It is said that if you want to know more about a person, head to their book shelf. If this were the philosophy followed for me, one is likely to consider me as a mix of an automobile enthusiast, geek of Formula 1, interested in psychology and dipping into spirituality.
I recently started reading Guenther Steiner's book "Driving to Survive" and it struck me that I have never seen an in-depth discussion about all the books that might appeal to automobile enthusiasts on TBHP.
So here I am sharing my collection of books that might also appeal to members of this forum and happily looking forward to more from other BHPians.
These are not in any specific order or rating.
#1. Surviving to Drive - A year inside Formula 1 By Guenther Steiner
Starting off with the latest read that I am on. Since i started reading it, i havent been able to put it down. In typical Guenther style, as we now know him due to Drive to Survive on Netflix, his writing style is no different to his speaking style.
He takes us through a journey through the 2022 season from his point of view, quite literally. The book feels like his personal diary that he would come back to anytime he needed to get things off his mind.
He shares a lot of details that would interest F1 fans like - How did Haas come to being, how did the Nikita and Uralkali separation go and much more that will keep you interested. All delivered in a form of humour that will only be accepted from Guenthers' mouth.
I will leave you with my favourite line from the book so far that should give you an idea -
"The two things every adult has in common is an opinion and an arsehole and when the two meet, bullshit suddenly appears" rl:
#2. How to build a car By Adrian Newey
I will not be able to talk about the book without once mentioning that Adrian Newey is probably the most genius person that has ever happened to F1.
The guy's cars' have now won 200 races and 10 constructors championships.
There was no way i was going to miss out on his book. And there is absolutely no way I cannot recommend this book to any F1 fan.
Some of things that could interest you about this book - He talks about why he left Williams and why he felt they will never win a championship again (and they havent yet); he talks about the challenging 2010 and 2012 seasons and insider details through them; why Bernie is a genius, regardless of how he is; How Red Bull had to hire an agency to weed out some of their negative biased staff in the early years; and a lot more.
#3. The Cool 500 By Top Gear
Its more a coffee table book from the era when Top Gear was still the biggest thing in the motoring world and the Trio were still going strong.
The book takes each decade and picks out the best, most innovative, most influential, game changing, different cars of that decade. This includes racing cars, commuter cars, trucks, sporty cars, utility vehicles - basically anything with rubber tyres, an engine, seats and a body.
Its a book that you would love to go back to whenever you are stressed or down. just look at some cars, bask in some nostalgia and voila! You are already smiling looking at all the pictures of the cars and reading their stories.
#4. Mercedes-Benz Winning! By Adil Jal Darukhanwala
Here is another considerable Coffee Table book. The book was launched at the 2016 Auto Expo. With past and present of Mercedes-Benz so well detailed including its history in India, this is one of my most proud possessions.
Hardly anyone would come close to the knowledge and the love for history of cars in Indian Auto Journalism than Adil sir, and it shows here.
For F1 fans - The early years of the F1 Hybrid era are also discussed in it.
#5. Total Competition By Ross Brawn & Adam Parr
No F1 fan exists without knowing the name Michael Schumacher. And no F1 fan knew of a team leader name more than that of Ross Brawn. The Ross-Michael era has been etched in the history of F1 and will be talked about till the time our Sun decides to engulf all its planets.
And that story is just one of the many interesting stories that this book covers.
Things that may interest you in this book - Ross talks of how he came into F1; Why Michael was the No. 1 driver and not Rubens; How he had to completely overturn the Italian way of functioning to get Ferrari close to a winning cause; Life after Ferrari; comparison to F1 and the "Art of War" and much more
The book also teaches us a lot of lessons that are applicable in general life in work and even relationships.
#6. The Unknown Kimi Raikkonen By Kari Hotakainen
Hah! Whoever thought writing a book on the behind the scenes life of Kimi was a genius. A man who is barely social to the cameras outside the track and has very little affinity to what people think has got to have an interesting life behind the scenes.
Does he?
Absolutely. Kari Hotakainen, not an ardent F1 enthusiast, tagged along with Kimi as he went about his daily life, on the track and off it as he penned down his biography. Widely known as the first and last authorized book on Kimi's life, the book offers insights into Kimi and an inspiration to just be yourself.
This book will give you the most detailed and in fact only possible written material on how, why, when of one of the most interesting, fast, straightforward, honest drivers in F1.
