BOOKSHELF
80 auto italia
The Self Preservation
Society - 50 Years of The
Italian Job
By Matthew Field
Porter Press
International
£45
Come on, who doesn’t
love The Italian Job? It’s a
classic of UK cinema –
even though it wasn’t a
success at the box office
when it was released 50
years ago. This is not the
first book on the film –
nor even the author’s first
- but it is an absolutely
splendid effort.
For the car fan, the film
bursts with interest, right
from the opening
sequence of a
Lamborghini Miura being
driven through the Alps –
and crashing. There’s
fascinating insight into
how the Miura was
sourced, and an interview
with Enzo Moruzzi,
Lambo’s stunt driver.
There are amazing tales
of how the city of Turin
was basically given over
to the film crew to use as
a set – courtesy of Gianni
Agnelli’s influence. Agnelli
loved the idea so much he
gave the film three Fiat
Dinos to use. Then there
are the extraordinary
details of the set-piece
car chases involving Minis
and police Giulias – one of
which was shot in
Coventry, not Turin!
Lavishly illustrated,
lovingly written by a
complete Italian Job
fanatic, and even
boasting a foreword by Sir
Michael Caine, this book is
not just a superb
celebration of the film but
also a brilliant insight into
its making. We don’t give
stars, but if we did, this
would get an easy five.NEXT MONTH IN AUTO
ITALIA: Look out for a
feature on the stories
behind the cars and
capers in The Italian JobFiat: The First Fifty Years
(1899-1949)
By David Beare
Stinkwheel Publishing
£28With 2019 being the 120th
anniversary of Fiat, it
seems fitting that there’s
a new book on the history
of Fiat – with one bigdifference: it’s written by
a Brit, with more than a
hint of British perspective.
This is the first part of
David Beare’s Fiat history
(presumably Volume 2 will
follow in due course).
Having been formed in
1899, it took Fiat 10 years
to establish itself as
Italy’s largest car maker –
a position it’s held ever
since. The Agnelli family
took control when share
prices were rock-bottom
in 1906, and again, they’ve
never looked back.
The book tells the
fascinating story of the
men at Fiat – Bono,
Fornaca, Cavalli, Becchia,
Bertarione, Cappa, Jano,
Zerbi and Dante Giacosa –
who were behind early
Fiats such as the 509,
Balilla, Ardita, 1500 and
500 Topolino. In places, it
has a ‘self-published’ feel
about it: this is a softback
with sometimes patchy
reproduction. While there
isn’t much that’s new
here, its 137 pages are
very well written and easy
to digest. As has been
said many times, “Fiat is
Italy”, so there’s quite a
lot of social context to
the story, too.
The best aspect of the
book is undoubtedly the
profuse illustrations,
many of them in colour.
We especially like the
contemporary paintings
and adverts, which
really lend an authentic
period feel.27 Patrick Tambay: The
Ferrari Years
By Massimo Burbi with
Patrick Tambay
Evro Publishing
£60Perhaps the nicest man
ever to make it to Formula
1, Tambay nevertheless
had a core of steel which
belied his outer affability.
This is immediately
obvious from reading this
glossy hardback. The
Frenchman was all set to
quit the Grand Prix arena,Rather than just lots of
back-patting tales of
glory, it comprises
interviews with 20
well-known racing and
rally drivers who
outline the parts of
their back-stories you
might not know about;
the times when their
careers were almost
derailed, when they
were racked with self-
doubt, or dealing with
the death of a team-
mate. It may sound grim,
but it’s not.
There’s Derek Bell
describing his joy at being
promoted to the big time
with Scuderia Ferrari, and
his love for Enzo Ferrari –
even though he soon
realised that Il
Commendatorewas
actually holding him back.
And that the team was
trialling untried parts on
his cars without telling
him, hence some less-
than-stellar results. Then
there’s Emanuele Pirro on
feeling his life ebbing
away following an epic F3
shunt and how the
experience moulded him
into the racer he became.
Mario Andretti tells how,
on a migrant ship as a
teenager travelling from
Italy to the USA, he learnt
that his idol Alberto
Ascari had been killed.
What you realise from
reading this book is that
in life, as in motor racing,
our prouder moments are
sometimes rooted in our
greatest setbacks.
Recommended.prior to being signed to
Scuderia Ferrari partway
through 1982. His
anointment followed the
death of his dear friend,
Gilles Villeneuve. Tambay
went on to claim two wins
aboard red cars, including
an emotional victory in
front of the tifosiat Imola
in 1983 driving a car
bearing Villeneuve’s old
number, 27.
This is an engaging
read, albeit one written by
a fan rather than a
journalist. While
essentially a compilation
of race reports, there’s a
wealth of colour
surrounding what life was
like in Maranello following
the death of the sainted
Villeneuve. It also outlines
how the likable Tambay
lifted the squad following
team leader Didier Pironi’s
career-ending crash
during the 1982 German
Grand Prix. It adds a
driver’s insight into the
twilight days of the Enzo
Ferrari era, but without
resorting to hagiography
or sensationalism. With
more than 175 images,
most of them by Paul-
Henri Cahier, there’s
plenty to like here,
despite the lofty price.My Greatest Defeat:
Stories of hardship and
hope from motor racing’s
finest heroes
By Will Buxton
Evro Publishing
£19.99The central conceit to
this well-written hardback
is an interesting one.