Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #14371 in Books
• Published on: 2006-12-31
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 364 pages

Synopsis
James Bond meets Michael Schumacher The idea of racing drivers working as secret agents is at best far-fetched but The Grand Prix Saboteurs tells the amazing TRUE story of how three top Grand Prix drivers from the 1920s and 1930s worked for a clandestine British secret service in occupied France, during World War II. The product of 18 years of research, The Grand Prix Saboteurs tells a story that remained top secret until the British Government finally agreed to release them in 2003. The book dazzles with swashbuckling escapes, shocking betrayals and a story you will never forget.

Customer Reviews

terrific SOE information
I am not a huge fan of motor racing, but despite this I enjoyed the first chapters of the book which is mostly about the early lives and racing careers of the saboteurs. The author really brings the people to life and makes the reader care about them.
Once he starts writing about their SOE activities the book comes to life. He must have done an enormous amount of research, because, despite reading many, many books on the SOE, I found a lot of new information.
Excellently researched.

Very Impressive
Representing eighteen years of thorough research which could not be verified until 2003 when certain war time documents were declassified, this is a fascinating piece of work and a glimpse into another murky backdrop of WW2. Saward is actually a professional motor racing journalist and author, his prose really comes to life when the story allows him back into his area of considerable expertise but he does a fine job of unpicking the strands of people and events which weave into this amazing account of intrigue in the face of oppression. There is a fictional version of this story, 'Early One Morning' by Robert Ryan which is a superb read in itself, all the more so because it is largely faithful to the facts uncovered by Saward though there is no acknowledgement of joint research, Ryan recommends Saward's book in his bibliography at the end of his novel.

Grand Prix agents
The author freely admits this work has taken many years to research and the staggering detail of not only early 20th century motor racing but the clandestine world of espionage in Paris and France bears this out a truly fascinating book that will work not only for fans of motor racing from the classic era also fans of a ripping wartime yarn will not be disappointed