Just Finished Reading: The Race to the Future – An Adventure that Accelerated the Twentieth Century by Kassia St Clair (FP: 2023) [289pp] 

France, 1907. It all started as an idea to increase a newspapers circulation. The Parisian Le Martin would issue a challenge to any motor vehicle which could travel from Pekin (now Beijing) to Paris – the prize, world fame (and a trophy). After some initial problems, a little indifference and some well-placed scoffing at the possibility of such a thing, a total of 5 vehicles and crews signed up. Two, the favourites naturally, were a pair of French De Dion-Bouton motors with 10hp engines one of which was piloted by a famous French racing driver, another was a 15hp Spyker driven by an unknown who had managed to scam his way into the competition and one, a much more powerful 45hp Italia, was driven (and indeed financed) by an Italian prince – Prince Scipione Borghese. The outsider, although its driver firmly believed the opposite, was a tiny 3-wheel Contal Mototri producing an equally tiny 6hp. It was going to quite a trip running for 8,000 miles across mountains, desert, steppe with the hazards of flood, fire, bandits, an overly officious border guards. It was a test of both man and machine, of power, integrity, honour and technology. Advertised as a challenge as well as proof of a brighter future for the internal combustion engine it soon turned into a race for national pride and the triumph of western civilisation. 

To be honest I picked this up because of its colourful cover and bought it because I thought it, at least in part, would cover the Italian ‘Futurists’ and their obsession with motor cars and speed – it didn't. However, this was FAR from disappointing, indeed it was a delight from beginning to end. Although primarily focused on the ‘race’ itself (and some of the odd-ball competitors) it also looked at the social and political conditions in China, Russia and Europe that the competitors travelled through on their way to Paris. Although there were many funny moments, I remember one in particular when they crossed the German/Russia border which (on BOTH sides) had “suspiciously well-maintained roads”. Honestly, this had me crying laughing especially knowing what was going to happen just 7 years later! Another feature I really liked was the interspersion of chapters on the development of the early car industry, the early processing of recently discovered oil in various places, the early focus on female drivers (apparently early cars for women were fitted with electric starters considered ‘too feminine’ for men who had to use crank handles), and the often-forgotten fact that internal combustion was only one of (and not always the most popular) choice for motor engines – the others being steam and electric. 

Despite not being (nor ever being) a ‘petrol head’, I really enjoyed this. Not only was it a detailed look at a long-forgotten event but it was FULL of fascinating details of the beginnings of a recognisable modern age. Definitely recommended, especially if you have any interest in early motoring, technology or racing. More to come...  

Genius level idea!

An accident waiting to happen...............

I think I detect a fan-boy. I do wonder if that's street legal though... and I wouldn't want to see it try a speed bump!

Happy Birthday: Carroll Hall Shelby (January 11, 1923 – May 10, 2012) was an American automotive designer, racing driver, and entrepreneur.

Best known as a designer for his involvement with the AC Cobra and Mustang for Ford Motor Company, he also developed the Ford GT40 with racing legend Ken Miles, the car that won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1966, 1967, 1968, and 1969. As of 2024, it remains the only American-built car to win at Le Mans. His and Miles's efforts were dramatized in the 2019 Oscar-winning film Ford v Ferrari.

As a driver, he was a co-driver in winning the 1959 24 Hours of Le Mans driving an Aston Martin DBR1 with Roy Salvadori. He also won the 1960 Sports Car Club of America United States Auto Club Road Racing Sports Car Championship in 1960 by winning the round 1 race at Riverside International Raceway driving a Maserati Tipo 61 "Birdcage", and winning round 2 at Continental Divide Raceways driving a Chevrolet Scarab Mark II.

As an entrepreneur he established Shelby American in 1962 to manufacture and market performance vehicles. His autobiography, The Carroll Shelby Story, was published in 1967.

NOTHING is new.....

Just Finished Reading: On The Road by Jack Kerouac (FP: 1957) [281pp] 

Sal Paradise is looking for adventure, escape and material for a book. What better, he thought, to travel across the country and visit friends in New Orleans, San Francisco and Los Angeles? Borrowing $50 with the promise to pay it back once he got a job, he sets off by bus to see friends, the world and have fun. Almost immediately things go wrong, he hasn’t really thought out his route, he certainly doesn’t have enough money for the whole trip and he finds himself drenched in a sudden downpour. Now hitching, he finds himself almost back where he started before setting out again. THIS time he’d have an adventure, THIS time it would work, THIS time he’d have fun along the way. In the weeks that followed, before the promised return to college, he’d travel across the country more than once, meet up with old friends, make some new ones, meet women, get VERY drunk, watch live music the like of which he’d never heard before and meet the much talked about Dean Moriarty who would change his life forever. It was going to be quite a ride... 

I’d heard about this book decades before I actually picked up a copy. It’s kind of hard to avoid especially if you have hung around students as long as I have. One of my university friends RAVED about this book and I would be surprised if it had helped to define who he was. I’m not sure if it actually created his wanderlust or just fed it enough to create his seemingly permanent itchy feet (although I understand you can get some powder for that). After reading it I can understand both why this is an American classic and the fact that it must have launched a thousand (at least!) road-trips across the US. The structure is pretty simple – a bunch of young guys, although sometimes with girls in tow, travelling around getting drunk, getting high and getting laid. That’s not all but that’s the foundation of the book. What takes it above the mundane and makes it the classic that it deserves to be is a mixture of characterisation and conversation. Sal is pretty much the ‘everyman’ and it's his eyes we see things through. Moriarty is his opposite, almost his ‘evil’ twin. Moriarty is impulsive, hedonistic, irresponsible and frankly dangerous at times. I might even class him as a sociopath – he certainly doesn’t care for those around him and, more often than not, uses people for entertainment and as resources to supply him with drink, drugs, sex and distraction. He has no real direction except for following the siren sound of whatever seems to be ‘fun’ (for him) at that particular moment. He was NOT a very nice character at all – although few of the other characters saw him as such (with the interesting exception of some of the women in the group). 

Overall, I’m glad I read this. Although I can’t say that I loved it, or indeed enjoyed it a great deal, I did find it to be an interesting slice of ‘Beat’ culture and I can certainly understand why it became such a staple of the following 60’s Counter-culture. If you’re looking for an insight into America of that period this is worth a read.