Lewis Hamilton: My Story

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Editorial reviews

Murray Walker
`Lewis Hamilton is a phenomenon - nobody has come into the sport and done what he's done'

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Book Description
Lewis Hamilton, My Story, includes the account of his extraordinary career from karting glory to leading the F1 World Championship in his debut year. The book includes personal photographs, and provides an inspirational insight into Lewis as well as a look back in detail at each race of the 2007 F1 World Championship which has been dominated by Lewis's Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team. The book also covers Lewis's early years from starting out in go-karts at the age of eight to his meteoric rise through the Junior and Formula ranks, and his transformation from teenage boy wonder to international superstar.
This is the only book with the real story, as told by Lewis.

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Synopsis
Lewis Hamilton's explosive arrival on the Formula 1 scene has made front-page headlines. In My Story, for the first time Lewis opens up about his stunning debut season in grand prix racing, as well as his dad Anthony, his home life and his early years. The only book with the real story, as told by Lewis. In his first season in F1, Lewis Hamilton thrilled the world of motor racing by finishing on the podium in his first nine consecutive races -- the first driver to do so in the sport's 57-year history -- and drove to victories in Canada, America, Hungary and Japan. But bare statistics alone do scant justice to the amazing impact Lewis Hamilton has had on the sporting landscape. My Story gives the real account from Lewis himself, as he sets the record straight about his colourful life on and off the track. Given a grounded upbringing by his dedicated father in unremarkable Stevenage, Lewis tells about how he first tried out go-karting while on a cut-price family holiday in Ibiza.In his book he gives the real version of events at a motor sport dinner where, as a nine-year-old wearing a borrowed suit, he approached McLaren team boss Ron Dennis with the immortal words that were to change his life forever.

He rose rapidly through the Junior and Formula ranks, dominating every series with his raw speed and canny race craft. Here Lewis candidly recalls those key moments that shaped his career and went some way towards compensating for the sacrifices made by his father Anthony in getting his son to the top. Lewis also charts how he got into the sport and was signed up by Ron Dennis, what motivates him, who are his closest friends, how he copes with the constant travelling, and the physical and mental challenges of driving a state-of-the-art Formula 1 car. He looks back in detail at the 2007 World Championship -- the race wins, the frightening crash in Germany, his intense rivalry with team-mate Fernando Alonso, his special relationship with Ron Dennis, and the furore over the Ferrari allegations -- right up to the dramatic last race of the season in Brazil.

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From the Publisher
The inside, official account of the most remarkable story in British sport for many years.

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About the Author
Lewis Hamilton was born in Stevenage, Hertfordshire in January 1985, and named after legendary Olympic athlete Carl Lewis. By the age of eight he was racing karts, at ten he drove to his first British championship, and at thirteen he was signed to the McLaren team. He made his F1 debut at this year's Australian GP and currently leads the 2007 World Drivers' Championship.

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Customer reviews

review by: Gorgeous Book Reviewer date: 2008-03-31 rating:
Inspirational
I think that this is a truly inspirational read. i am not a massive fan of formula 1 or lewis for that matter this book was my friends and i decided to have a read as it seemed very inspirational. Lewis just proves that if you try hard enough you can live the dream and suceed in the job/sport you are passionate about. I dont care what any of you lot who rated it as 1 star think, because a lot of you havent even blooming well read the book and others have but they didnt like lewis hamilton to start with so why read it then? you all amaze me! and my granny always told me dont judge a book by its cover and dont judge a person by its skin.

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review by: date: 2008-02-27 rating:
Much too sanitised and selective, though still readable (just about)
Content wise, Lewis Hamilton's `My Story' is pretty much what you'd expect from a twenty-two year old's autobiography (who happens to be a Formula 1 ace). As such, approximately two-thirds relates directly to 2007 - not unreasonable, and since he looks at each race in turn, it's actually quite welcome.

`My Story' is divided into seventeen (short) chapters with such informative one-word titles as: `Inspirations', `Unbelievable!', `Adversity' (as well as `Strife') or `Fame'. These are followed by an index and a `Career Statistics' section - which comprises a single page for 1995-2006 and twenty-odd pages for 2007 (with one F1 race per page). Unfortunately, the first four of five chapters are mostly waffle.

The above illustrates one of the major short-comings: there is far too little about Lewis' early life and, especially, his early career. For instance, his stellar 2006 GP2 championship winning year barely warrants a mention. I'd love to read accounts of those races as some are already the stuff of legend:

`... like Istanbul. I had a great GP2 race there in 2006 when, after spinning early on, I worked my way up from last to second' (p206).

But that's it! Lewis says he wants `My Story' to be `an inspirational book' but what's inspirational about collapsing the most important and incredible race of his career up to that point to just a single sentence?

We might also criticise the extreme care taken to follow the party (McLaren/Mercedes) line but while it's a little tedious, you can't blame him. But I really didn't like the way the first half of the book (in particular) jumps all over the place chronologically, making everything feel very disjointed.

In the end we are left with an informative picture of the young man who is Lewis Hamilton and a useful look (just) under the skin of the 2007 F1 season. But this is just half a book and I bet the other half would be fantastic: `My Story' is a million miles behind `Mansell', and even trails a long way behind Coulthard's `It Is What It Is.' (Maybe 2½ stars would be fairer.)

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review by: date: 2008-02-17 rating:
Already????
although listed as best seller in F1, a one star is all i can give.

I mean, don't get me wrong, Hamilton is the best thing that happened to F1 since Montoya left.... NO SERIOUSLY, He is the prodogy that will change the nombers of of F1. shame he pledged to McLaren Mercedes, is it for th rest of his career? only time will tell.

on a last note, please Lewis, wait for more F1 seasons before another "My Story" for a story to actually unfold.

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review by: Alistair Murray date: 2008-02-02 rating:
Interesting informative book
If you are not interested in F1 then you won't find this book very interesting. However if you are an F1 fan, you will find it an interesting record of a very exciting season. Also the colour photos are really good and are a great way of remembering Lewis Hamilton's first F1 season. The career summary in the back is also nicely put together.


review by: Mogsy date: 2008-01-21 rating:
Very useful material
I am not a fan of Lewis Hamilton and find motor racing tedious beyond belief and supported by the worst type of dullard.

When I was given this book for Christmas, the fact that I was provided with a hardback copy was very helpful when it came to smashing the teeth of the donor from the bleeding cavity that used to be his mouth.

Salutations Lewis.

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