Life at the limit

by Graham Hill

Graham Hill, a double motor racing World Champion, was a supreme figure in the sport in the 1960s and early 1970s, and one of the best-loved sporting personalities of his time. This facsimile edition of his story, told in his own words and first published in 1969, is published to mark the entry into Formula 1 racing of Graham's son Damon with the Williams Renault team. Provides an insight into the life and times of Graham Hill, at the peak of his career, chronicles highlights such as winning the Drivers' World Championship in both 1962 and 1968, being runner-up three times in the intervening years, and winning the Indianapolis 500 Miles Race in 1966 at his first attempt.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction

256 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1969

Reviews

[Bruce Graham · Rating 4 out of 5]

As Graham Hill mentions in his book, there were a disproportionate number of New Zealanders racing in F1. He estimated that more than 20% of the drivers were Kiwis, extraordinary considering that it was a nation of two and a half million people at the time. The only thing left of that strange talent outburst is the company called McLaren, started by one of the drivers Hill raced against.
Hill was both a driver of 'very fast fuel tanks' and a driven man. He was utterly absorbed in cars and driving. His apprenticeship under a Swiss taskmaster in an instrument shop helped form the precise and efficient manner he went about preparing and driving races. He claimed experience rowing helped him too.
He wrote the book because he had an accident that broke both of his legs. One senses he went through diaries and records while recovering and wrote about every race that he drove in. We get a great picture of the dangers and difficulties of driving, but much less of the man. His wife, who paid for their wedding, is almost invisible. As Hill says in the beginning,

...I don't suppose I would have had the ability, to learn anything at all about the skills of writing.

It shows. The book seems dictated.

[David Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hill wrote this book while laid up in the hospital after breaking both is legs near the end of the 1969 F1 season. It's written in a very conversational style; it's almost as if he's telling me the story rather than I'm reading it. For me, the best bits were the early chapters, particularly the first. Once he gets fully into his F1 career it's primarily a description of what happened in his races, and a bit impersonal.

The time period covered is from the late fifties to the end of 1969. This was a time of great carnage in the sport. Something like two dozen drivers were killed driving their cars - some in practice, some in the F1 races, some in support races. Oddly, this entire subject is avoided almost entirely. One driver's death gets a couple of sentences while Jim Clark warrants a few paragraphs. Is this just Hill's way of dealing with the subject, or does it reflect a personality issue? As a point of comparison, Jackie Stewart in his memoirs spends quite a bit of time on the sport's safety, or lack thereof.

After the first few chapters, Hill spends very little time on anything but racing. There's very little about family, even less about friends, and almost nothing about any other interests. As such, he comes across as a bit one-dimensional.

Recommended for fans of this era of Formula 1.

[Ady Stimpson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perhaps the original and definitive motor racing biography written by that great raconteur and racer, the late Graham Hill. A candid view on life in the racing world in the 1960's. Essential reading.

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's a note at the beginning of this book where Graham Hill lets the reader know that, even though most people would have gotten a ghostwriter of some sort to go through their book, he decided to write the whole thing himself. This is obvious as you read the rest of the book. It's the story's greatest strength, but also its greatest weakness.

This book is very blunt, and honest, and downright conversational. Hill is very candid about his almost accidental entry into the motorsport world -- candid in a very old-fashioned, British sort of way. Formula One was incredibly different to how it is now. The drivers were older and less experienced; the cars were small, unreliable, and dangerous. They seemed to fall apart in every second race, if Hill's words are anything to go by. Drivers flew off the track to their deaths frequently -- too frequently. Racing back then was rough, scrappy, and exhilarating.

Graham Hill guides us through his racing journey in a very rambling sort of way. There's plenty of funny little anecdotes in here, plus descriptions of tracks, countries, people, and other tidbits of British life. It was quite entertaining and very interesting to read. The whole thing comes off as just a little bit messy, though. And the ending is very abrupt.