There are very few motorsports books extant that can be called true classics or world-changers. This is one of them, and it's one of the best on top of that. Mark Donahue was an extrordinary individual, not only a blindingly fast driver, but also a talented, disciplined, and most importantly, curious engineer. To have the virtues of both top-level driver and top-level engineer embodied in the same person is a very rare combination...
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This is a book I waited to be reprinted for a long time. Mark's honesty about his weaknesses and fears is a sign of his strength and desire to be the best. I admired him for his accomplishments and even more for his drive after reading this book. He helped make Roger Penske the racing legend he is. Will we ever see a man like Mark again? I doubt it!
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I remember being in college in the '70's and seeing ads in Road & Track for this book. It sold back then for about $12.00 (first editions, no less!) Unfortunately, a full tank of gas in those days was $2.75 and a bag of White Castle hamburgers was less than $2.00, so the book was out of reach. And then it went out of print, became a classic and got further out of reach. About 8 years ago, I found a copy in our local...
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In many ways I sought after and bought this book because of its collector value and mistique. I was very surprised, however, to find that it is well written and quite and interesting read. The book is organized around the various cars that Donahue raced throughout his career, until his first (and unfortunately not permanent) retirement. He discussed the people involved in each of the cars, the challenges faced, mistakes...
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Mark Donohue was the thinking mans racer. He not only knew how to make a "plain Jane" into a race car but he knew WHY his steps worked. He had no need to worry about racing being a "black art"...He was an engineer who applied his knowledge to his racing projects and had fun while he was doing it. His book could be used for a "basic training" manual for a "racer-in-training". His untimely death "short-chainged" the...
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Langston Hughes described the experience of the Harlem Renaissance as "…to express our individual dark-skinned selves without fear or shame." It was a movement of the senses, steps quickened to the sound of Jazz and Blues, the air was redolent of food reminiscent of Carolina and the Caribbean, the mind was stimulated by new ideas, and the energy was like an electric current to a wire.
We've all suffered the dreaded reading slump. Sometimes we just need a little kickstart to get us going again. For many of us, this can take the form of a few slim, unputdownable reads that we can finish in a day or so. Here are twenty titles (fiction and nonfiction) that might do the trick!
James Baldwin was born on August 2, 1924. Though he died at age 63, he left behind a powerful legacy. His provocative essays introduced fresh ways of thinking about society. His fiction and poetry broke new ground, exploring themes around masculinity, sexuality, race, and class.
Today's America is hard to define. A land of promise. A melting pot. A country of immigrants. A study in contrasts. We are young. We are optimistic. We are angry. We are evolving. Here are eight contemporary authors who represent and celebrate the glorious diversity of the American experience.