The Great Racing Cars & Drivers

By: Charles Fox; Publish Date: January 1972; Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap, Publishers (New York), Hardcover, 252 pages

The third installment in my revived book review series is ‘The Great Racing Cars & Drivers’, by Charles Fox. This book really takes me back to my youth. I’ve lost track of how many times I had checked this out on loan from my local Akron (Ohio) library. It’s an interesting history of auto racing told in 12 chapters featuring notable pre-war grand prix greats, the evolution of Indianapolis cars, the spectacle of Le Mans, the modern era Can-Am cars, and notable personalities such as Bruce McLaren, Jim Clark, Jackie Stewart, Jochen Rindt, Jacky Ickx, and Graham Hill.

In 1972 when this book was released the only real time news from international racing available to me was via the phone line to the local Akron newspaper sports desk asking someone to check the news wire feed for Formula 1 or sports car results. It helped having a mother and uncle who worked for the paper. And then of course we had ABC’s Wide World of Sports on TV that would highlight major races such as the Monaco Grand Prix, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and the Indianapolis 500. But it was books such as this that put the racing action into our hands with stunning and spectacular B&W and color photographs, featuring up close and personal images of the racing heroes of the day and their cars.

This copy was discovered at my favorite used bookstore, Second Story Books, located in Rockville, Maryland. I’m always in search for what I call “diamonds in the rough’. You can imagine the joy I felt when I saw the classic cover photo of Bruce McLaren. I was thrilled! (Note: included here is the double-page title spread, the same photo as used on the cover.) So, if you see one available, grab it. I highly recommend it. Enjoy!

TJ…..2025