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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Lavish, insightful and often very funny, 11 Sep 2004
Sir Jack Brabham is probably one of the sharpest minds to have ever got involved with something as daft as motor racing; in this splendid autobiography the normally reticent knight and co-writer Doug Nye cover the whole Brabham story, from his childhood and RAF service right up to his current life in Surfer's Paradise - but the heart of the book is the description of his racing career, from midgets in Australia to three-times World Champion and owner of one of the most successful racing car firms of the sixties. It's all here - F1, Tasman, F2, his forays into sports cars and Indy, the story of Sir Jack's years at Cooper and his first two titles, his relationship with Ron Tauranac and the rise of Brabham; his third title, his decision to retire... A few passages remind the reader of Sir Jack's earlier volume of autobiography "When The Flag Drops", but age has mellowed the author and retirement has allowed him to be a little more direct about some issues, so it's definitely well worth a read even if you have his earlier book; similarly, a few bits clearly draw from co-author Nye's "Cooper Cars", but given that that is one of the best marque histories ever it's no hardship! As you'd expect, this reads wonderfully, contains a lot that is new, and looks great. The illustrations are excellent, a good mix of contemporary photos, some posed photoshoots of key cars in Sir Jack's career, and shots of memorabilia. It's one of the best memoirs of the 50s/60s I've read, and deserves a place on every fan's bookshelf.
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