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Title: One Helluva Ride: How NASCAR Swept the Nation
ISBN: 0345499883
Author:
Liz Clarke
Publicate Date: 2008-02-12
Publish: 2008-02-12
List Price: $25.00
Average Customer Rating: 5.0
Format: Hardcover
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $13.93
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $4.95
Amazon Merchant Price: $16.50
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| Customer Review: |
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1: Entertaining and informative
This book is a rare combination of entertainment and information woven into a fast-paced narrative. The author is an experienced newspaper sportswriter, and that background gives her writing a pace and focus that perfectly fits the subject matter.
NASCAR's history is complicated; it is unique in American sports because it is wholly owned by a single family, the Frances. The actual racers are, in effect, independent contractors who perform day labor at the various racetracks that the France family franchises. The author makes all of this clear in one of the best analyses of the business of car racing that has ever been written.
At the same time, she explores the background of NASCAR's original stars, the good 'ole boys from the South, many of whom souped up cars to haul moonshine liquor during the Prohibition era. As the sport matured into the business it is today-- mostly because the France family made it do so-- those drivers were replaced by Richard Petty, Cale Yarborough, David Pearson and the like. Finally, today, the drivers are not only skilled professionals but corporate spokesmen as well. This could have been boring material, but the author's news writing skills turns it into an exciting narrative.
This is an excellent look into the history of NASCAR and into the current operations of the sport. It contains a wealth of material that the real fans will find valuable, and it clearly explains the sport for the casual viewer. I recommend it highly.
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2: great, fun race stories
If you'd like to learn about the history of racing but want it on a more personal level, this is the book for you to read.
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3: Great Ride
Love the book, gives just enough history of the sport and enough current information mixed in with fun stories about the past and present drivers.
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4: Best NASCAR book ever penned
A must for all fans of NASCAR, whether casual or hard-core. This book traces the sport through the lens of a witty, sophisticated, Springsteen-loving, private-school-educated woman. Liz Clarke is hardly your average NASCAR writer, and this is far from your average NASCAR book. The brilliant character studies here of champions like Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt show Clarke's resolve to part NASCAR's curtain and reveal the men who made the sport so much more than simply turning left. Read it and you will be glad that Clarke -- who has written about the sport for years, starting at The Charlotte Observer and now at The Washington Post -- has embraced this sport with her uncommon insight. What this book needs more than anything else is a sequel!
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5: One Helluva Pleasure
I'm delighted with the book and had a great "ride" reading it. I recommend it to anyone who is a newbie to NASCAR (like I am) or has enjoyed it's growth.
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