Go Like Hell: Ford, Ferrari, and Their Battle for Speed and Glory at Le Mans
by A.J. Baime
List Price:
Our Price: $11.90
You Save: $14.10 (54%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $11.88 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: A.J. BaimeEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2009-06-09
ISBN: 0618822194
Number of pages: 320
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Product features:
- ISBN13: 9780618822195
- Condition: New
- Notes: BUY WITH CONFIDENCE, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and service to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed
Book Reviews of Go Like Hell: Ford, Ferrari, and Their Battle for Speed and Glory at Le Mans
Book Review: For many people, a great read; for motor racing fans, a "must read"
Summary: 5 Stars
Up front, I need to acknowledge that I have almost no interest in automobile racing competition. However, I did enjoy seeing the 1966 film starring James Garner, Grand Prix, and reading James MacGregor's book, Sunday Money: Speed! Lust! Madness! Death! A Hot Lap Around America with NASCAR (2005). That said, I now acknowledge that A. J. Baime's Go Like Hell is one of the most entertaining as well as one of the most informative books I have read in many years. Moreover, it is much less about automotive racing than it is about the competition between two industrialists, Henry Ford II and Enzo Ferrari, to Dominate Formula One racing in the 1960s. However, viewed (as it should be) as a human drama, there are several other prominent characters who are centrally involved in the various conflicts: Lee Iacocca and his chief engineer, Donald Frey, Phil Hill, Carroll Shelby, John Surtees, Ken Miles, Bruce McLaren, Walt Hangsden, and Mario Andretti.
As Charles McGrath points out in an article about Baime in The New York Times (6/09/09), "The centerpiece of the story is the quest by Henry Ford II, or the Deuce, as he was known, to end Ferrari's string of victories at Le Mans, the 24-hour road race that at the time was probably the world's most dangerous sporting event. He was convinced that Ford's racing success would translate into sales back home in the showroom, but he was also locked in a personal rivalry with the imperious Enzo Ferrari, head of the Italian car company. It took Ford three tries and countless millions, but he finally prevailed when a Ford GT40 Mk II, driven by Bruce McLaren, won at Le Mans in 1966."
Displaying the world-class skills of a cultural anthropologist and of a raconteur, Baime carefully guides his reader through a narrative of increasing tension and apprehension until Chapters 21-23 during which the 24-hour "Grand Prix of Endurance" is run at La Mans on a racetrack described in the Detroit News as "a cornfield airstrip in the jet age. It was built 50 years ago for cars that went 65 mph. Tomorrow [June 18] 55 race cars - some of them capable of 225 mph on the straightaway and all of them over the 130 mph class - will get off at 10 A.M. (Detroit time) and it will be a miracle if no one gets killed. Nobody is fearless. Some of these drivers are scared stiff." The climactic race in 1966 had an especially controversial conclusion, what was widely viewed as an "infamous photo finish" and won "by a technicality." The details are best revealed within the narrative, in context.
Baime provides a riveting account of the competition between Ferrari and Ford and their respective racing programs, competition creating tension that is almost palpable. He also celebrates the almost incomprehensible courage as well as athleticism, skills, and stamina of those who drive the Formula One cars, notably Phil Hill, John Surtees, Walt Hangsden, and especially Ken Miles. In the Epilogue, Baime answers a question most readers have after learning what happened at Le Mans in 1966: "And then what happened?" It would not spoil it for anyone who has yet to read this book to reveal that the major "players" in this compelling human drama were never quite the same again after that race.
For those such as I who have little (if any) interest in automobile racing competition, this is a great read. For those with such interest, it is a "must read."
More Go Like Hell: Ford, Ferrari, and Their Battle for Speed and Glory at Le Mans reviews:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Newest Review
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Newest Review
Nonfiction Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Audiobooks on Cassette
- Audiobooks on CD
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- e-Books
- Engineering
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Medicine
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in 2010 Books Part 1
World Cup 2010: The Indispensable Guide to Soccer and Geopoliticsby Steven D. Stark, Harrison Stark
Blue River Press; Published: 2010-02-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.31
Price in other shops:
The Running Manby Stephen King
Signet; Published: 2009-11-03; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.65
Price in other shops:
The Juan-Carlos Cruz Calorie Countdown Cookbook: A 5-Week Eating Strategy for Sustainable Weight Lossby Juan-Carlos Cruz
Gotham; Published: 2006-12-28; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $6.73
Price in other shops:
Crime and Punishment (Illustrated Classics): A Graphic Novelby Fyodor Dostoevsky, David Zane Mairowitz
Sterling; Published: 2009-01-26; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.75
Price in other shops:
Carrieby Stephen King
Doubleday; Published: 2007-06-07; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $11.50
Price in other shops:
Faith and Fear in Flushing: An Intense Personal History of the New York Metsby Gary Cohen, Greg W. Prince
Skyhorse Publishing; Published: 2010-04-05; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.54
Price in other shops:
Son of Hamas: A Gripping Account of Terror, Betrayal, Political Intrigue, and Unthinkable Choicesby Mosab Hassan Yousef
SaltRiver; Published: 2010-02-19; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $14.97
Price in other shops:
Stephen King The Stand Captain Tripps #5 1:25 Perkins Variantby Stephen King, Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa
Marvel Comics; Published: 2009; Comic; Book
Best price: $19.99
Pyongyang: A Journey in North Koreaby Guy Delisle
Drawn and Quarterly; Published: 2007-05-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.45
Price in other shops:
Hellhound on His Trail: The Stalking of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the International Hunt for His Assassinby Hampton Sides
Doubleday; Published: 2010-04-27; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $9.00
Price in other shops:
Similar books summaries and other product reviews
Mickey Thompson: The Fast Life and Tragic Death of a Racing Legendby Erik Arneson
Motorbooks; Published: 2008-11-05; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $15.45
Price in other shops:
Flat Out, Flat Broke: Formula 1 the Hard Way!by Perry McCarthy, Perry McCarthy
Haynes Publishing; Published: 2003-12; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.41
Price in other shops:
Le MansTeam Marketing; Release date: 2003-04-29; DVD
Best price: $8.25
Price in other shops:
The Mechanic's Tale: Life in the Pit-Lanes of Formula Oneby Steve Matchett
Orion Publishing; Published: 2000-02-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.49
Price in other shops:
The Complete Book of Shelby Automobiles: Cobras, Mustangs, and Super Snakes (Complete Book Series)by Colin Comer
Motorbooks; Published: 2009-11-16; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $28.21
Price in other shops:
Winning is Not Enough: The Autobiographyby Jackie Stewart
Headline Book Publishing; Published: 2009-04-16; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.07
Price in other shops:
Legendary Race Carsby Basem Wasef
Motorbooks; Published: 2009-10-09; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $21.06
Price in other shops:
Shelby GT40: The Shelby American Original Color Archives (Motorbooks Classics)by Dave Friedman
Motorbooks; Published: 2006-10-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.98
Price in other shops:
The Unfair Advantageby Mark Donohue, Paul Van Valkenburgh, Mark Donohue
Bentley Publishers; Published: 2000-09; Paperback; Book
Best price: $22.45
Price in other shops:
Winning: The Racing Life of Paul Newmanby Matt Stone, Preston Lerner
Motorbooks; Published: 2009-10-09; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $14.00
Price in other shops: