Product Description

Juan Manuel Fangio's name is indelibly inscribed in the record books and many consider him to be the greatest driver in history. It was 46 years before his record of five World Championships was beaten, but even now he is still remembered for an exceptional Formula 1 career which contained some of the greatest displays of skill and daring ever seen. Few, though know of his almost super-human exploits in epic South American road races that made competition at the pinnacle of motor sport seem like child's play. Gerald Donaldson chronicles not only those arduous early competitions but also his long journey from humble origins in remote Argentina to the lofty heights of international celebrity.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #215748 in Books
• Published on: 2009-05-07
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 352 pages

Classic Car Weekly
‘A vibrant new look at the life of maybe the most determined man ever to sit behind the wheel’

Classic Cars
‘An enjoyable read that brings out the essence of a dedicated, warm and humble man.’

From the Back Cover
‘Donaldson’s offering on the legendary Juan Manuel Fangio mirrors his deep understanding of the sport’s heroes’ Independent

‘An enjoyable read that brings out the essence of a dedicated, warm and humble man’ Classic Cars

Juan Manuel Fangio’s illustrious name is indelibly inscribed in the record books and many consider him to be the greatest driver in history.

It was forty-six years before his record of five World Championships was beaten, but even now he is still remembered for an exceptional Formula 1 career, which contained some of the greatest displays of skill and daring ever seen. Few, though know of his almost super-human exploits in epic South American road races that made competition at the pinnacle of motorsport seem like child’s play.

Fangio is the compelling tale of the life of a Formula 1 legend.

Customer Reviews

Lacks some of the sparkle of previous Donaldson biographies
Fangio's owm memoirs written with Carozzo are rather poorly edited and the veracity of some passages is open to debate; a new biography of the Maestro by acclaimed writer Gerald Donaldson is therefore of much interest, particularly bearing in mind the quality of his books on Gilles Villeneuve and James Hunt.

Sadly this isn't the great book I'd hoped for.

There's relatively little in there that hasn't already been said about Fangio, though Donaldson expands quite interestingly on his formative years racing in South America and his arrival in Europe. The meat of the book is given over to his Championship career, although some topics - his uneasy relationship with Ferrari and the politics of Mercedes in particular - seem to be rather soft-pedalled.

There is very little about Fangio the man, or his career after racin, beyond some mention of his relationship with Mercedes.

There are many quotes from Fangio's surviving contemporaries, giving much insight into the man and the times.

I was slightly disappointed with this book - I had hoped to learn a lot about Fangio from it and perhaps gain some insight into his character; as it was I found my preconceptions reinforced and didn't feel I was any closer to knowing what made him the genius he was.

Donaldson's style seems slightly stiffer than in his Hunt and Villeneuve books - I wonder if he's not aping the greater formality and deference of the 1940s and 1950s?

Good, but difficult to see it as an all-time classic.