FINISHING STRAIGHTESSENTIALS
TO HELL ANDBACK:
AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY
AuthorNiki Lauda
Price£16.99 (hardback)
penguin.co.ukLong out of print, Niki Lauda’s
remarkable autobiographyTo Hell
AndBackhas been given a timely
re-releasefollowinghis death
last year. Withinits pages Lauda
describes hiscareer with typical
pithiness, pulling no punches when
it comesto his horrific accident
at theNürburgring in 1976 and its
aftermath. In life he was famousfor
the direct connection between his
brain and his mouth, and this blend ofhonesty and scabrous plain-speaking
is in evidence onevery page of
this intimate memoir. The McLaren
chapters mustmake particularly
difficultreadi ng for former bos s Ron
Dennis, who doesn’t come out well.
Since the book ends with Niki’s
racing career, the publishershave
commissioned a rather superfluous
introduction and postscriptby former
TimescorrespondentKevin Eason.
While these dofeature a great deal
of in teresting details, the narrative
unfurls ina scattershot, non-
linear direction, leaving the reader
wondering what point the author is
tryingto make and when they might
get on with it – unlike the originaltext.A RACE WITHLOVE
AND DEATH
AuthorRichard Williams
Price£20. 00 (hardback)
simonandschuster.co. ukThe life of the prodigiouslytalented
pre-wargrand prix driver Richard
Seamanshould be far better known.
His mistake, so faras posterity is
concerned, wasto accept a contract
with the Nazi-government-backed
Mercedesteam in 1937, justas
tensions betweenBritain and
Germany werebuildingtoward s wa r.
The Britishpublic thereforestruggled
to engage with his exploits; when
he succumbedto injuries sustained
in an accident at the 1939Belgian
Grand Prix,no one from the RACorBRDC waspresent when Seaman’s
body was repatriated, andtheDaily
Telegraphannounced hisdeath with
a four-paragraph story headlined
“Famousdriver killed”.
Seamanwas born intoprivilege,
educated at Rugby and Cambridge,
but developed an obsession with
motor racing and dropped out of
universityto pursue a career in it.
Repeatedly ‘touching’his familyfor
money createdtensions that would
rise to the surface years later, when
he marriedthe daughter of the
founderof BMW.
The gifted sportswriter – and
sometimeGPRacingcontributor –
Richard Williams recounts Seaman’s
story vividly andwith aplomb, ably
capturing thespirit of the age.Enhance the F1experience with
the latest must-have productsF1 UPGRADES
FINISHING STRAIGHTESSENTIALS
TO HELL ANDBACK:
AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY
AuthorNiki Lauda
Price£16.99 (hardback)
penguin.co.ukLong out of print, Niki Lauda’s
remarkable autobiographyTo Hell
AndBackhas been given a timely
re-releasefollowinghis death
last year. Withinits pages Lauda
describes hiscareer with typical
pithiness, pulling no punches when
it comesto his horrific accident
at theNürburgring in 1976 and its
aftermath. In life he was famousfor
the direct connection between his
brain and his mouth, and this blend ofhonesty and scabrous plain-speaking
is in evidence onevery page of
this intimate memoir. The McLaren
chapters mustmake particularly
difficultreadi ng for former bos s Ron
Dennis, who doesn’t come out well.
Since the book ends with Niki’s
racing career, the publishershave
commissioned a rather superfluous
introduction and postscriptby former
TimescorrespondentKevin Eason.
While these dofeature a great deal
of in teresting details, the narrative
unfurls ina scattershot, non-
linear direction, leaving the reader
wondering what point the author is
tryingto make and when they might
get on with it – unlike the originaltext.A RACE WITHLOVE
AND DEATH
AuthorRichard Williams
Price£20. 00 (hardback)
simonandschuster.co. ukThe life of the prodigiouslytalented
pre-wargrand prix driver Richard
Seamanshould be far better known.
His mistake, so faras posterity is
concerned, wasto accept a contract
with the Nazi-government-backed
Mercedesteam in 1937, justas
tensions betweenBritain and
Germany werebuildingtoward s wa r.
The Britishpublic thereforestruggled
to engage with his exploits; when
he succumbedto injuries sustained
in an accident at the 1939Belgian
Grand Prix,no one from the RACorBRDC waspresent when Seaman’s
body was repatriated, andtheDaily
Telegraphannounced hisdeath with
a four-paragraph story headlined
“Famousdriver killed”.
Seamanwas born intoprivilege,
educated at Rugby and Cambridge,
but developed an obsession with
motor racing and dropped out of
universityto pursue a career in it.
Repeatedly ‘touching’his familyfor
money createdtensions that would
rise to the surface years later, when
he marriedthe daughter of the
founderof BMW.
The gifted sportswriter – and
sometimeGPRacingcontributor –
Richard Williams recounts Seaman’s
story vividly andwith aplomb, ably
capturing thespirit of the age.Enhance the F1experience with
the latest must-have productsF1 UPGRADES