Faster: How a Jewish Driver, an American Heiress, and a Legendary Car Beat Hitler's Best

Simply put this is one of the best books on the early days of Grand Prix racing I’ve ever read.

It provides a vivid and excellently told portrait of motor sports in the 1930s and how Grand Prix racing and record breaking were subsumed by nationalistic politics - notably the different approaches taken in France and Germany.

But even if you have zero interest in motor sports I’d still recommend this as an absorbing human drama centered around the cadre of elite drivers, their relationships on-and off the track, and their insights into the risks they took.

I'd been aware of the story of how Rene Dreyfus grabbed a shock victory off the German racing juggernaut in 1938 at the Pau Grand Prix for awhile (I remember seeing a documentary on it (probably on the much-missed "Speed" channel)), and have done my share of reading about racing in the period in general. What the author brings to the table is the story of Lucy Schell, the woman who gave Dreyfus his chance for glory, and a fine rally racer in her own right. Apart from that Bascomb appears to have covered all his bases (including getting input from the Dreyfus family), so this turns out to be a fine introduction to the subject for the general reader.

History is exciting. Especially when told as well Neal Bascomb told it here. The setting is Europe in the thirties. The subtitle tells, all the complexities of life then. At least as it effects the auto racing community and, really, how it effects people in it. Racers of what ever religion, or none, and of what ever connection to racing they have. Hitler didn't care about sport only the propaganda benefits there of. It all meshes in this book. The book reads as a great novel, but tells a true story. Even without a background in racing, I think most readers would have great pleasure reading this book. Students of auto racing this book, and then keep it near to hand for reading, again and again!

The last fifth of this book is very good as it builds to the final race, the rest is cursory treatment of too many races and too many people. Still, not bad for understanding the racing scene in the 1920s and 30s, when racing as we know it was invented, this era was probably the pinnacle of the sport.

Excellent narrative on the late 1930's Grand Prix racing scene in Europe. Mercedes and AutoUnion were government backed teams and dominated GP racing in that era just prior to WWII. Rene Dreyfus was a jewish racing car driver competing for Delahaye. A Jew racing against the two all conquering German teams sets the scene for a dramatic story. It is very interesting, very well researched and tells the tale of this extraordinary era. Bascomb does it justice.

Take this single star with a grain of salt. This is 100% not my genre nor in my realm of interest. Read it for book club and had a rough time.

Grand Prix racing is a motorsport competition that began at the turn of the 20th century in France. Today, it’s known as formula racing.

Read the recently published books, then learn more at the websites:

THE RACERS by Neal Bascomb is a young readers’ adaptation of the adult title FASTER. It tells the true story of how an outcast driver, an American heiress, and a legendary car beat Hitler’s best. The combination of fascinating characters, world history, and racing will appeal to a broad audience. This well-research title incorporates historical photos, maps, and detailed race information. Teens with an interest in racing may prefer to read the adult edition.

To learn more about Rene Dreyfus, go to https://bit.ly/3j0YMCX.

To learn show more more about Lucy O’Reilly-Schell, go to https://bit.ly/2YtvZNO

To watch a video from the 1938 Grand Prix de Pau, got to https://youtu.be/LgiYUlEcTlE.

To watch a discussion with the author, go to https://youtu.be/5wUXihroUEk.

ARC courtesy of Focus, an imprint of Scholastic. show less