The Power and the Glory: Century of Motor Racing

Offers a historic look at the sport of motor racing from the 1890s to the present

YA-The companion to the BBC series, this book tells the story of motor racing from the l890s to the present. The narrative is enhanced by fantastic photographs and reproductions.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

This spinoff of a BBC-TV series by producer Rendall will delight auto racing devotees and anyone interested in cars. The first motor race was held in France in 1894 and the fastest vehicle zoomed home with a top speed of 11.1 mph. Only 30 years later Peter de Paolo, driving a Duesenberg, was the first racer to average more than 100 mph at Indianapolis. Here are stories of the rise and decline of such notable firms as Peugeot, Bugatti, Daimler-Benz and Ferrari and the technological advances each contributed. There are numerous sidebars on subjects like Juan Fangio, the only man to have been crowned World Drivers' Champion five times and the tragedy at LeMans in 1955, when a car ran into a crowd and killed 80 spectators. And there are chapters on stock-car racing and the growth of teams as the sport has become more costly. The most noteworthy feature of the book, however, are the dazzling photos and paintings.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

While there are several general histories of motor racing as well as those that deal with specific types of racing, none is so well produced as this volume. A companion to the critically acclaimed BBC/A & E television series of the same name, recently broadcast here, it chronicles the history of racing from the turn of the century to the present. Here, in words and pictures, is the story of the pursuit of victory through human endeavor and engineering innovation and the development of the racing driver as master of the technology risking all to win while facing danger on a world stage. In the United States, auto racing is one of the fastest-growing spectator sports. This book dramatically captures the extravagance and spectacle of racing, the celebration of speed, the technical excellence, and the sport's new commercialism. Public library patrons who have seen the series on television will be asking for this book.
- Eric C. Shoaf, Duke Univ. Lib., Durham, N.C.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.