Go Like Hell: Ford, Ferrari, and Their Battle for Speed and Glory at Le Mans

A.J._Baime · #1 (**permalink**) 06-29-2009, 04:38 PM

I am a new member and author of the new book Go Like Hell: Ford, Ferrari, and Their Battle for Speed and Glory at Le Mans. I want to know if any members have read it and what they think?!

computerworks · #2 (**permalink**) 06-29-2009, 06:58 PM

Just got the book from the library for my 7/4 weekend read.

...I'll report back.

A-Snake · #3 (**permalink**) 06-29-2009, 08:21 PM

A friend just finished it and encouraged me to get a copy. He felt it was so exciting and entertaining that he wouldn't tell me the ending.

02roush · #4 (**permalink**) 06-29-2009, 09:41 PM

Just saw it in Motor Trend and ordered it today.

ken swart · #5 (**permalink**) 06-29-2009, 09:42 PM

I'm about 3/4 of the way through, a great story well told. I've read a lot about Ford, Shelby, Ferrari, and the great sports car wars of the mid 60s, and this book is giving me more fascinating insight by the page.

A.J._Baime · #6 (**permalink**) 06-30-2009, 06:22 AM

Thrilled at this response! I put four years of hard work into that book. I think I went two of them without sleep. I've got lots of stories about my interviews if people want to hear them. Shelby in particular--what a guy!

A-Snake · #7 (**permalink**) 06-30-2009, 06:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by A.J._Baime

I've got lots of stories about my interviews if people want to hear them. Shelby in particular--what a guy!

The thread is yours...start typing

cscobra · #8 (**permalink**) 06-30-2009, 09:32 AM

I have it on Kindle and plan to start reading this weekend--looking forward to it!

A.J._Baime · #9 (**permalink**) 06-30-2009, 09:42 AM

I interviewed Shelby at his office in Gardena, CA. (This chat was followed up by numerous phone calls. He used to call me at random hours because he'd remember something he wanted to add to the conversation.) During this interview in his office he'd get so excited he would just start yelling. I have it all on tape, it's hilarious. I remember asking him about Masten Gregory. "Loved Masten!!! Loved Masten!!!" He got so excited that afterward he demanded that he drive me to the airport. His secretary is freaking out and whispering in my ear, "He can't see. He's pretty much blind." She's very nervous. At this point, it's too late to back out so we get in a new Mustang GT-H with way too much hp. We bomb down I-405, he's driving like a mad man, passing cars on left and right. As I put it in the epilogue of the book, "This is a guy who won the 24 Hours of Le Mans wearing chicken farmer overalls." We made it to the airport okay. My flight got delayed for hours and my heart was pumping so hard, I think I probably had 10 beers before I got on the flight. The interview actually got very somber when we talked about Ken Miles. Anyway, I'm rambling...

dl95409 · #10 (**permalink**) 06-30-2009, 09:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by A.J._Baime

... Anyway, I'm rambling...

Please - ramble on!

stush · #11 (**permalink**) 06-30-2009, 10:41 AM

got my copy from amazon. can't put it down. well written and a great read. someone has already posted about on GTforum as well,so the word is out. keep on typing more stories...ramblin is great.

Stu

Mike Chase · #12 (**permalink**) 06-30-2009, 10:41 AM

Hi A.J.,
I received your book from my wife and daughter for Father's Day. I saw another comment in this thread about the insight into what was going on in those days that you described in you book - wow, I couldn't put it down as I read it. Great job writing it, a facinating story I recommend to all.
Best regards, Mike

A.J._Baime · #13 (**permalink**) 06-30-2009, 11:42 AM

Thank you guys for the good thoughts. Here's another fun story:

I interviewed John Surtees over the phone twice and then asked if I could see him in person. He said yes, we set a date. I fly over, but the plane is delayed. So I land in London, get my rental car and a coffee and hit the road asap, driving south on the left side of the street with no sleep, shifting gears with my left hand (some of us have lots of experience shifting left handed...not I) and trying to get the coffee in. I get lost on these rural roads with no signs. The meeting is at 11 am and I'm eyeing the clock. I almost get killed when I sweep through an intersection into the wrong lane right into oncoming traffic. Finally I find the place: a small office above what looks like an auto parts shop. He's there, and the first thing I say is, "Mr. Surtees, I really, really have to go to the bathroom!" I never had time to brush my teeth, and I was starving. We start talking. The interview was terrific, and I was worried because I brought up the best and worst times of his career. I wanted to talk to him about his near-death accident in September 1965, how he had to relearn to walk, and how he was setting lap records in Modena in March 1966. And how in his first F1 race back, Belgian GP on Spa's "murderously fast" bends (Phil Hill's words), he wins! I mean, this guy is incredible. This guy is almost freakishly amazing and passionate. He still limps from that accident and suffers bad back pain. A truly, truly amazing man.

REAL 1 · #14 (**permalink**) 06-30-2009, 01:26 PM

Thanks for posting.

PDHse · #15 (**permalink**) 06-30-2009, 02:52 PM

Just ordered the book, please tell more about Ken Miles, im a big fan of him.

A.J._Baime · #16 (**permalink**) 06-30-2009, 04:32 PM

There is a lot on Ken Miles in the book. I interviewed his son Peter. The way the book ends is tragic. (Sorry! I'm giving away a piece of the ending.) Miles got screwed out of the '66 Le Mans win. "I had considered that we had won," he said after the race. "But we were placed second on a technicality. I feel the responsibility for this rests with the decision made by Ford, over my protests, to make the finish a dead heat. I told them I didn't think it would work." Two months later, Miles died while testing at Riverside. The cause of his accident has never been determined, not to this day. Here's what Ford said at the time, specifically Don Frey (also a character in the book, whom I interviewed twice), who had just taken over as head of the Ford division, replacing Iacocca, who got bumped up: "The evidence is that it was not mechanical. We can't pinpoint anything which failed in the car before the crash." Shelby: "We don't know what caused it. The car just disintegrated. We have nobody to take his place. Nobody. He was our baseline, our guiding point. He was the backbone of our program." I found this quote by an LA Times writer, in a kind of personalized obit: "We don't have to feel sorry for people who choose to live dangerously, and lose. So the bull wins one. The matador must take the risk. The closer he plays to the horn, the better the show. Well, Miles, good show."

ZOERA-SC7XX · #17 (**permalink**) 06-30-2009, 06:20 PM

You sold me...I just ordered my copy from Amazon.com.
Isn't the internet great?

Got the Bug · #18 (**permalink**) 06-30-2009, 06:39 PM

Great stories! I had a backlog of Autoweek mags to catch up on and just saw the short review in the June 15th edition. Look forward to reading the book.

twobjshelbys · #19 (**permalink**) 06-30-2009, 08:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by A.J._Baime

I am a new member and author of the new book Go Like Hell: Ford, Ferrari, and Their Battle for Speed and Glory at Le Mans. I want to know if any members have read it and what they think?!

My wife is making a library trip tomorrow. They just got it and are "checking it in". I'll be the first to check it out!

twobjshelbys · #20 (**permalink**) 06-30-2009, 08:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by A-Snake

A friend just finished it and encouraged me to get a copy. He felt it was so exciting and entertaining that he wouldn't tell me the ending.

Funny! I think we all know the ending!