Biographies
Showing 81–120 of 193 results
Iron Eagle: The Turbulent Life of General Curtis LeMay
Curtis LeMay joined the United States Army Air Corps while studying civil engineering at Ohio State University. He had risen to the rank of major by the time of the Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor. He commanded the 305th Operations Group and the 3d Air Division in the European theatre of World War II from October 1942 to August 1944, when he was transferred to the China Burma India Theater. He was then placed in command of strategic bombing operations against Japan, planning and executing a massive fire bombing campaign against Japanese cities and a crippling minelaying campaign in Japan's internal waterways.
After the war, he was assigned to command USAF Europe and coordinated the Berlin airlift. He served as commander of the Strategic Air Command (SAC) from 1948 to 1957, where he presided over the transition to an all-jet aircraft force that focused on the deployment of nuclear weapons. As Chief of Staff of the Air Force, he called for the bombing of Cuban missile sites during the Cuban Missile Crisis and sought a sustained bombing campaign against North Vietnam during the Vietnam War.
This biography of the Air Force commander details his innovations, leadership decisions and strategies, and controversial actions and statements throughout his career, from World War II general to Chief of Staff.
Isky: Ed Iskenderian and the History of Hot Rodding
To tell the life story of Ed "Isky" Iskenderian is to tell the history of hot rodding in America. Ed was there from the very beginning. Born in 1921 to first-generation Armenian immigrants, Ed's first hobby was ham radio, but like many young men in the years before World War II, his interest turned to automobiles, especially hot rods. Ed had natural skills in metal working and machining that were developed in high school. He wanted to further develop those skills, so he joined the Air Corps to continue his education and flew with Air Transport Command. By the time Ed mustered out of the service, the California hot rod scene was in full bloom, with tens of thousands of vets who had the desire to make cars go fast.
Isky: Ed Iskenderian and the History of Hot Rodding, tells the whole story, from his pre-war Lake Muroc and car club activities, his service in the military, starting a small business fabricating parts and making cams in the back of a rented shop, and then selling cams to other rodders. It covers how he grew a business from a single cam grinder and became the leading cam authority in barely 10 years. Ed was a gifted machinist, and he also had a natural knack for promotion. He purchased an ad in the second issue of Hot Rod magazine, sensing something big; his instincts, as always, were right. He was also the first to use T-shirts and uniforms as promotion. Not only was he an early pioneer in the industry for print adverting and catalogs, he was also among the first to understand the value of having successful race cars using his cams in their engines and wearing his decals on their fenders. The biggest names in the racing industry were running Isky cams, and Ed made sure the world knew it.
Ed's company name went on to become one of the household names in the performance community. His continued success is an entertaining tale of mingling with industry icons, insight into the business of hot rodding, great stories of yesterday and today, and a life very well lived. You will enjoy the stories recorded here as much as Ed "Isky" Iskenderian seems to enjoy telling them.
James Whitham: What a Good Do!
James Whitham, universally popular and one of motorcycle racing’s most colorful characters, won three British titles and for well over a decade was a world-class rider, competing in World Superbike, World Supersport, Endurance and Grand Prix. This frank, sometimes moving and always riotously funny account of his battles with the best in the sport, with hair-raising crashes, serious injuries and – most gravely of all – with lymphatic cancer, ranks as one of the most riveting reads in motorcycle sport.
Jet Blast and the Hand of Fate
John Ackroyd, design engineer extraordinaire, has been a key man in a mad mix of land speed and long distance balloon record attempts, including the first supersonic land speed record. This book gives a fantastic insight into the frustrations, tragedies and triumphs of record breaking. It describes battles against the odds, the whims of the weather, the constraints of time and money, and the often strange intervention of fate. Project Thrust, Virgin Atlantic, Pacific and global balloons, Earthwinds, Thrust SSC, Spirit of American, rocket motorcycle, rocket dragster, wheel-driven record breakers and waterspeed attempts are all here. The story is told by the man who provided solutions, innovations, design and real problem solving which were major contributions to the record breaking achievements on land, sea and air in the last quarter of the 20th Century.
Jim Clark: Life at Team Lotus
Jim Clark: Life at Team Lotus, it is a feast of previously unseen photographs from the mid-1960s when the Scottish maestro was at the peak of his career.
It features over 250 stunning black-and-white photos of the two-times Formula 1 World Champion in action on the track, as well as in and around the paddock during his most successful period 1964 to 1967.
All the pictures were taken by Team Lotus official photographer at the time, Peter Darley, and represent some of the very best images from his personal archive.
The majority of these images have never been on public view before, and they provide fresh insights into Clark s - and the team's methodology, demeanour and race prep.
Every picture tells a story, so they say, and Darley's photographs feature the amiable Scot with team members including Lotus boss Colin Chapman.
A wide variety of paddock scenarios, reveal intimate moments and thus the psychology between Team Lotus personnel when relaxing, as well as anxieties in the moments leading up to and during the race.
Jim Clark: Racing Hero
Though it is fifty years since he gained his two Formula 1 World Championship titles, the interest in Jim Clark has not waned. The Scotsman is still regarded as one of the best Grand Prix drivers ever. Even during his first motor races on old airfields in Scotland, Clark's incredible skill behind the wheel was already evident and, from then on, his professional career only took an upward turn.
Just four years after his first motor race, Clark climbed onto the podium at Le Mans and made his Formula 1 debut driving a Lotus. In the decade that followed, Clark and his mentor, Colin Chapman, conquered the very pinnacles of single-seater racing with Clark winning the F1 World Championship twice and the Indy 500 once. All in all, he claimed more than one hundred victories at the wheel of a Lotus.
This 400-page book from McKlein does not just tell the story of Clark's extraordinary racing career, it also portrays his personal life from A to Z. Author Graham Gauld followed the career of the Scotsman right from its very beginning. He has filled the roles of friend, photographer and reporter, and thus spent innumerable hours with Clark. For this book, Gauld has replayed his old audio tapes and selected his best photographs from those days. In addition to that, this lavishly illustrated book contains many rare images from various well-known archives thus helping to complete an intimate portrait of a true sporting champion.
Jimmie Johnson (The Reedy Series)
To commemorate the top drivers annually, the Reedy Series introduced the first edition of its foldout book series in 2005. This limited edition, collectible series comprises 5 individual foldout books that depict 5 Chase drivers and their special years. The 4-fold format enhances the book's lavish illustrations, provided by stellar Cup photographers Nigel Kinrade and Brian Czobat, and helps deliver a unique form of storytelling (by Josh Stevens) to the world of NASCAR. No other NASCAR collectible features rich, high-action illustrations displayed in this format, and no series offers exciting capsules of the top drivers and their special years.
John Reynolds: The Autobiography
John Reynolds spent 35 years racing motorcycles in high-speed pursuit of his dreams, winning five British Championship titles and making his mark in World Superbikes and 500GP racing along the way. He retired in October 2005 after suffering serious injuries in a horrific 140mph crash. Now fully recovered, he says that motorcycle racing didn't nearly kill him, but rather it saved his life. This paperback edition of the best-selling inspirational story tells of Reynolds' personal battle against adversity and how he kept his feet firmly grounded in reality during his rise to stardom as one of the most popular motorcycle racers of the modern era.
Juan Pablo Montoya
Juan Pablo Montoya is the most exciting driver to hit Formula 1 since Michael Schumacher, and seemingly the one most likely to challenge the five-times World Champion. Astonishingly, Montoya's life has not been set out in detail - until now. Ace biographer Christopher Hilton charts Montoya's full race career, giving a penetrating insight into his F1 debut with Williams and the consolidation of 2002 which took him to the threshold of superstardom.
Ken Tyrrell: Portrait of a Motor Racing Giant
Although Ken Tyrell was one of the best loved and most respected men in Grand Prix motor racing, this is the first time his full story has been told. Using in-depth interviews with his family, drivers - including Jackie Stewart, who won the World Championship three times with Tyrell - and many other people inside and outside Formula 1, Christopher Hilton pays tribute to the gamekeeper's son who visited Silverstone with his local amateur football team in 1951 and instantly fell in love with motor racing.
King’s War: Mackenzie King and the Politics of War, 1939-1945
King's War is an extraordinary chronicle of raw politics & ruthless courage; of one man's "divine mission" to save Canada from dismembering itself over controversial wartime issues such as conscription, Japanese internment, the infamous "Zombie" army, and the tragic battles of Hong Kong & Dieppe, where thousands of Canadian soldiers lost their lives.
Kurt Busch (The Reedy Series)
Filled with striking images and presented in a unique foldout format, Kurt Busch recounts #97’s thrilling Chase for the Championship. The story captures Kurt’s meteoric rise as a driver, his controversial but compelling personality, and the key races that put him into position for the Cup. Relive the exciting moments of his season right down to the final race at Homestead—when the championship was on the line.
Kurt Busch is a part of the inaugural Reedy Series. The series commemorates the elite drivers who competed in the dramatic Chase for the Championship. This limited edition, collectible series comprises 5 individual foldout books that depict the Chase drivers and their special years. Each book contains 7 Dramatic Full-Color Foldouts.
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Kyle at 200 M.P.H.: A Sizzling Season in the Petty/Nascar Dynasty
A behind-the-scenes look at the stock car racing circuit through the eyes of a NASCAR racer interweaves descriptions of the daily goings-on in the pit and on the track with a history of the Petty racing dynasty.
Lewis Hamilton: Special Celebration Edition
An iconic visual celebration of Lewis Hamilton's historic Formula One World Championship winning season, including the story of his life to date and exclusive new words and pictures from a dramatic year. Welcome to the world of Britain's hottest sports celebrity, as told by Lewis himself. Lewis Hamilton: Formula One World Drivers' Champion. It is hard to believe that Lewis, at 23, has only just completed his second year of Formula One and has already joined the pantheon of select great British sporting legends. My Story -- his incredible first-person account of his life, from karting champion and rookie boy-racer to Formula One driver for one of the biggest and most prestigious grand prix racing teams -- has now been fully updated and lavishly repackaged in an illustrated format, with new colour photographs and stories from the 2008 season.From the perfect start in Melbourne, through the controversy in Montreal and Spa, to the memorable victories of Silverstone and Shanghai, and finally the unbelievable stomach-churning climax in Sao Paolo and the unprecedented celebrations that followed -- it's all here, hot off the press just four weeks on from his record-breaking title victory, and in Lewis's own words.
Life at the Limit: Triumph and Tragedy in Formula One
An autobiography from one of the biggest figures in motor racing. 'It's pretty rare to come across a motor racing book that tempts you to read the thing in one sitting but "Prof" Watkins has produced a gem ... [he] is a superb raconteur, not afraid to speak him mind yet peppering the gravity with occasionally side-splitting humour. No true motorsport fan should be without this book.' Autosport Grand Prix racing has undergone sweeping changes in the last thirty years. Many of these involve safety and medical rescue. The man behind them - a champion in the racing world although he has never won a race - is the eminent neurosurgeon Sid Watkins. Life at the Limit is his remarkable story. It spans the most exciting years in Grand Prix racing and includes intimate portraits of motorsport's greatest names, from Jackie Stewart and Niki Lauda to Alain Prost and Damon Hill. Sid Watkins has also witnessed, at first hand, some of the most severe and spectacular racing accidents. His account of these is made all the more poignant by the fact that some of the men he has rescued, sometimes at the point of death, have been personal friends. From Monza, in 1978, where Ronnie Petersen suffered a fatal accident, to Imola in May 1994 where Ayrton Senna met his untimely death, the high, and low, points of Grand Prix racing are vividly described. For all fans of Formula One, this is the inside story of the world's most dangerous sport.
Mark Martin (The Reedy Series)
Filled with striking images and presented in a unique foldout format, Mark Martin recounts #6’s thrilling Chase for the Championship. The story captures Mark’s roller coaster season, including his wholehearted push to make the first Chase for the Championship playoff format. Relive the exciting moments of Mark’s season right down to the final race at Homestead—when the championship was still in sight.
Mark Martin is a part of the inaugural Reedy Series. The series commemorates the elite drivers who competed in the dramatic Chase for the Championship. This limited edition, collectible series comprises 5 individual foldout books that depict the Chase drivers and their special years. Each book includes 7 Full-Color Dramatic Foldouts. The 5 drivers in the 2004 Reedy Series include:
Kurt Busch Jimmie Johnson Jeff Gordon Mark Martin Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
This publication is not licensed or endorsed by NASCAR or Roush Racing
Martin Brundle Scrapbook
Martin Brundle is known throughout much of the English-speaking world as the voice of Formula One. He was a successful Grand Prix driver for teams such as McLaren, Benetton, Brabham, and Tyrrell. In 1988, he was the World Sportscar Champion, a category in which he reigned supreme.
He first shot to fame when he had an epic tussle for the British Formula Three championship against Ayrton Senna. In identical cars, Brundle beat Senna eight times, led the series, and finally finished a close second after more than 20 thrilling races.
This fascinating book follows Martin's remarkable career that started with banger racing as a child, beating the grown-ups, through touring cars in which he won against some of the biggest names in the sport. He battled with Senna and was an F1 teammate with such legends as Michael Schumacher and Mika Hakkinen. He became a top TV broadcaster, winning many awards, making F1 compelling to watch for tens of millions.
This 256-page book is packed with Brundle's own memorabilia, contributions from more than 50 personalities in the motor racing world, and candid comments that are informative, surprising, revealing, pithy, and humorous. Included is a selection of his great one-liners from TV with ITV, the BBC, and the Sky F1 Channel.
Max Karant: My Flights and Fights
Practically every pilot in the U.S. knows of the legendary Max Karant, fighter for the rights of private pilots, thorn in the side of Congress and the FAA, and founding editor of AOPA Pilot, the magazine of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. No one did more to advance the cause of general aviation than this colorful and controversial aviator. From the 1940s to the 1970s, Karant battled Congress and the FAA, and also the big airlines, all of whom wanted to restrict private airplanes' use of airspace: "At each step of the way, Max stood for the little guy - the pilot who wanted to be safe, fly without an oppressive set of rules, and who had a keen eye on his wallet, " said Tom Horne of the AOPA. Toward the end of his fascinating life, Karant sat down to write this collection of flying stories - his own adventures in the air and against bureaucratic interference. But, in aviation terms, he "flew west" before finishing the work and his co-worker and friend Charles Spence completed these tales of a tumultuous time in aviation history that runs the gamut from hair-raising and historical, to serio-comic.
McQueen’s Motorcycles: Racing and Riding with the King of Cool
The long-departed Steve McQueen is still the coolest man on two wheels. Get an intimate look at his coolest bikes right here, right now, in McQueen's Motorcycles.
Even thirty years after his death, Steve McQueen remains a cultural icon. His image continues to appear in advertising and pop culture and his fan base spans from car lovers to racing enthusiasts to motorcycle obsessives.
In his movies, McQueen's character always had an envy-inducing motorcycle or car, but in his personal life, motorcycles were always McQueen's first true love. McQueen's Motorcycles focuses on the bikes that the King of Cool raced and collected.
From the first Harley McQueen bought when he was an acting student in New York to the Triumph "desert sleds" and Huskys he desert raced all over California, Mexico, and Nevada, McQueen was never without a stable of two wheelers.
His need for speed propelled him from Hollywood into a number of top off-road motorcycle races, including the Baja 1000, Mint 400, Elsinore Grand Prix, and even as a member of the 1964 ISDT team in Europe. Determined to be ahead of the pack, McQueen maintained his body like it was a machine itself. He trained vigorously, weight lifting, running, and studying martial arts.
Later in his life, as he backed away from Hollywood, his interests turned to antique bikes and he accumulated an extensive collection, including Harley-Davidson, Indian, Triumph, Brough Superior, Cyclone, BSA, and Ace motorcycles.
Today, McQueen still has the Midas touch; anything that was in the man's possession is a hot commodity. McQueen's classic motorcycles sell for top dollar at auctions, always at a multiple of what the same bike is worth without the McQueen pedigree. McQueen's Motorcycles reveals these highly sought-after machines in gorgeous photography and full historical context.
Memories and Machines: The Pattern of My Life
Harry Ricardo Hardcover Out of Print. Used. Library edition. No jacket. Minimal shelf-wear.
Memories of James Hunt: Anecdotes and Insights from Those Who Knew Him
This is the intimate portrait of James Hunt put together from responses to the question: what is your strongest memory of him? This new edition will be published ahead of the release of the movie Rush, the feature film that tells the story of the 1976 World Championship battle between James Hunt and Niki Lauda. Hunt public school hell-raiser, loved and feared broadcaster, an enigma even to his friends was one of the very few people who lived life as he wanted to. In this book of reminiscences from those who knew him and worked with him, all sorts of surprising material emerges, forming a rounded picture of this colourful character. Published ahead of the release in September 2013 of Rush, the major feature film that will introduce this colourful character to new audiences. Tumultuous and impoverished early racing experience he crashed so much he was known as Hunt the Shunt . Grand Prix career with Hesketh, McLaren and Wolf. Failed business career, drugs, sex, breeding budgies. Commentating for the BBC after an uneasy start with co-presenter Murray Walker they became an immortal duo. Reforming himself, going bust, becoming a father and dying tragically young just as he found happiness. Memories from race colleagues, showbiz personalities, friends, fans and critics. Stunning personal pictures (handsome man, gorgeous girlfriends) as well as the drama of the races. This is a cracker... often funny, sometimes sad, invariably fond said Octane magazine.
Michael Schumacher: Defending the Crown
Formula one racing at its best! Follow along as Christopher Hilton details the start of the 1995 season and charts Schumacher's highly contentious 1994 Championship. Hilton dissects the anguish of that year, when it seemed Schumacher and his Benetton would swamp the Championship. Updated, second edition of Michael Schumacher: Crown Prince of Formula 1.
Michael Schumacher: The Rise of a Genius
This biography of Michael Schumacher describes all of his childhood, his exceptional career, and his secrets. It exists since 1997 and has been fully updated at the end of the 2006 seasons - and possibly Michael's 8th world title.
Michael Schumacher: The Whole Story
When Michael Schumacher retired from Formula One, battling to win his eighth World Championship, fans questioned how he, and indeed former team-mates and rivals, would react after the end of such a stupendous, record-breaking career. In this paperback edition of his highly successful hardback biography, Christopher Hilton updates the story of this controversial genius who, with a powerful mix of sublime skills and raw drama, in turns thrilled and enraged the Grand Prix world.