The Limit
Life and Death on the 1961 Grand Prix Circuit
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4.6 • 50 Ratings
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
In The Limit, Michael Cannell tells the enthralling story of Phil Hill-a lowly California mechanic who would become the first American-born driver to win the Grand Prix-and, on the fiftieth anniversary of his triumph, brings to life a vanished world of glamour, valor, and daring.
With the pacing and vivid description of a novel, The Limit charts the journey that brought Hill from dusty California lots racing midget cars into the ranks of a singular breed of men, competing with daredevils for glory on Grand Prix tracks across Europe. Facing death at every turn, these men rounded circuits at well over 150 mph in an era before seat belts or roll bars-an era when drivers were "crushed, burned, and beheaded with unnerving regularity."
From the stink of grease-smothered pits to the long anxious nights in lonely European hotels, from the tense camaraderie of teammates to the trembling suspense of photo finishes, The Limit captures the 1961 season that would mark the high point of Hill's career. It brings readers up close to the remarkable men who surrounded Hill on the circuit-men like Hill's teammate and rival, the soigné and cool-headed German count Wolfgang Von Trips (nicknamed "Count Von Crash"), and Enzo Ferrari, the reclusive and monomaniacal padrone of the Ferrari racing empire.
Race by race, The Limit carries readers to its riveting and startling climax-the final contest that would decide it all, one of the deadliest in Grand Prix history.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Forget those NASCAR wimps; the European and Latin American sports scar and Formula One circuit of the 1950s is where real men raced and died according to this high-octane racing saga. Cannell (I. M. Pei: Mandarin of Modernism) follows two drivers for the Ferrari team: the steady American master-technician Phil Hill and a charismatic German bat-out-of-hell with the sublime name of Count Wolfgang von Trips. Driving day and night at insane speeds through cramped streets and blind curves without seat-belts or roll-bars, the two fight a war of attrition as dozens of competitors and teammates are mangled, cut in half, and burned alive in crashes. (Just watching the races was so lethal "the hood spun loose and sliced through the crowd like a giant scythe, decapitating a row of spectators" that the Vatican denounced them.) The author revs the narrative with greasy atmospherics and colorful figures like the Bond villainish motor mogul Enzo Ferrari "What a pity. What about the car?" was his eulogy for a dead driver. There are also tales of womanizing, great stoicism, and a few pit stops for Nietzschean bombast: "It is danger and the insistent proximity to death that most ennobles the soul." Cannell's full-throttle epic leaves you breathless. Photos.
Customer Reviews
A Real Hero
Born in 1961, I always wondered about and admired Phil Hill, the 1961 World Driving Champion. He was the first American to win the title...and he had done so in a Ferrari!
Through movies and listening to broadcasts of modern day racing, I thought I had an idea of the dangers of early F1. Truly, I had no idea.
This book takes you into auto racing's early years, when real men raced - instead of the whining brats we have now.
While my admiration or Mr. Hill has grown greatly through this book, I also saddened that he never really got the accolades or respect he deserved.
Nicely done, Mr. Hill! I wish I had met you!
Well researched, well written
Great account of the 1961 Formula One Championship and the late 1950s races. One of the best works on Wolfgang Von Trips. If you are a "car guy" Of F1 fan you will enjoy it.