The epic story of automotive history also told in the film FORD V. FERRARI: By the early 1960s, the Ford Motor Company, built to bring automobile transportation to the masses, was falling behind.
Young Henry Ford II, who had taken the reins of his grandfather’s company with little business experience to speak of, knew he had to do something to shake things up. Baby boomers were taking to the road in droves, looking for speed not safety, style not comfort. Meanwhile, Enzo Ferrari, whose cars epitomized style, lorded it over the European racing scene. He crafted beautiful sports cars, "science fiction on wheels," but was also called "the Assassin" because so many drivers perished while racing them.
This riveting work of narrative nonfiction, Go Like Hell, tells the remarkable story of how Henry Ford II, with the help of a young visionary named Lee Iacocca and a former racing champion turned engineer, Carroll Shelby, concocted a scheme to reinvent the Ford company. They would enter the high-stakes world of European car racing, where an adventurous few threw safety and sanity to the wind. They would design, build, and race a car that could beat Ferrari at his own game at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the most prestigious and brutal race in the world, something no American car had ever done. Go Like Hell transports readers to a risk-filled, glorious time in this brilliant portrait of the legendary Ford vs. Ferrari rivalry, a battle between two industrialists, the cars they built, and the "pilots" who would drive them to victory, or doom.
Based on extensive research, this book puts you in the driver’s seat for one of the most thrilling showdowns in sports history.
- A Clash of Titans: Go inside the boardrooms and minds of two fiercely competitive men, Henry Ford II and Enzo Ferrari, as they wage a corporate battle for pride, glory, and market dominance.
- Legendary Innovators: Meet the brilliant and relentless team Ford assembled, including the visionary Lee Iacocca and the legendary Texan racing champion Carroll Shelby, tasked with building a car from scratch to dethrone a king.
- Engineering and Audacity: Discover the incredible true story of the engineering and risks behind the creation of an iconic car, a machine built with one singular and seemingly impossible purpose: victory at Le Mans.
- High-Stakes Racing History: Feel the tension and danger of 1960s European car racing, where courageous "pilots" pushed the limits of speed and sanity in pursuit of the checkered flag.
A.J. Baime is the New York Times bestselling author of The Accidental President: Harry S. Truman and the Four Months That Changed the World; The Arsenal of Democracy: FDR, Detroit, and an Epic Quest to Arm an America at War; Go Like Hell: Ford, Ferrari, and Their Battle for Speed and Glory at Le Mans; and Dewey Defeats Truman: The 1948 Election and the Battle for America's Soul. A regular contributor to The Wall Street Journal for fifteen years, Baime has also written articles that have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and numerous other publications.
