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Enzo Ferrari: Power, Politics and the Making of an Automobile Empire
When Enzo Ferrari was born in 1898, automobiles were still a novelty in his native Italy. When he died ninety years later, the company he built stood at the top of a global industry, with the Ferrari name universally recognized for performance, racing prowess, and state-of-the-art Italian design. Enzo Ferrari: Power, Politics, and the Making of an Automotive Empire is the definitive account of an epic life.
Drawing on years of original research conducted in Italy and abroad, author and Ferrari insider, Luca Dal Monte, uncovers a wealth of new facts about Enzo's origins, ambitions, business practices, and private life. The book revisits all the highlights of Ferrari's rise to greatness: his driving career in the 1920s; his management of racing teams for Alfa Romeo in the 1930s; the launch of his own company and team in the late 1940s, and his unprecedented successes building cars for the road and race track in the following decades. But the book also examines lesser-known and sometimes hidden aspects of Ferrari's career, from his earliest failed business ventures to his political dealings with Italy's Fascist government, Allied occupiers, and even Communist leaders. And it lays bare the internal politics of the Ferrari company and team, whose leader manipulated employees, drivers, competitors and the media with a volatile mixture of brute force, paranoia, and guile.
Accompanying the in-depth text are extensive endnotes along with a full bibliography and index. The book is illustrated with four separate sections of photos, exhibits and artefacts, and opens with a foreword by former Ferrari president Luca Di Montezumolo, who previously served as the company's Formula One team manager.
This is truly the definitive biography of Enzo Ferrari, one that makes previous accounts obsolete. Its depth, scale, and detail make it essential reading for automotive and motorsport enthusiasts. But other readers will be drawn to a sweeping story of Italian life, business, and culture during the 20th century.
Drawing on years of original research conducted in Italy and abroad, author and Ferrari insider, Luca Dal Monte, uncovers a wealth of new facts about Enzo's origins, ambitions, business practices, and private life. The book revisits all the highlights of Ferrari's rise to greatness: his driving career in the 1920s; his management of racing teams for Alfa Romeo in the 1930s; the launch of his own company and team in the late 1940s, and his unprecedented successes building cars for the road and race track in the following decades. But the book also examines lesser-known and sometimes hidden aspects of Ferrari's career, from his earliest failed business ventures to his political dealings with Italy's Fascist government, Allied occupiers, and even Communist leaders. And it lays bare the internal politics of the Ferrari company and team, whose leader manipulated employees, drivers, competitors and the media with a volatile mixture of brute force, paranoia, and guile.
Accompanying the in-depth text are extensive endnotes along with a full bibliography and index. The book is illustrated with four separate sections of photos, exhibits and artefacts, and opens with a foreword by former Ferrari president Luca Di Montezumolo, who previously served as the company's Formula One team manager.
This is truly the definitive biography of Enzo Ferrari, one that makes previous accounts obsolete. Its depth, scale, and detail make it essential reading for automotive and motorsport enthusiasts. But other readers will be drawn to a sweeping story of Italian life, business, and culture during the 20th century.
- GenresBiographyNonfictionCars
968 pages, Hardcover
Published March 15, 2018
15 people are currently reading
428 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
January 6, 2026
Luca dal Monte’s book is an extremely detailed, year-by-year review of the life and times of Enzo Ferrari.
It spans almost 90 years, covering Ferrari's childhood, his fascination with cars - which were just emerging at the turn of the 20th Century - his racing career, family struggles and relationship with motor sports including a long history of winning drivers.
What I liked most about the book was learning more this amazing person – Enzo Ferrari. He was truly self-made man, a visionary, driver, and perfectionist.
If Ferrari was born 60 years later i.e., 1960 or later, he would be ranked with Bezos, Branson, Gates, and the Google guys – Brin and Page. In fact, I found his story to be comparable to these guys because he ran a successful business (selling cars to rich folks) to fund his passion (racing). This is not much different than Elon Musk running Tesla to fund SpaceX.
I also liked the political backdrop outlined in the book, covering periods of stress including World War II, his struggles with Italian Unions, and difficulty to raise money and subsequent acquisition by Fiat.
The photos were well selected and generously placed. This is something I very much appreciate in any book.
Regarding dislikes, the book was extremely long being over 900 pages and covering each year of Ferrari’s extraordinary life. It was more a chronology than a story and could have been edited to perhaps half its length.
The style of the book is also a little bit awkward as it was translated from Italian.
