Legends of Speed

by Bill Woods

Beginning during World War II and following the adventures of more than twenty exceptional Australians; this book embarks upon a tour, through all of world motor sport's famous events, while encountering the world-famous personalities.

432 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[Dane Sørensen · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's hard to judge a book like this because it has almost no rival. So much of Australia's motor racing historians are single-mindedly, almost myopically focused on the touring cars. Bill Woods (a.k.a. the Ten News guy) however, is not, and that's both good and bad.

It's not often remembered that, long before Bathurst, Australia was an open-wheel nation. Pepperidge Farm Bill Woods remembers, and that's both good and bad. It's frankly amazing that he's managed to cover more of our story than Brocky and Brabham, branching out to include Australia's proud history in sports prototypes and formula racing in Europe, IndyCar and all our domestic categories as well, and I know from experience how hard it can be to dig up research material once you step away from the Brocky, the Lowndes and the Holy Bathurst. Bill has done the hard yards for us, opening up new vistas and making them accessible via a moderately-readable little book full of stories that must be read to be disbelieved (diving into the polluted, snake-infested Lake Pergusa to retrieve a wrecked F2 car was a personal highlight!)

The downside is the sheer scope of what he's attempted - to do them justice, Australia's Le Mans, IndyCar, stock car and formula efforts really deserve books of their own. Cramming them all between the same covers leaves Legends Of Speed feeling frustratingly abbreviated at times, and Woods' sparse style doesn't have the romantic tone Gerald Donaldson and Karl Ludvigsen have made mandatory for the genre.

Or perhaps it's just that the follow-up books haven't been written yet. It's said that all Western philosophy boils down to footnotes on Plato, and the same could be happening here - Bill's efforts are so comprehensive that all Aussie motorsport books from here on will be expansions of Legends Of Speed. I want to read those books, because by itself it isn't enough.

So, if you're a fan of Aussie motorsport, it should already be somewhere on your shelf, tucked between your fourteen Brock biographies and the complete history of Dick Johnson Racing. Unfortunately, if you're not an Aussie motorsport fan, it might not be enough by itself to convert you.