This biography tells how a street-sharp, working-class kid became one of the most powerful and wealthiest figures in sport. For more than 30 years, Bernie Ecclestone has ruthlessly exploited and dominated Formula One motor racing to become the third richest man in the United Kingdom with a family fortune worth #3 billion. To those within his elite circle, particularly those who have benefited from the labours of his wheeler-dealing, he is both feared and admired for the way in which he has masterminded the transformation of Formula One from an amateur sport of the Fifties into a global billion-dollar industry of the 21st century. But along the way there have been many, not only in Formula One but in motor sports at large, who have suffered at his hands - the weak and the gullible, the politcally naive and unsuspecting. They have a different story to tell. "Bernie's Game" strips away the sexy veneer of Formula One to look behind the hype that sustains it. It opens the august portals of the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile, the body that governs Formula One, to discover the avarice, callousness and corruption of its rules.
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About the Author
Terry Lovell, a former national newspaper investigative reporter, is author of A Camera in Colditz, An Invasion of Privacy, and Number One Millbank
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21 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Terry Lovell isn't a racing expert - he's an investigative journalist, which makes him ideally qualified to write this biography of Bernie Ecclestone. Most of what Ecclestone has done has little to do with racing - Bernie's world is all about money, power, deals, and intrigue. Racing just happens to be something Bernie enjoys and has built his fortune around.
The first half of the book is a relatively conventional biography of Ecclestone - his childhood, how he made his first couple of fortunes, his ownership of the Brabham F1 team and his eventual rise to power within FOCA, the body that represents the constructors. The FISA-FOCA "war" that threatened to tear F1 apart in the early 80s is described in detail. This half of the book is rich in anecdotes, quotes and incidents, and is great fun.
The second half of the book looks at the last 15 years or so and more particularly how Bernie has gradually taken control of almost all the commercial aspects of F1 - TV, race promotion, etc - and how he went from millionaire to billionaire. The politics and deals are bigger, but the writing is a bit flatter when the story heads away from the circuits.
I'll admit that big business isn't something I spend a lot of time reading about, and that racing is, so I found the first half of the book considerably more enjoyable than the second - but the depth of research Lovell has put into the book, and the insight he's achieved into the often rather murky political/financial dealings behind F1 are very obvious and the many conflicting threads of control are clearly explained.
There isn't a great deal of insight into Ecclestone the man - some comment from his friends from his early years and acquaintances in the racing game; a few pages near the end about his life now; but really very little you couldn't already work out - Ecclestone is portrayed as fastidious, intensely private, sarcastic, quick-witted, addicted to deals, still essentially the working-class boy made good and not someone easily impressed.
All in all, this is a comprehensive and generally highly readable profile of how Ecclestone made Formula 1 the sport it is today. There are a lot of surprising revelations (particularly in the first half of the book), though few startling ones for anyone who pays moderately close attention to what the city pages have to say about racing.
Recommended to racing fans who want to know how the sport's ended up the way it is or to people interested in the interactions between sport and business.
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
More information on the little man than I've ever seen in one place! No other biography of him is this complete.
Gives a pretty good idea of what drives BCE; the final chapter(s) have yet to be written...
Gives a pretty good idea of what drives BCE; the final chapter(s) have yet to be written...
One comment - get a better proofreader.
Some of the grammatical & contextual errors could have been corrected by a child.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
As an armchair /TV enthusiast of Formula 1 racing over the past 15/ 20 years , I`ve only really seen the "glossy" side of this sport.Mainly the excellent TV coverage (from the BBC & ITV) on the Qualifying and Race Days including the background information and interviews of many of the characters both in front and behind the various teams ....including Bernie Ecclestone.
This book was recommended on one of these programmes so I obtained a copy in order to find out a little more of the "behind-the-scenes" of this multi-million dollar sport and how such an innocuous looking fellow with a dry wit and willing to comment an any asked question was held in such high esteem.
Wow...what a story ! I realise that to be rich (or mega rich!) then you have to be rather ruthless and this book certainly tells you that.From his humble beginnings with motorbike sales , via Brabham to the present day , I found it an excellent read giving me an in depth insight into the wheeling and dealing and the true character of many of the names from the world of Formula 1
I can now understand a little more why there are so many meetings (just casually mentioned on the TV programmes)...where the reality is more than a meeting , more like a battle where on most occasions Bernie gets the result he wants.
A recommended book for any F1 enthusiast ...whether armchair/TV or the globe trotting real enthusiast.
Would make a delightful Christmas or birthday present.
I wonder if there will be an update ...so that we can hear about Bernie`s role in the current argument regarding the venue for the next British Grand Prix ?
One criticism ( also mentioned by another reviewer) is the poor proof reading of the text....so let`s hope that the all facts are accurate.
This book was recommended on one of these programmes so I obtained a copy in order to find out a little more of the "behind-the-scenes" of this multi-million dollar sport and how such an innocuous looking fellow with a dry wit and willing to comment an any asked question was held in such high esteem.
Wow...what a story ! I realise that to be rich (or mega rich!) then you have to be rather ruthless and this book certainly tells you that.From his humble beginnings with motorbike sales , via Brabham to the present day , I found it an excellent read giving me an in depth insight into the wheeling and dealing and the true character of many of the names from the world of Formula 1
I can now understand a little more why there are so many meetings (just casually mentioned on the TV programmes)...where the reality is more than a meeting , more like a battle where on most occasions Bernie gets the result he wants.
A recommended book for any F1 enthusiast ...whether armchair/TV or the globe trotting real enthusiast.
Would make a delightful Christmas or birthday present.
I wonder if there will be an update ...so that we can hear about Bernie`s role in the current argument regarding the venue for the next British Grand Prix ?
One criticism ( also mentioned by another reviewer) is the poor proof reading of the text....so let`s hope that the all facts are accurate.
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