It was a good book but not necessarily a great one i.e., unless you are a real die-hard Ferrari fan, in which case, the book is essential reading.
It spans almost 90 years, covering Ferrari's childhood, his fascination with cars - which were just emerging at the turn of the 20th Century - his racing career, family struggles and relationship with motor sports including a long history of winning drivers.
What I liked most about the book was learning more this amazing person – Enzo Ferrari. He was truly self-made man, a visionary, driver, and perfectionist.
If Ferrari was born 60 years later i.e., 1960 or later, he would be ranked with Bezos, Branson, Gates, and the Google guys – Brin and Page. In fact, I found his story to be comparable to these guys because he ran a successful business (selling cars to rich folks) to fund his passion (racing). This is not much different than Elon Musk running Tesla to fund SpaceX.
I also liked the political backdrop outlined in the book, covering periods of stress including World War II, his struggles with Italian Unions, and difficulty to raise money and subsequent acquisition by Fiat.
The photos were well selected and generously placed. This is something I very much appreciate in any book.
Regarding dislikes, the book was extremely long being over 900 pages and covering each year of Ferrari’s extraordinary life. It was more a chronology than a story and could have been edited to perhaps half its length.
The style of the book is also a little bit awkward as it was translated from Italian.
It was a good book but not necessarily a great one i.e., unless you are a real die-hard Ferrari fan, in which case, the book is essential reading.
April 5, 2019
Heavy on facts and intricate details, Dal Monte's tome is essential reading for anyone looking for a comprehensive history of Ferrari, the man. From his earliest history as a dreamer then factory driver for Alfa Romeo at the dawn of racing, to his final days in Modena, it's all here.
July 16, 2018
Few entrepreneurs (or individuals, for that matter!) have defined a nation's perception more than Enzo Ferrari. Dal Monte's exhaustive (and, at times, exhausting) and moving look into the fast-paced life of Enzo Ferrari is an excellent introduction to the world of Italian and European motorsports, and the car manufacturer that has dominated the continent and the world for the past fifty years.
Readers should be aware that Dal Monte's biography offers an intense and intimate look into the world of Italian auto racing. Races are dissected in detail, and the lives of drivers coe and go while Enzo Ferrari amasses more horsepower, riches, and fame. At times, the narration slogs along through seemingly endless details about races such as the Targa Florio, the drivers of the 1920s-80s, and the internal politics of racing manufacturers and drivers.
Despite this massive wave of detail, though, Dal Monte paints a spirited portrait of Ferrari the man, and the cranks and parts that powered his soul. Ferrari emerges as more than a name or a sticker on a car in this biography: he emerges as a man, through all his faults and glories, striving for success and never settling down.
Motorsports enthusiasts will certainly be awed by this narrative, but general readers of history and biography (of which I am one) will get plenty of new facts and worthwhile portraits of personalities through this book.
Readers should be aware that Dal Monte's biography offers an intense and intimate look into the world of Italian auto racing. Races are dissected in detail, and the lives of drivers coe and go while Enzo Ferrari amasses more horsepower, riches, and fame. At times, the narration slogs along through seemingly endless details about races such as the Targa Florio, the drivers of the 1920s-80s, and the internal politics of racing manufacturers and drivers.
Despite this massive wave of detail, though, Dal Monte paints a spirited portrait of Ferrari the man, and the cranks and parts that powered his soul. Ferrari emerges as more than a name or a sticker on a car in this biography: he emerges as a man, through all his faults and glories, striving for success and never settling down.
Motorsports enthusiasts will certainly be awed by this narrative, but general readers of history and biography (of which I am one) will get plenty of new facts and worthwhile portraits of personalities through this book.
January 19, 2024
This is an excellent deep dive into the life of Enzo Ferrari. It provides the information on the events that shaped Ferrari the man, and how Ferrari would use his experience to manufacture the best race cars ever built.
December 12, 2019
Absolutely fantastic. Highly recommend this book to any and all Ferrari (the man and the company) fans.
February 9, 2020
A compelling, comprehensive biography of one of the most interesting businessmen of the 20th century. Enzo’s rise is painstakingly recapped with a year-by-year attention to detail, but the author also takes pains to humanize Ferrari, not shying away from his morally dubious family arrangements and explicating his pain over his son’s illness and death. I’d never read a full-scale biography of Ferrari, since they’re largely out of print or on Italian, and I wanted to learn more before my first trip to Modena. The book is massive, but it’s befitting an epic story about a fascinating man.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews