Author: Will Buxton
Hardback: 320 pages
Publisher: Evro (2019)
Price: £14.99 (RRP)
ISBN: 978-1910505403
Recommended? Yes
My Greatest Defeat is a collection of honest and revealing insights into 20 of the greatest living racing drivers, legends of the worlds of Formula 1, Indycar, NASCAR, Le Mans and Rally. Interviews conducted specially for this book are with (in alphabetical order) Mario Andretti, Derek Bell, Emerson Fittipaldi, Dario Franchitti, Jeff Gordon, Mika Hakkinen, Damon Hill, Jimmie Johnson, Tom Kristensen, Niki Lauda, Sebastien Loeb, Felipe Massa, Rick Mears, Emanuele Pirro, Alain Prost, Carlos Sainz, Jackie Stewart, Bobby Unser, Ari Vatanen and Alex Zanardi.
Each of the stories contained within offers a completely unique take on not only the sport that each driver competed in but also the especially challenging circumstances that they found themselves facing. You’ll find in this tome that the modern wheel-warriors that we know and love are fallible and breakable – just as we are. They however come back from some trials though that would test any of us to the brink and beyond.
It’s hard to pick a favourite out of the selection on offer here – truly the twenty stories are truly unique. Some however you may be more familiar with than others. That being said, when I first got into motorsport, I began to pick up the names of some of the legends across a variety of disciplines. One of those that stood out was Niki Lauda. Not only was he a fantastic driver, but he came back from a truly horrific crash and once again took to the wheel of an F1 car. What some of you may not know however was his ownership of an airline – Lauda Air – and the crash of flight 004. I guarantee this will give you a whole new understanding and respect for this great man.
The artwork in this book is especially good – not only does it capture the character of each driver but it also reflects their emotion too. The striking portrait artworks come from a revered artist in modern comic book design, Giuseppe ‘Cammo’ Camuncoli. Cammo is renowned for the dark, brooding style that has seen him become a staple in the Vertigo, DC and Marvel stables. We can certainly see why. The images are a real asset and genuinely enhance the read.
We at Car Articles choose our reading material very carefully. There’s nothing wrong with the glossy mags – we love those and dip in from time to time – but for a more in depth read we prefer the specialist press. In this case, Evro Publishing has done a fantastic job and we guarantee you’ll be happy taking this on your Summer holidays and enjoying a relaxing read with a glass of sangria or a cocktail. In this case, My Greatest Defeat comes highly recommended. We hope you enjoy it as much as we did.
My Greatest Defeat is available from all good bookshops, online and directly from Evro Publishing.
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