I will attempt to illustrate in the following four book reviews that being a great racing car driver and being a great author do not necessarily go hand in hand! All four books are written by motor racing drivers of the 1950’s and 1960’s whose careers are forever intertwined with the history of Jaguar. I have chosen four stars (****) as representing the cream of the literary crop and one star (*) as being akin to taking a sleeping pill.

A Turn at the Wheel by Stirling Moss (1961):

Stirling Moss is considered by many to be the greatest racing car driver of all time. Certainly he is considered to be one of the greatest of the late 1950’s to early 1960’s era and he can claim the dubious distinction of being dubbed "the greatest driver never to have won a world championship". Here we have him writing a book describing his racing experiences covering the period 1957-1960, one of the most exciting periods in the history of motor racing. Stirling was known to have kept a very accurate personal diary and we can assume that this book represents an attempt to "fill in the blanks" by Stirling while consulting his race notes; it only covers the four-year period 1957-1960. No attempt is made to document his early years, how he came to choose motor racing as a vocation, his personal life or anything else outside of his racing experiences during these four years. To say that book is "dry" would be an understatement. Stirling had a reputation as a "bon vivant" but we see little or nothing of that in his writings. Those of you who are looking for insight into his driving technique will better served looking elsewhere as well. Rating: * (one star)

Challenge Me the Race by Mike Hawthorn (1958):

Mike Hawthorn had time before his death at an early age to write a book about his experiences in motor racing up until the 1957 season. It is quite a similar effort to that of Stirling Moss (although it pre-dates it). Again, we have a very dry account of a busy racing career, void of any personal insights or lessons on motor racing technique that could benefit the reader. At least Mike took the time to write a quick chapter describing his childhood days and a brief accounting of why he decided to become a racing driver (his father was also car crazy).

Hawthorn spends an entire chapter describing the sequence of events leading up to the 1955 Lemans tragedy, the worst in motor racing history, which was seen by many at the time to be the result of a mistake by him. His narration is a bit on the cold side, quite detached and lacking in human insight. Mike Hawthorn was also noted to be quite the prankster and lover of life but we see little of that in his writing. Rating ** (two stars)

Life at the Limit by Graham Hill (1969):

Graham Hill enjoyed a reputation as one of the most successful and the most versatile racing drivers of all time. It seems as though, if it had four wheels, Graham raced it (and won with it). He was one of the grand gentlemen of motor racing and one of the last survivors of the "old school", a time when racing driving was done for the pure pleasure and sport of it. He wrote this book while recovering from a particularly nasty accident. If I remember correctly, the accident was the result of one of the new high-mounted rear wings falling off his F1 car at speed, sending Hill out of control. Hill, ever the gentleman and team player, does not mention the cause of the accident in his book.

Once again, the early years of a driver’s life are ignored. Hill choosing to start his narration at the age of 24. He may be forgiven however, for history notes that Graham Hill commenced his career behind the wheel of racing machinery quite late in life. In this book we are treated to some personal insights into the life of a racing driver. Hill describes some of the more light-hearted and personal moments of a man who was not known to shy away from the sport’s social scene. There are also some insights into his personal driving style, illustrating to the reader while Hill was always known as a driver who was easy on his cars and always coaxed them to the finish line.

It is one of the true tragedies of motor racing in the twentieth century that Graham Hill was taken away from us in a plane crash before he could establish himself in a career that may have overshadowed even his illustrious feats as a driver: that of a team manager. Rating: *** (three stars)

Touch Wood! By Duncan Hamilton (1960):

Although his accomplishments in motor racing do not allow him to occupy the same rarified air as Moss, Hawthorn or Hill, Hamilton managed to produce an autobiography that is perhaps one of the best written by any athlete in any discipline and in any era. His bravado, crazy antics, boozing and partying, practical joking and out-and-out courage are legendary. To write a dull and dreary book about the life of this larger than life figure would truly have been a literary disgrace. Mr. Hamilton, however, does not let the reader down! Finally we see a humorous and insightful recounting of a driver’s early years, filled with childhood pranks, disobedience and near misses.

As a bonus, we are treated to a lengthy recounting of his time in the British Navy (they thought he was too crazy and destructive to be in the Air Force). The narration is straight from the heart, drawing the reader in and making him feel like he as known the author all his life. The book is filled with personal touches, yet it never fails to bring a smile and yes, even a tear on occasion. Hamilton knows only one way to live life: flat out. After reading of his childhood, war time and racing exploits a reader cannot helped but be amazed that he lived through it all and was intelligent enough to hang up his string back gloves before it was too late. Pretty well all of his racing contemporaries were killed, some of them right before his eyes and one can sense the despair mounting in Hamilton as the book goes on. He never let it get him down though, driving at the absolute limit and partying at the same pace throughout his career. All of it is detailed in side splitting hilarity in this book.

You simply must read his detailed account of the Portuguese surgeon, ashes hanging off his glowing cigar, operating on a critically injured Hamilton in a ramshackle local hospital devoid of any luxuries like anesthetic. It is the stuff of legend and they don’t come any bigger than Duncan Hamilton ! Rating: **** (four stars)

Note: with the exception of Duncan Hamilton’s book, which has recently been re-released, all of these books are out of print. They can frequently be found in second hand bookstores, in flea markets or autojumbles or can be purchased through one of the excellent internet based classic book stores. Happy reading!

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Note about the author: Daniel Thompson is president of the Ottawa Jaguar Club and past president of the Jaguar Owner’s Association – Montreal. He is JCNA Communications Chair and Regional Director for the Northeast. He owns a 1958 MkIX, a 1968 E-type, a 2002 X-type and two Healeys. If you want to talk about books or cars, Daniel can be reached at dthompson@gbc.ca

Posted: Feb. 2002

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