[Books] Good books on Early Motorsport History?

[mwright]

Hi

Does anyone know of any particularly good books on early history of motorsport. I'm after anything on 1920 - 1939 especially around the Bentley Boys and German motorsport such as Mercedes and Auto Union?

Any help would be much appreciated.

[Vitesse]

Start with "Power and Glory" by William Court (NOT the similarly titled one by Ivan Rendall). Originally published 1966, reissued 1988 when a second volume was also published. Covers racing up to 1951. Not cheap, but worth the money!

Also consider Adriano Cimarosti's "Complete History of Grand Prix Motor Racing": there are some very cheap paperback copies of the first edition on ABEBooks. The revised 1997 hardback comes more expensive.

Others I'd recommend: "Roaring Twenties" by Cyril Posthumus, "Pit & Paddock" by Michael Frostick, "Motor Racing with Mercedes Benz" by George Monkhouse and "Racing the Silver Arrows" by Chris Nixon. For Bentley, try "My Life and My Cars" by WO Bentley himself or "WO Bentley: Engineer" by Donald Bastow. There are quite a few books on Bentley, mostly specialist and/or rare.

But you'll need deep pockets ...

[chunterer]

Moving this to Armchair Enthusiast folks.

[Aysedasi]

I've changed the title to be more specific as there are a number of 'good books' threads in AE.

[ensign14]

Might want to change it again, I came in to recommend TASO Mathieson's "The Grands Prix 1906-14" but whereas it fits the current thread title it does not match mwright's rubric...

Slightly more in price range: "Full Throttle" by Tim Birkin, a work of its time. Also "Wall Smacker!" by Pete de Paolo.

[Aysedasi]

I think we'll construe it widely, shall we? Anything that's off-topic for the OP will probably be of interest to others, as I'm sure your recommendations will be.....

[Adam43]

Try Full Throttle by 'Tim' Birkin. It isn't a history, but it gives insight into one man's part of it. It is a good read and, of course, written at the time.

[D-Type]

The Prince and I, My Life with Prince Bira of Siam by Princess Ceril Birabongse, ISBN 1-901295-48-6, is not at all expensive. It is really a 'social history' rather than a 'racing history' butas it's not pricy I would recommend adding it to the list as it captures the amateur spirit of much racing in the era.

[Adam43]

I'd been meaning to get that, thanks for the reminder. Bought!

[nivola1]

When Nuvolari raced.. by valerio moretti is a mine of information but not cheap, a great coffee table book that came out recently was motor racing the golden age by john Tennant. Some excellant images from the early days including the infamous nazi salute by dick Seaman on the 1938 nurburgring podium. Now theres a talking point.

[nicanary]

Originally Posted by nivola1

When Nuvolari raced.. by valerio moretti is a mine of information but not cheap, a great coffee table book that came out recently was motor racing the golden age by john Tennant. Some excellant images from the early days including the infamous nazi salute by dick Seaman on the 1938 nurburgring podium. Now theres a talking point.

Funnily enough, I received my copy yesterday. Super book for browsing at leisure, and available on E-Bay at low,low prices.

[miner]

Originally Posted by nivola1

When Nuvolari raced.. by valerio moretti is a mine of information but not cheap, a great coffee table book that came out recently was motor racing the golden age by john Tennant. Some excellant images from the early days including the infamous nazi salute by dick Seaman on the 1938 nurburgring podium. Now theres a talking point.

Great book. I discovered it once at a friends house and couldn't stop reading. Those images are an excellent choice, true. I'll give that book as a present to my best friend who is just fanatic about historical issues like cars and antique IWC watches. I'll go for the book about cars - sure, just because of the images . No just kidding. It really is a recommendable book.