ROBERT DALEY
Death and motor racing have been inextricably linked since the earliest days of the sport, but pointing out the connection has sometimes been controversial. Robert Daley, author of many fiction bestsellers, including The Prince of the City, was a stringer for the New York Times in Europe in the late 1950s and 1960s. He was fascinated with Grand-Prix Racing, wrote many articles in that period, and developed close friendships with many of the drivers and insiders. In a several year period, nearly 50% of the drivers that began the season did not survive it. This was a golden and glorious period for the sport, but it was also dangerous and cruel. Daley captures life of the edge of the Grand Prix circuit, which in very few ways resembles the safety conscious environments of F1, NASCAR, and CART today." - Automobile Magazine, May 2005
It was an era of daring, dashing drivers piloting incredibly powerful race cars around fast and legendary circuits with only primitive safety equipment to spare them disaster. The book includes sections covering the drivers, cars, factories, practice sessions, race day races and, inevitably, accidents. The text is incredibly compelling, as would be expected from a world-class writer. Drivers such as Phil Hill, Jim Clark, Jack Brabham, Marquis de Portago, Luigi Musso, Peter Collins, Jean Behra, Enzo Ferrari, Jackie Stewart, Ricardo Rodriguez, Colin Chapman and others are all profiled here. A rare period piece certain to delight racing fans.
