Australian Motorcycle News — January 03, 2018

amcn.com.au 101

DID YOU KNOW that Aussie
racer Barry Smith won a
TT at the Isle of Man w ith a
motorcycle he’d only done one
practice lap on? I didn’t either,
until I read his honest and
entertaining autobiography
Whispering Smith.
Like Barry’s self-backed
career, this book is self-
published, and that’s a big
part of its charm. It’s not
polished, it’s not edited
into a concise and compact
package in a bid to attract
a large number of readers
w ith diverse interests, it’s
just a book of stories as Barry
remembers them. It’s honest
and revealing, not conceited
or egotistical, and definitely
not reser ved in what is said

• or how it’s said. Whispering
  Smith is a hugely entertaining
  story about a talented young
  man who with self-belief and
  resourcefulness won two
  world championships and
  countless races.
  Although the thing you
  quickly realise about Smith
  is that nothing is ‘countless’.
  His accuracy is evident
  throughout the book, and
  you’re often left wondering
  how he managed to remember
  each and every event in such
  meticulous detail: racetracks,
  temperatures, even tyre
  pressures.
  Smith’s determination
  and devotion to win races
  takes you with him on his
  title-winning journey;
  his knowledge and self-
  taught technical mind
  makes it as informative as
  it is entertaining, and his
  outspoken honesty keeps
  you reading.

We liked
The yarns. You feel less like
you’re reading a book and
more like you’re sitting next

to Smith in a pub as he regales

you with tales of racing both

here in Australia and as part

of the Continental Circus

in Europe. You go from

marvelling at his ingenuity –

like when he was overnighting

from Queensland Raceway

to South Australia’s Mallala

Motorsport Park, his mate

driving the ute while Smith

travelled in the back w ith his

bike and a torch, rebuilding

the engine on the way – to

welling up at his hard-fought

successes. And because it’s

self-published, Barry will

autograph it for you, too.

We didn’t like

Lots of words are squeezed on

each page and you often have

to open the book really wide

to read the last part of the

line. Towards the end of the

book some pages in my copy

even started falling out. But

Barry Smith is an all-in type

of guy and it’s nothing a bit of

sticky tape can’t fix. I bought

Whispering Smith for my dad

last Christmas and the same

thing happened to his copy,

but as he pointed out: “It’s

characteristic of the author,

so it’s not perfect, but I made

it happen – my way!”

Verdict

Whispering Smith is 330

pages of frank and fascinating

tales about juggling life,

family and dreams, about

overcoming setbacks with

sureness and being the best

you can be. Packed with no

less than 220 rare images, it’s

the perfect way to get your

racing fix these holidays.

KEL BUCKLEY

Whispering Smithby Barry Smith

The good book of Baz

RRP $40

barrysmithbook.com.au

“Between races at

the TT, I swapped

the cylinders, heads,

pistons and pipes and

made it into a 350”

If the worst thing about this time year for you is the lack of racing, get

hold of two-time world champ’s Barry Smith autobiography

PROS

CONS

Insight and honesty

Fascinating

photographs

Losing pages