The Power and the Glory

Few sports can match the vitality, extravagance and spectacle of a motor race - a celebration of speed, individual achievement and technical excellence; a triumph of commercialism, a slice of popular culture and a thrilling competition rolled into one. This is an account of motor sport from the pioneer years in the 1890s to today's multi-million-dollar industry. It follows the two traditions at the top of the sport - Grand Prix racing on the European model and oval-track racing in the United States - and includes the wealth of other competitions which have sprung up, from drag racing to rally driving and stock cars to hill climbs. The book is about the pursuit of victory through human endeavour and engineering innovation, the interweaving themes which are the daily lives of the drivers, mechanics, companies, designers and fixers who make the whole circus possible. It is about the personal and national rivalries, the dangers and disasters, the great moments, the landmarks. It traces the development of the racing driver as a 20th-century hero, a man on his own, master of the latest technology, risking all to win, facing danger on a world stage. The author is the executive producer of the BBC2 series of the same name.