The battle in Grand Prix racing between the German Mercedes-Benz and Auto Union teams during the six years from 1934 through 1939 was probably the greatest, most spectacular and most important era in motor racing history. The two German teams almost completely dominated Grand Prix racing, mainly because of their technical superiority. This superiority was made possible by the vast sums that the two teams could expend on racing. The money paid to them by the German government was not a direct subsidy, but represented the generous margin above cost incorporated in government contracts. In effect, while Mercedes-Benz developed and manufactured aero engines for the Luftwaffe, the Auto Union Group manufactured tanks and other armored vehicles for the Wehrmacht.
Lewis Hamilton's record-breaking achievements in F1 are the latest successes in a glorious motor sport record for Mercedes and Benz that stretches back to the very first races in the 1890s. For the first time, this book tells the story of Mercedes in motor sport from the very beginning, with those pioneers of the 19th century, right through to today's hybrid F1 cars. It covers the triumphs and disasters, from the early Grand Prix machines and the extraordinarily advanced and massively powerful racers of the 1930s to the highs of F1, Le Mans and Mille Miglia glory and the sorrow of the 1955 Le Mans disaster. The story is brought right up to date, tracing Mercedes victories in sports car racing, Indycar, F1 and Formula E – and this book celebrates the achievements of some of the world's greatest drivers, from Caracciola, Fangio and Moss to Hakkinen, Unser and Hamilton.
Following in the mould of 'Silver Arrows in Camera', this book explores in period photographs the extraordinary story of the BRM V16, which raced between 1950 and 1954. Over 400 photographs, including a small amount of rare colour pictures are accompanied by an informative commentary. BRM (British Racing Motors) was a motor racing venture created in 1950 to represent Britain in the new Formula 1 category. A symbol of Britain’s post-war rebirth, the BRM car did nothing by halves: its 1.5-litre 16-cylinder supercharged engine and advanced specification made it a technical tour de force, but it earned a reputation as a fantastic folly, such that Stirling Moss described it as ‘without doubt the worst car I ever drove’. This book is a fascinating portrait of a racing car that still engenders enduring fascination.
The heart-pounding story of an unlikely band of ragtags who took on Hitler's Grand Prix driver. In the years before World War II, Adolf Hitler wanted to prove the greatness of the Third Reich in everything from track and field to motorsports. The Nazis poured money into the development of new race cars, and Mercedes-Benz came out with a stable of supercharged automobiles called Silver Arrows. Their drivers dominated the sensational world of European Grand Prix racing and saluted Hitler on their many returns home with victory.As the Third Reich stripped Jews of their rights and began their march toward war, one driver, Rene Dreyfus, a 32-year-old Frenchman of Jewish heritage who had enjoyed some early successes on the racing circuit, was barred from driving on any German or Italian race teams, which fielded the best in class, due to the rise of Hitler and Benito Mussolini.So it was that in 1937, Lucy Schell, an American heiress and top Monte Carlo Rally driver, needed a racer for a new team she was creating to take on Germany's Silver Arrows. Sensing untapped potential in Dreyfus, she funded the development of a nimble tiger of a new car built by a little-known French manufacturer called Delahaye. As the nations of Europe marched ever closer to war, Schell and Dreyfus faced down Hitler's top drivers, and the world held its breath in anticipation, waiting to see who would triumph.
THE FIRST BOOK WITH ONE FOOT ON THE COFFEE TABLE, AND ONE FOOT IN THE CLASSROOM Joe McNally, one of the world’s top pro digital photographers, whose celebrated work has graced the pages of Sports Illustrated, Time, and National Geographic (to name a few), breaks new ground by doing something no photography book has ever done—blending the rich, stunning images and elegant layout of a coffee-table book with the invaluable training, no-nonsense insights, and photography secrets usually found only in those rare, best-of-breed educational books. When Joe’s not on assignment for the biggest-name magazines and Fortune 500 clients, he’s in the classroom teaching location lighting, environmental portraiture, and how to “get the shot” at workshops around the world. These on-location workshops are usually reserved for a handful of photographers each year, but now you can learn the same techniques that Joe shares in his seminars and lectures in a book that brings Joe’s sessions to life. What makes the book so unique is the “triangle of learning” where (1) Joe distills the concept down to one brief sentence. It usually starts with something like, “An editor at National Geographic once told me...” and then he shares one of those hard-earned tricks of the trade that you only get from spending a lifetime behind the lens. Then, (2) on the facing page is one of Joe’s brilliant images that perfectly illustrates the technique (you’ll recognize many of his photos from magazine covers). And (3) you get the inside story of how that shot was taken, including which equipment he used (lens, f/stop, lighting, accessories, etc.), along with the challenges that type of project brings, and how to set up a shot like that of your own. This book also gives you something more. It inspires. It challenges. It informs. But perhaps most importantly, it will help you understand photography and the art of making great photos at a level you never thought possible. This book is packed with those “Ah ha!” moments—those clever insights that make it all come together for you. It brings you that wonderful moment when it suddenly all makes sense—that “moment it clicks.”
'A tragic age and a tragic character, both seemingly compelled to destroy themselves...a chilling reminder of how little control we have over our fates' Damon Hill 'One of the greatest motor racing stories' Nick Mason 'Timely, vivid and enthralling … it’s unputdownable’ Miranda Seymour, author of The Bugatti Queen Dick Seaman was the archetypal dashing motorsport hero of the 1930s, the first Englishman to win a race for Mercedes-Benz and the last Grand Prix driver to die at the wheel before the outbreak of the Second World War. Award-winning author Richard Williams reveals the remarkable but now forgotten story of a driver whose battles against the leading figures of motor racing's golden age inspired the post-war generation of British champions. The son of wealthy parents, educated at Rugby and Cambridge, Seaman grew up in a privileged world of house parties, jazz and fast cars. But motor racing was no mere hobby: it became such an obsession that he dropped out of university to pursue his ambitions, squeezing money out of his parents to buy better cars. When he was offered a contract with the world-beating, state-sponsored Mercedes team in 1937, he signed up despite the growing political tensions between Britain and Germany. A year later, he celebrated victory in the German Grand Prix with the beautiful 18-year-old daughter of the founder of BMW. Their wedding that summer would force a split with his family, a costly rift that had not been closed six months later when he crashed in the rain while leading at Spa, dying with his divided loyalties seemingly unresolved. He was just 26 years old. A Race with Love and Death is a gripping tale of speed, romance and tragedy. Set in an era of rising tensions, where the urge to live each moment to the full never seemed more important, it is a richly evocative story that grips from first to last.
"At the crossroads of America, the town of Arrow Rock was established in Missouri's Boonslick region where Indian traces, the Santa Fe Trail, and the Missouri River converge. Michael Dickey, the site administrator at the Arrow Rock State Historic Site, provides a rich narrative of Arrow Rock's rise in political and economic prowess, its decline after the Civil War, and its rebirth in the twentieth century as a major historic site visited by nearly 200,000 people annually"--From Amazon.com.