#7. Burning Rubber: The extraordinary story of F1 By Charles Jennings
This is a book for you if you are a new or old Formula 1 fan. The book discussed the glorious and often chequered history of the most elite motorsport in the world.
From the lost decade of 1950s, to the rise of British constructors in 1960s, the technological advances of 1970s, the rise of stars - drivers and bosses alike in 1980s and the revolution of F1 with TV and computers in 1990s to some of today's stars; this book covers them all.
Once sucked into it, you are unlikely to come out of it till the end of the (wind) tunnel.
Happy reading people! Looking forward for more book suggestions and stories. :Cheering:
A nice thread. Here are a few of the books I have and can recommend. Will add more from the collection by and by whenever I get around to photographing them.
Absolute goldmine in this list, really love the suggestions. Will keep them all in a hotlist to read as soon as I am done reading Zonal Marking by Michael Cox 🙂
I am currently reading this book "FINS, Harley Earl, the Rise of General Motors, and the Glory Days of Detriot" by William Knoedelseder (first edition 2018). The author is an acclaimed writer, who has written three other best sellers on diverse topics delving on America's beer industry, the U.S. recording industry and the mafia therein and American stand up comedy's Golden Era. The author's tapestry with words and phrases depict his command over the language and more so on the topic.
The book starts with a fairy tale gathering to inaugurate the GM's Technical Centre of 1956, during the glory days of the then corporate behemoth.
Some excerpts from Chapter One
Quote:
It was "D-Day" in Warren, Michigan... May 16,1956. The invasion began at mid-morning as an armada of automobiles, shuttle buses and limousines materialised out of the mist all along Van Dyke Avenue and Mound Road several miles outside the city limits of Detriot.
The cause of the traffic surge was General Motors, which was hosting an event for five thousand VIP's and members of the press to mark the official dedication of its new office complex, called the General Motors Technical Center, located on a mile-square plot of onetime farmland in the usually tranquil township of some forty thousand people.
This may seem like an awful lot of hoopla for a new office park, but the Technical Center was unlike any corporate facility ever before imagined. Built over a period of eight years at a cost of $ 125 million (the equivalent of more than a billion dollars) it was conceived by a trio of GM executives.
|
The Technical Center comprised 25 low-slung buildings made of steel and glass (automobiles were made of these) in a 330 acre campus with a 22 acre artificial lake. The then US President Gen Dwight D. Eisenhower attended the dedication ceremony through video conferencing, a novelty for the era seven decades back.
The book describes the founding years of the U.S. of A, with the timber generating profession cutting down several thousands of trees in select northern states for transporting wood to feed the then emerging demands elsewhere, creating local wood barons. His father Jarvis W. Earl was a worker in the logging industry, rising to become a coachbuilder, manufacturing the transporters, travellers as well as the rich and famous persons horse carriages. By the turn of the century, he established Earl Automobile Works to cater to automobile accessories and customised parts.
The author with his extensive study boasts about the talent and capabilities of Harley Jarvis Earl, Vice President, GM, (1893-1969), who rose to that post, beginning as a designer and markee the first ever corporate ladder rise for any designer. Harley Earl's contribution to propel GM as the world's top corporate entity is well described. Earl as the designer started his career at GM, designing his first car La Salle (a variant of brand Cadillac) in 1927. He designed GM cars such that buyers were enticed to buy these, solely getting attracted with the design growing upon them. Harley Earl is credited as the father of the Chevrolet Corvette. He also pioneered tailfins and was the man behind the the rise and rise of tailfins till the late 1950's. The 1959 Cadillac El Dorado depicts the glory days and zenith of tailfins.
More on the topic within the book which bookworms will surely find thrilling. Let the other chapter contents remain a mystery till one reads the book.
I've been reading Bob Lutz's Car Guys vs. Bean Counters and couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity of GM's bureaucratic corporate culture and misplaced priorities.
Lutz recounts how Roche, the president at the time, turned the seemingly straightforward task of designing a Cadillac Christmas card into an over-the-top, comically overthought process. Instead of trusting the original artistic design, Roche demanded a series of unnecessary changes—replacing a sled with a Cadillac sedan, enlarging the house in the background, adding a garage, and even ensuring the tire tracks in the snow matched "approved" snow tires. rl:rl:
