale Earnhardt reading about their careers and seeing more than 200 pictures (many in color) will educate each of you.
The Allison family, Buck and Buddy Baker, Dale Earnhardt, Bill Elliott, The Flock family, Ray Fox, Dale Earnhardt, Sr., Bill France, Sr., Junior Johnson, Alan Kulwicki, Fred Lorensen Banjo Matthews, Ralph Moody, Bud Moore, Cotton Owens, David Pearson, The Petty Family, Fireball Roberts, Herb Thomas, Curtis Turner Darrell Waltrip, Joe Weatherly, the Wood brothers Cale Yorborough and Smokey Yunick are profiled.

This wonderfully written book is about the Standardbred harness racing champion and legendary sire, Peter The Great. Terry has a style all her own that is very refreshing and enjoyable to read. During his own lifetime Peter had much to overcome... first in his own brief racing career, and then as a sire afterward, where from the brink of obscurity he was rescued by one of his own daughters, the famous Sadie Mac. From that point on his star was on the ascent, and he became a legend in his own lifetime. Even today almost all of the great harness racing trotters and pacers can trace their lineage back to this great horse. Terry has written the first book-length account on Peter's life, and it is a book that was long overdue. As I said, Terry has written this in a style unique to her, and it would be an enjoyable to read for someone without horse experience as well as for the racing enthusiast. I would dare say that in his time, Peter was the most well known resident of Kalamzoo, and even though that connection has been forgotten over the decades, in harness racing circles Peter's name is still as well known as the great Secretariat's or Seabiscuit's name is to the general public. Terry has gone a long way to making Peter's name and story fresh to the local community in Kalamazoo, who should be cherishing this great piece of their own history.

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.

I'm another one who is looking for this book again after reading it countless times as a kid. For some reason it has always stuck with me. I can't add more about the story than the previous reviewer, I don't want to give anything away.

If you can find it, I recommend getting it for your kids. The ultimate message is about Hope, and we could all use a little more of that.

The book "Little Vic" was my lifetime favorite book, which is why I am trying to locate a copy of it. I was sorry to see it was out of print. I was a horse crazy girl in fourth grade (reading anything and everything horse related I could get my hands on) when I checked "Little Vic" out from my school library. This was the one book I fell in love with, and I guess I've never forgotten it. It has been many, many years since I read this book, so I don't remember alot of the details, but here's the general idea: The main character was a young jockey named Pony Rivers (who happened to be black and was not always welcome at the racetrack). The story follows an underdog horse named Little Vic and Pony Rivers - they meet and form a special bond. Just as things seem to be looking up for both Little Vic and Pony, they are separated and encounter some unpleasant experiences. Eventually they find each other again and......you'll have to find a copy and read it for yourself!

Read this for graduate American history course. Lost Revolutions by Pete Daniel is a book that looks at the South during the 1950's. More specifically, it is a cultural history of the American South from the end of World War II until the Freedom Summer of 1964. Daniel's thesis is, "The South that evolved in the twenty years after the war emerged out of displacement, conflict, and creativity - not tranquility" (1). Daniel covers many themes that support his thesis. Among these themes are the migration of small farmers to cities, the advent of NASCAR, Rock n' Roll, and the lost occasions to give full citizenship to African Americans. The author's intention for writing this book is twofold. First, Daniel explores the cultural achievements of the "Lowdown culture" (91). He does this by looking at how the displaced farmers kept their rural roots, despite the fact that they lived in urban areas. Second, Daniel delves into the reasons why the middle-class and upper-class South did not want to desegregate. Lost Revolutions is a fascinating cultural history that sheds light on many current issues.

Daniel discusses numerous issues that surrounded the South after the end of World War II. Primarily, the author looks at a multitude of reasons that massively shrank the number of farmers in the South. "Over a million farm operators left the land in the 1950s" (60). Ezra Taft Benson was a major contributor in the displacement of small farmers in the South. Benson was appointed the secretary of agriculture under
Eisenhower in 1952. This is about the same time that farm machinery, such as tractors, began to replace labor-intensive farming techniques. Additionally, since the Great Depression the majority of southern farmers relied on Government subsidies. "Calculations, allotments, and regulations - not hard work - determined whether farmers succeeded or failed" (46). In 1959 a seventy-one-year-old Alabama farmer named E. Spech said, " ... now we can't move without a handout ... Each morning the men headed for some local restaurant for a cup of coffee while their wives sleep till noon" (59). It was obvious to many that Benson did not want to support the small farmer, but rather Agribusiness and the large farmer. Many of the white southern landowners bought more farms, machinery, and became wealthy with the support of the government. Conversely, small farmers, tenant farmers, and sharecroppers, both black and white, left their farms for the cities.

One of the themes that Daniel discusses in Lost Revolutions is the role of the government on the southern environment. As machinery cut down on the need for workers on a farm, so to did the use of chemicals. Interestingly, after World War One, two the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) teamed up with the Chemical Warfare Service to combine their chemical research. These organizations researched
chemicals like DDT, which could be used against humans or insects to shut down the nervous system. DDT and other similar chemicals were used to dust crops by plane, but usually this was done by hand to save money. The USDA even funded the dusting of private property with dieldrin, which is 20 times more toxic than DDT in order to eradicate Argentine fire ants. This supposed scourge was built up by using "Red propaganda" in order scare Americans that an invading insect was going to ruin their land.
The government would eventually spend $156 million dollars to extinguish the Argentine fire ant. This resulted in ruining the environment in many places and actually caused the ...fire ant to speed up its evolutionary cycle and spread throughout the country. The picture that Daniel paints of organizations like the USDA and the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) helps to support his thesis that the South was changing out of conflict.

Lost Revolutions gives the history of displaced southerners who banded together, despite having different skin colors. " ... when it came to exchanging something offensive to the upper class, racial barriers collapsed" (92). The Lowdown culture of the South thrived on being unruly, unrespectable, hard-drinking, and rough. The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) has roots in bootlegging and quickly became something that the Lowdown culture gravitated to in the 1950s. The drivers, mechanics, and fans typically put pleasure over values by their bad behavior on and off the track. Additionally, the Lowdown culture produced, "jazz, blues, country, gospel, rhythm and blues, rock On'roll, and soul music" (122). People like Elvis Presley, B.B. King, Willie Mitchell, and Otis Redding were the sounds of the 1950s and the music had no color barrier. The culture that the displaced southerners found joy in reflected their beliefs and could have helped to end segregation in the South. The author describes the South in the 1950s by looking at the continuation of segregation as something that came from the white middle class and the elite. Daniel argues that the working-class southerners were typically not fighting against integration in the South. This is seen through the crisis at Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. Daniel describes why many whites and blacks feared integration at Central High School. The nine black students who attended Central were kept from major physical harm by the 101st Airborne, which was sent by President Eisenhower. Segregationists saw this action as a threat to state rights and a throwback to
Reconstruction. The strength of Daniel's account of this well-known event lies in his telling of the rest of the story. He tells how the "Littlerock Nine" were subjected to being hit, having hot soup dumped on them, seeing racial words written in the bathroom, and having to be submissive. In the end, Daniel notes the opportunity for positive integration was lost when, "Segregationists policed the color line with a vengeance and intimidated and white person who deviated from their code" (283).

Lost Revolutions is a book that looks at the driving forces behind the Southern culture in the 1950s. The author focuses on segregation as a major topic, but also looks at the cultural collision brought out by the upper-class, middle-class, and the Lowdown cultures. After WorId War II many people in the South favored integration, civil rights, and a positive change in culture. However, "The white elite engineered agribusiness, migration, and massive resistance, a counterrevolution that poisoned both the environment and race relations" (305). The damage done to race relations is to take many years to heal, and in many places is still waiting for resolution. The Blues and NASCAR are proof that race relations in the South could have come from positive cultural influence. Daniel does not look at the South as being predominantly full of segregationists. Rather, he points to lack of leadership, ignorance, and fear as the major reasons that the South had an uneasy end to segregation. Daniel claims that the working class
people of the South were swept away in the racial tension that embattled the 1950s. Segregation in the South ended through laws and intervention rather than a belief in equality. "Before they [the working-class] were divided or tamed, these people redefined the South and established enduring cultural monuments" (305).

As a graduate student in philosophy and history, I recommended this book for anyone interested in American history, civil rights era history.

The 1950's South was both a time and a place of contradictions. On the one hand, there was a cultural revolution going on that fused both white and black musical tastes into one revolutionary music genre (rock 'n' roll) and a political revolution that went on (integration) which made the cultural achievements seem to pale in comparison. In essence, the South of the 1950's was a confusing maelstrom of contradictory policies and failed opportunities for peaceful change.

So argues Pete Daniel in his book "Lost Revolutions: The South in the 1950's". Daniel's thesis is that the South offered ripe opportunities for change during the immediate post-World War II era but these opportunities were overlooked by the fact that warring factions between African-Americans and whites prevented to make important cultural revolutions make a difference in the political spectrum. These important cultural revolutions consisted of: the importance of rhythm and blues in forging feelings of appreciation between blacks and white country and western singers, the rise of NASCAR as a unifying factor among lower-class whites to challeng the hegemony of the white middle and upper-classes, and, finally, the rebeliousness exhibited by both white and black youth to forge a new consensus for political change. Daniel's book does an excellent job of explaining both why there were contradictions in Southern society and how these contradictions contributed to a painfully fought battle for integration and equal rights. This is a battle which is still being fought today but more on a state's rights and regionalistic front than a racial front.

Daniel's book is a true lesson in primary source research and his endnotes clearly demonstrate this. Interviews, 4 pages of manuscript collection sources, and numerous prominent secondary sources fully back up a thought-provoking thesis. This book is a welcome addition to southern historiography.

There are a paucity of books extolling the history of single Formula One designs. The Lotus 49 is one of the few that have been done twice. David Hodges did a piece in period, one that should be treasured by collectors, but one that also falls short of telling the complete story. Michael Oliver's effort is one of love for the car. It is extensive in its coverage of the story of the Lotus 49 but is probably not truly the complete story. Not for lack of effort, because Oliver has tracked down and interviewed just about all of the living participants, from designer and drivers, to the mechanics who kept them running. But because, unfortunately, many of the key players have exited the stage and their contributions are missed. Still Oliver managed to tell the story of the Lotus 49 and the Cosworth Ford DFV quite effectively. The story of both the car and the engine are integral, making fodder for the debate over whether it was the car or it's powerplant that was responsible for the successes. Although the driver lineup that included all 5 of Lotus' world champions surely had an impact.

In attempting to be complete and include all of the details Oliver could have easily reverted to an all too common style of documentation where each race is described in a boring litany of what driver drove which chassis and finished in which place. Instead he weaves the vital statistics into a prose style story littered with interesting tidbits from the mouths of the drivers and mechanics. Interspersed throughout the book are "First Person" vignettes like Keith Duckworth on Jim Clark and Graham Hill and Mario Andretti on the Lotus 49. These jewels make the book. Just about every page has a photograph, often depicting the story told in the text, many of which were culled from private collections and have never before been published.

The history of each chassis and it's current location is given at the end and is so up to date as to include the current whereabouts of the Rob Walker car sold at auction this past Summer.

Lotus 49 the Story of a Legend is available in three versions. The Standard in a Gold Leaf colored dust jacket, the British Racing Green covered, and a leather bound edition, each with a successively higher price. Collectors can buy the expensive ones. Enthusiasts really ought to pony up the dough to get the standard edition. It is a well told entertaining story of an important part of Lotus and Formula One history.

This review first appeared in reMarque, the newsletter of Lotus Limited

A book not only about the Lotus 49, but also about the men like K.Duckworth, C.Chapman, J.Clark, G.Hill, J.Rindt and many others that made one of the greatest legends in formula 1 history. You can learn much more about these people than in their biography books. All about the context, the cars, the people, the races and the opposition is told mainly by the the men(alive today) involved, who tell the story based in their recollections with their words. You can't stop from reading the 250 pages with hundreds of incredible b.w. & color photos, most of it from personal collections. I hope that Michael Oliver, the author, makes more books about the others fabulous Lotus formula 1 like the 25, 33, 72, 78, 79 and more! A mandatory book to all the Lotus admires and even every formula 1 enthusiast.

This was a gift for someone who is enthralled with Everest, although he isn't finished with the book, he hasn't be able to put it down since it arrived! Very interesting stories, we both liked how there was a wide variety of successful climbed and failed attempts, including a sherpa's perspective!

To mark the 50th anniversary of the first successful climb to the summit of Mount Everest, editor Lewis assembled thirty chapters written by literal Everest eyewitnesses. Not every writer whose account he includes climbed the mountain at all, let alone made it to the summit. The earliest chapter is set in 1913; the last, in 1999. The writers take us from early survey missions, during which Westerners ventured close enough to the then forbidden mountain to begin planning eventual assents, all the way to the intriguing moment when climbers on the verge of the 21st Century discovered and positively identified the remains of Everest pioneer George Leigh Mallory. In doing so, they solved one mystery - "What happened to Mallory?" - but didn't find answers to the greatest Everest riddle. Which continues to be: Did Mallory and his climbing partner, Sandy Irvine, actually reach the summit almost 20 years ahead of Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay?

The sheer variety of stories told in this book guarantees it a place in my library, instead of a trip to the local Good Will where books I read just once wind up. Some tales are tragic, some humorous, some enlightening (most notable in the latter category: Tenzing Norgay's account of his Everest summit in 1953, "The Dream Comes True"). I especially enjoyed the appendices at the book's end, which are anything else but dry.

A well-chosen, well-edited collection that's sure to have "something new" to offer even a dedicated reader of Everest tales.

I bought this book for my hubby to read while our daughter was having surgery. He is a HUGE Mark Martin fan and usually doesn't enjoy reading. Well he is almost done with this book! It has great pictures from Mark's career as well as great info on him. A must read for Mark Martin fans.

Mark Martin has always been a class act in NASCAR, and this book lives up to Martin's reputation. The photos are a great collection, and the text is interesting and has a depth not usually found in a driver bio.

For the Mark Martin fan who wants an in-depth look at the man, or for the general NASCAR fan who wants a great archive of photos, a this is a must-have book.