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-   -   Must-Read Car Books for automotive enthusiasts (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/shifting-gears/79482-must-read-car-books-automotive-enthusiasts-5.html)

Overhaul: An Insider's Account of the Obama Administration's Emergency Rescue of the Auto Industry (link)

Going to give this book a full 5 / 5 stars.

An indepth look into the 2008 crisis, especially GM's bankruptcy. A lot of detail also about the Fiat-Chrysler merger. If you like business and / or politics, this book is for you. Steve Rattner has brilliantly described the scenes & personalities - you literally feel like you're sitting in the White House. Am pleasantly surprised at how candid he's been.

Just done reading the book Total Competition . I felt it was an insightful read into Ross Brawn's journey through F1 and the reasons behind his successes and failures especially at Mercedes.

The book is basically structured as a conversation between Adam Parr and Ross Brawn based on aspects from the the "Art of War" by Sun Tzu. Would have like a bit more details and the narration gets a bit dry sometimes due to it's conversational style.

Drive on,
Shibu.

The Six Men Who Built the Modern Auto Industry - Decent profiles of 6 important men in the global auto industry (Piech, Honda, Iacocca, Lutz, Ford, Kuenheim). Has some nice details, but there is no logical flow to his writing style. Again, decent, but not good. Read only if you are already done with all the other recommendations on this thread.

Just started reading "The Unknown Kimi Raikkonen". Haven't finished it but it's a first hand account of one of the most enigmatic F1 drivers of our time. Writing style is based on interview and flashback style, not one of the better ones. But it's interesting to read how Kimi made it to the top rung of motor sport.

Apparently the guy can build an engine and is an excellent mechanic!

Drive on,
Shibu.

That probably explains why Kimi is able to give such good feedback - e.g. when he was running with a broken rear wing at Spa, he was describing the problem that the pitwall couldn't see on the TV nor in the data.

This has got to be one of the best car books I've read. And the thick hard cover version is going away for a steal of a price right now. Just 600 bucks @ Amazon.

How to build a car - Adrian Newey

Newey is indisputably the best Formula 1 designers of our time & the reason behind many championships (including Hakkinen & Vettel). This book is surprisingly candid and the writing style is very direct. As if he is sitting across and talking to you. Tells you about his entire journey and has some lovely behind-the-scenes stories about drivers and what happens in F1 offices / garages. You'll read about everyone, from Senna to Ron Dennis. I really liked how he has named the chapters by the cars. Example = "How to build an MP4-14" when he wants to talk about the 1999 season. He's been honest. Like when he says "Whatever you might think of Michael Schumacher, he is very very tenacious". Also openly blasts the FIA for its Ferrari bias.

About 20% of it is highly technical though. Just bounced over my head when he's talking about the intricacies of aerodynamics.

An exceptional read. Rating 5/5 stars.

There's a Audiobook version too, released by Amazon. Though I myself have the physical copy waiting in the shelf, I'm trying the audiobook, just for the feel of it.

It's also free during the Audible's trial period.
Link : How to build a car- Adrian Newey - Audible

Even if you aren't into MotoGP (I've barely watched a couple of races) or motorcycles (I've barely ridden a few bikes), just order this book NOW and start reading it. Giving Valentino Rossi's autobiography a full 5 / 5 stars clap:. And damn, I really needed a 5-star book as the one I read before this one was terribly average (Fall of the House of Forbes).



Just like Newey's book, this one is hard to put down once you start. I completed it in barely a week or so (I usually take 2 weeks / book). I've always admired Rossi for his enormous achievements and have always thought he's super cool. This book takes my admiration for the man higher. A lot of the book is on his move from dominant Honda to underdog Yamaha & how he wanted to prove that the rider is at least as important as the machine, if not more. But it's not all serious - the entire book is written in a very fun-to-read manner. Heck, there's even a lot of pages on his gags & pranks :uncontrol.

How can you not love a guy who talks like this? One para from the book reads:

Having read almost every car book published on the planet, I was pleasantly surprised when I saw this one on Amazon.

Thought it'll be a good read on how the Mainis thought of innovating in the Indian car scene, the challenges faced by them, their eventual sale to Mahindra etc. How wrong could I have been :Frustrati. The book reads like a personal essay whose topic was "show me how much you can brag about yourself and Chetan" :Frustrati. Absolute insult to the intelligence of anyone reading it. It's even worse than the lame press releases we get everyday.

Rating = 0 / 5 stars.

Janesville : An American Story

A beautiful book that deals with the closure of General Motor's plant in Wisconsin, ripping the town apart - with unemployment, bankruptcies and a total loss of hope, and a decade long process of slow recovery.

The writer takes you through the struggles of real people as some took on part time jobs, some took up much lower income jobs, some reskilled themselves to be relevant, some took up jobs in other cities to feed their families etc.

The story isn't about cars - but the economic, social and political impact of industry decisions such as a closure of a manufacturing plant on an entire community.

Jenson Button's Autobiography = 3.5 / 5 stars.



If you're into F1, read it. If not, avoid. It's a fun & fast-paced read for F1 fans. Goes a bit too quickly through most seasons without offering that much of detail, yet the writing style (which is so personal) & his mostly candid nature will leave you entertained.

Thanks! Had heard good things about it. Will read.

After having read 1 or 2 average car books (see above), it feels SO GOOD to read a 5-star book. Incredibly satisfying.

Whether you are a car guy or not, just go ahead & buy this book on the VW scandal. It'll be the best ~300 bucks you spend this week.



A fascinating read on an unbelievable scandal. Shows how VW's arrogance, hierarchy, aggression, pressure & lack of ethics led to the biggest automotive scandal of our times. The start of the book also nicely covers the history of VW & the Piech / Porsche families. Very comprehensive read that includes VW's ambition to become the no.1 and why it wanted to win over the Americans at any cost.

A must-read for any BHPian!

Thanks for the suggestion, just bought the kindle version:D.

To be published on 17th Oct 2019.

From the couch to the podium, the pit-lane to the racetrack, Jenson reveals what really goes on behind-the-scenes. The people, the places, the weird rituals, the motorhomes, the media, the cars, the perks and the disasters, this is the perfect book for any petrol-head, and what all F1 fans have been waiting for.

Hi GTO, Came back home, after a few days of travel, to find two gifts on my mantelpiece. These were from Dad. Thanks for the suggest