Indy's Wildest Decade

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Editorial reviews

Synopsis
Feartures detailed information on technology that developed prior to this era, giving the reader perspective and appreciation for the radical changes that took place in the sixties. Profusely illustrated with vintage colour photography from the period.

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Customer reviews

review by: date: 2004-09-11 rating:
Excellent intro to the birth of the modern Indycar
There are surprisingly few good general books on the evolution of the Indycar. Borgeson's "Golden Age of the American Racing Car" covers the classic pre-Depression Miller era, but until now there hasn't really been anything on the most interesting period in Indy history - the demise of the front-engined roadsters and their replacement by rear-engined cars in the 60s.

And it wasn't just the relative positions of driver and engine that changed in the sixties. The decade saw not only British and American builders challenging accepted wisdom on chassis, but also a range of alternatives to the Offenhauser hegemony - the Ford V8, the gas turbines, even a car with two Porsche flat sixes.... gasoline fuel and methanol, the ever-changing technology of the racing tyre, the first faltering steps in of aerodynamics - it's all documented here in words and pictures.

It's all here in this concise but well-written and splendidly-illustrated book. The first third of it is a potted history of the 500 and the Indy car from the dawn of time to the late 50s, so you'll get a general overview the pioneering cars, the Miller era, the "Junk Formula", and the Roadster years. The book then opens out into a year-by-year description of the sixties -- new developments and new faces, new technical approaches, and the history of the race. Other USAC races are covered only in passing; this is unashamedly a book on the 500.

For the price, the number and quality of photos in the book are particularly praiseworthy, as is the sheer quantity of colour. This is a notably handsome and well-produced book with quite a lot of pictures I'd not seen before. The text seems accurate enough and is quite entertainingly written, with a nice line in wry understatement.

Difficult to find reasons not to buy thos one - it's good value, looks good and reads well, so a definite recommendation. I'd be interested to see if the author can cover the 70s-90s in the same style!


review by: date: 2004-09-11 rating:
Excellent intro to the birth of the modern Indycar
There are surprisingly few good general books on the evolution of the Indycar. Borgeson's "Golden Age of the American Racing Car" covers the classic pre-Depression Miller era, but until now there hasn't really been anything on the most interesting period in Indy history - the demise of the front-engined roadsters and their replacement by rear-engined cars in the 60s.

And it wasn't just the relative positions of driver and engine that changed in the sixties. The decade saw not only British and American builders challenging accepted wisdom on chassis, but also a range of alternatives to the Offenhauser hegemony - the Ford V8, the gas turbines, even a car with two Porsche flat sixes.... gasoline fuel and methanol, the ever-changing technology of the racing tyre, the first faltering steps in of aerodynamics - it's all documented here in words and pictures.

It's all here in this concise but well-written and splendidly-illustrated book. The first third of it is a potted history of the 500 and the Indy car from the dawn of time to the late 50s, so you'll get a general overview the pioneering cars, the Miller era, the "Junk Formula", and the Roadster years. The book then opens out into a year-by-year description of the sixties -- new developments and new faces, new technical approaches, and the history of the race. Other USAC races are covered only in passing; this is unashamedly a book on the 500.

For the price, the number and quality of photos in the book are particularly praiseworthy, as is the sheer quantity of colour. This is a notably handsome and well-produced book with quite a lot of pictures I'd not seen before. The text seems accurate enough and is quite entertainingly written, with a nice line in wry understatement.

For the price, difficult to find major faults. Looks good and reads well, so a definite recommendation. I'd be interested to see whether the author can cover the 70s-90s in the same style!

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Books . Refinements . Language (feature_browse-bin) . English
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