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Carroll Shelby
Written with Carroll Shelby's full collaboration and with a foreword by Edsel B. Ford II, the great-grandson of Henry Ford, this is the definitive record of America's preeminent twentieth century sports car builder and racer—now in paperback.
It was motoring author Rinsey Mills ' passion for AC cars and motorsports history that led to his first meeting with Carroll Shelby. His suggestion that they should collaborate in order to create an accurate record of Shelby's life and achievements at first was rebuffed but later taken up with enthusiasm. This authorized biography is the result.
Carroll The Authorized Biography was a long time in the making, as Mills left no stone unturned in his quest to produce the complete study of Shelby's remarkable life. He carried out extensive research and conducted numerous interviews, fully capturing the narrative of Carroll Shelby within and outside of the automotive racing world , including Fascinating photographs from Shelby's personal collection complete a book whose original hardcover edition was published mere weeks before his passing, making Carroll The Authorized Biography a magnificent and lasting tribute to one of the greatest automotive figures of the twentieth century.
It was motoring author Rinsey Mills ' passion for AC cars and motorsports history that led to his first meeting with Carroll Shelby. His suggestion that they should collaborate in order to create an accurate record of Shelby's life and achievements at first was rebuffed but later taken up with enthusiasm. This authorized biography is the result.
Carroll The Authorized Biography was a long time in the making, as Mills left no stone unturned in his quest to produce the complete study of Shelby's remarkable life. He carried out extensive research and conducted numerous interviews, fully capturing the narrative of Carroll Shelby within and outside of the automotive racing world , including Fascinating photographs from Shelby's personal collection complete a book whose original hardcover edition was published mere weeks before his passing, making Carroll The Authorized Biography a magnificent and lasting tribute to one of the greatest automotive figures of the twentieth century.
- GenresBiography
552 pages, Paperback
First published April 15, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
December 23, 2019
Of course, I saw "Ford vs Ferrari" and had to read the book. There are a lot of books on Caroll Shelby & I picked this one. It's long. It describes every, I mean every, race that Caroll Shelby drove, and every race that a Shelby Cobra entered. Every race. Sometimes lap by lap. I know some people interested in that. I'm kind of interested in that. Ever read a spy book and just skim or skip over the sex scenes? Not every sex scene, but some of them? It's like that. When I grew up I wanted a Shelby Cobra. Actually when I had my Austin Healey I wanted a Shelby Cobra. I never realized that it could have easily been called a British car. Now I know that. There could have been three or four compelling books in here. Caroll Shelby the good ol boy / Horatio Alger. The history of Sports Car Racing. The Cobra. Shelby and Ford.
I read this on an interlibrary loan book that was not renewable. If I had it in my library, I can see myself going back to it time and again, to re-read some of those parts I skimmed over.
I read this on an interlibrary loan book that was not renewable. If I had it in my library, I can see myself going back to it time and again, to re-read some of those parts I skimmed over.
January 27, 2022
This book is about the life of Carrol Shelby even from before he became known. The book shows in detail how Carrol Shelby had a tough childhood and how he grew up to become the legend he is known to be this book is a lot of reading with small writing and over 500 pages. The book does not have any bad words, actions or show disturbing things. The book only shows Carrols story. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in cars as he has made a massive difference in the car and car racing industry. However if u are younger this book is very large and takes a long time to read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 21, 2023
This is a very complete biography of Carroll Shelby and it approved by Shelby himself. It has extensive detail and is very thorough. It is not well written however, but worth reading for the Shelby enthusiast. I found various parts of it very interesting, especially relative to Ford as well as Ken Miles. I started it, then put it down for quite a while, but am glad I read it to the end. What an interesting man!
August 27, 2025
An average book about an exceptional car guy. While I learned somethings about Carrol, it seemed to focus way to much energy into divulging into his personal life and not enough energy into his professional life. So - an okay read.
February 6, 2021
An extremely detailed and exhaustive biography of an American motosports legend. If you think you know a great deal about Carroll Shelby, this book will quickly change your mind.
February 18, 2017
A good book. Extremely detailed and comprehensive.
April 22, 2013
What to say.....there is many things to say about Carroll and that why this book is maybe a bit to long, so if you don't like reading long books this one is not for you. If you do choose to read this book and have some background knowledge about the auto industry then this just might be the book for you.
