Cars and Racing

Books about car culture and auto racing, from Formula 1 to the insights of weekend track day aficionados. Stories about racers and technical investigations into the techniques and mechanics of speed.
Updated December 14, 2022
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The Art of Racing in the Rain
Garth Stein
Paper Book
The New York Times bestselling novel from Garth Stein--a heart-wrenching but deeply funny and ultimately uplifting story of a dog's efforts to hold together his family in the face of a divisive custody battle. "Splendid." --People "The perfect book for anyone who knows that...
Driving Like Crazy: Thirty Years of Vehicular Hell-Bending Celebrating America the Way It's Supposed to Be—With an Oil Well in Every Backyard, a Cadillac Escalade in Every Carport, and the Chairman of the Federal Reserve Mowing Our Lawn
P. J. O'Rourke
Paper Book
A collection spanning thirty years, chronicling famed humorist and gearhead P. J. O'Rourke's love affair with the automobile from mid-twentieth century to now--from heyday to sickbay.
Go Like Hell: Ford, Ferrari, and Their Battle for Speed and Glory at Le Mans
A.J. Baime
Paper Book
By the early 1960s, the Ford Motor Company, built to bring automobile transportation to the masses, was falling behind. Young Henry Ford II, who had taken the reins of his grandfather's company with little business experience to speak of, knew he had to do something to shake things up....
Legendary story about cars.
How to Build a Car: The Autobiography of the World’s Greatest Formula 1 Designer
Adrian Newey
Paper Book
'Adrian has a unique gift for understanding drivers and racing cars. He is ultra competitive but never forgets to have fun. An immensely likeable man.' Damon Hill The world's foremost designer in Formula One, Adrian Newey OBE is arguably one of Britain's greatest engineers and this is...
Faster: How a Jewish Driver, an American Heiress, and a Legendary Car Beat Hitler's Best
Neal Bascomb
Paper Book
Winner of the Motor Press Guild Best Book of the Year Award & Dean Batchelor Award for Excellence in Automotive Journalism  For fans of The Boys in the Boat and In the Garden of Beasts, a pulse-pounding tale of triumph by an improbable team of...
Winning Is Not Enough: The Autobiography
Jackie Stewart
Paper Book
One of the most highly regarded names in racing, Sir Jackie Stewart is the winner of three F1 World Championships and 27 Grand Prix races, and is ranked in the top five drivers of all time. In the 1960s and 1970s, with his black cap, sideburns, and aviator...
My Mercedes is Not for Sale: From Amsterdam to Ouagadougou...An Auto-Misadventure Across the Sahara
Jeroen van Bergeijk
Paper Book
"Oh Lord, won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz?"--Janis Joplin A journalist's intrepid endeavor to sell his used car abroad results in a high-spirited and revealing look at West Africa. "Look, there's my car," I say, pointing at my Mercedes in the parking...
Taken for a Ride : How Daimler-Benz Drove off with Chrysler
Bill Vlasic
Paper Book
It was the deal heard round the world. In May 1998, a stunning $36 billion merger was announced by Chrysler, the all-American automaker, and Daimler-Benz, the German manufacturer of Mercedes-Benz luxury sedans. The Wall Street Journal christened the deal "the biggest industrial merger of all time...
Road to Nowhere: What Silicon Valley Gets Wrong about the Future of Transportation
Paris Marx
Paper Book
How to build a transportation system to provide mobility for all Road to Nowhere exposes the flaws in Silicon Valley's vision of the future: ride-hailing services such as Uber and Lyft to take us anywhere; electric cars to make them 'green'; and automation to ensure...
Enzo Ferrari : A Life
Richard Williams
Paper Book
The definitive biography of one of the towering figures of the 20th century. As Chanel and Kalashnikov are to high fashion and guns, so Ferrari is to fast cars, heroic deeds and glamour. Today s Formula One, a billion-dollar business with a vast TV audience spread across five continents, would...
Total Competition: Lessons in Strategy from Formula One
Ross Brawn
Paper Book
From Ross Brawn--one of the most successful figures in Formula One auto racing--comes a compelling insider's account of what it takes to win, featuring practical advice for overcoming obstacles and becoming a champion both on and off the racetrack. Formula One racing is a wildly...
Ludicrous: The Unvarnished Story of Tesla Motors
Edward Niedermeyer
Paper Book
Tesla is the most exciting car company in a generation . . . but can it live up to the hype? Tesla Motors and CEO Elon Musk have become household names, shaking up the staid auto industry by creating a set of innovative electric vehicles that have wowed the marketplace and defied...
The Car: The Rise and Fall of the Machine that Made the Modern World
Bryan Appleyard
Paper Book
A spirited, insightful exploration of our favorite machine and it's cultural impact on society over the past one hundred and fifty years. More than any other technology, cars have transformed American popular culture. Cars have created vast wealth as well as novel dreams of...
Boundless: The Rise, Fall, and Escape of Carlos Ghosn
Nick Kostov
Paper Book
Now an Apple TV+ limited series, Wanted: The Escape of Carlos Ghosn The unprecedented rise and catastrophic fall of one of the world's most feared and admired business executives--Carlos Ghosn--a remarkable story of innovation, hubris, alleged crimes, and daring international...

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