The way this man Rinsey Mills describes Carroll this was a passion,an obsession that only A/C cobra fans will understand. That is why he is the author he LOVES theses one of a kind automobiles.
This book takes setting in what was the wild wild west you know Texas,California you know the cowboy states and sometimes the occasional out of the country races that he partook in. Shelby was born and raised in Texas and of course died there in 2012. There wort many conflicts within the book except for the parts wear he had to make crucial decisions for the races. One of these was when they were at the 1966 Le Mans a twenty four hour race that is based on the cars performance and ability and the drivers stamina and endurance with many more other factors mixed in like focus. thought out the book there are scenes with many races but the one that was memorable to me the most was that one where they finished in the top tree positions with the legendary GT40!
My honest opinion about this book is that it is a bit too long but well worth it if you love cars and their history, just like every thing alse hard work pays off!
If I was to recommend this book to one of my friends thell have to know about car if not then no.
The way this man Rinsey Mills describes Carroll this was a passion,an obsession that only A/C cobra fans will understand. That is why he is the author he LOVES theses one of a kind automobiles.
This book takes setting in what was the wild wild west you know Texas,California you know the cowboy states and sometimes the occasional out of the country races that he partook in. Shelby was born and raised in Texas and of course died there in 2012. There wort many conflicts within the book except for the parts wear he had to make crucial decisions for the races. One of these was when they were at the 1966 Le Mans a twenty four hour race that is based on the cars performance and ability and the drivers stamina and endurance with many more other factors mixed in like focus. thought out the book there are scenes with many races but the one that was memorable to me the most was that one where they finished in the top tree positions with the legendary GT40!
My honest opinion about this book is that it is a bit too long but well worth it if you love cars and their history, just like every thing alse hard work pays off!
If I was to recommend this book to one of my friends thell have to know about car if not then no.
August 19, 2012
I have been a Shelby Cobra fan since the 60's, watching them at Marlboro Racetrack in Maryland doing in the 'Vettes. When I read Shelby's obituary in the Wall St. Journal, I thought this guy is even more interesting than I remember. I went to Amazon to see if any books about him were available and when I found this one had been published a month before I ordered it.
One thing is true - this book has more tedious detail about the creation and record of the Cobra and Shelby's relationship with Ford than you could imagine. You need to have a bit of background with regard to racing and automotive engineering to get the most out of it. That is not a criticism as that is who the book is trying to reach, the auto enthusiast but fair warning to those who might be more interested in Shelby the person.
However, the book is poorly organized and poorly written and physically, with 9 point type, nearly 50 lines per page and 550 pages it is challenging to read. (Check the index. What is that 6 point type? scary!) One reviewer suggested that the book be expanded to 800 pages and the type be made larger and the lines fewer. Let me suggest that a good editor attack it, cut it to about 300 normal pages, organize it better, improve the flow and clean up the grammar, sentence structure, and redundancies. Then it would be a worthy volume.
They must have been in a hurry to get this one out the door after Shelby died.
One thing is true - this book has more tedious detail about the creation and record of the Cobra and Shelby's relationship with Ford than you could imagine. You need to have a bit of background with regard to racing and automotive engineering to get the most out of it. That is not a criticism as that is who the book is trying to reach, the auto enthusiast but fair warning to those who might be more interested in Shelby the person.
However, the book is poorly organized and poorly written and physically, with 9 point type, nearly 50 lines per page and 550 pages it is challenging to read. (Check the index. What is that 6 point type? scary!) One reviewer suggested that the book be expanded to 800 pages and the type be made larger and the lines fewer. Let me suggest that a good editor attack it, cut it to about 300 normal pages, organize it better, improve the flow and clean up the grammar, sentence structure, and redundancies. Then it would be a worthy volume.
They must have been in a hurry to get this one out the door after Shelby died.
March 3, 2018
Carroll Shelby is a god to gearheads. His driving experiences and car designs are legendary. I am amazed at the cars and racing events he was a part of. There is much to learn from his life and his philosophy.
April 9, 2014
A little slow and too heavily detailed, but love the subject.
October 1, 2013
It is a very good book.
June 5, 2015
It didn't keep my interest as much as I thought it would. So I had to quit the book.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews