The Life of Senna: The Biography of Ayrton Senna
Hardcover, 640 pages
Buy NEW for £79.99
Reviews
(Rated 3 out of 5)
I was initially excited by this weighty tome, but it is a big let-down, I am afraid. The author, unfortunatly, is simply an average writer at best. This is certainly not the book about Senna that all fans want, I only live in hope that eventually Nigel Roebuck will one day take on that challenge. In the meantime this is a moderatly interesting diversion, certainly worth the money for the casual motorsport fan, but not for true connoisseurs of the sport.
(Rated 4 out of 5)
A wonderful book telling the tale of the greatest driver the world has ever seen in greater detail than any I have read before it. However, it seems that the book was not proof read by anyone with any insight to the jargon of the field, or for that matter by anyone with a full grasp of English! It is littered with elementary errors by the author ( no doubt when writing at 4am on a Sunday ), grammatical mistakes, and even simple typos ( the bibliography on the contents page is labelled "Lide of Senna" )! Apart from that, the only reasons it doesn't have five stars is the amount of repetition in it's quotes and anecdotes; it is as if the author has written each chapter as it's own short commentary on that era/aspect/incident, wihtout regard for the rest of the book. It's a shame because this book has so much to offer a Formula One enthusiast about it's greatest exponent that it shouldn't be let down by sloppy editing.
(Rated 4 out of 5)
For someone that follows Formula 1 without being obsessed by the subject, this was an excellent insight into the life of a great man. Often dogged by controversy during his career that sometimes overshadowed his achievements, Senna was without doubt the driver of his generation. His rivalry with Alain Prost was the stuff of legends, and had he lived how many titles would Michael Schumacher have won? A great read.
(Rated 5 out of 5)
I agree with "A Reader". Without jumping on the emotional bandwagon, Ayrton Senna was my hero. This book does regurgitate previous interviews where people have been interviewed about Senna, especially the Foreword by Berger, which is basically his interview on recent 'A tribute to Ayrton Senna' DVD.
If you are a big fan of Senna, this book will provide you with few anecdotes that you didn't know already. That said, I am glad I purchased this book. The authors admiration for Senna is obvious, and as 'A Reader' said, the first chapter makes the hair on your arms stand up! The early pre F1 years drag on a bit, but no stone is left unturned. A difficult read, even for the most ardent Senna fan, but recommended all the same.
(Rated 3 out of 5)
Lithuania is right observing that the chapters seem to be written by different people. That is true in fact.
Tom Rubython was the publisher of the official F1 Magazine which existed from 2001 until 2003. During 2001 and 2002 each month articles were published on Ayrton Senna, written by various journalists. This book contains all these articles (but not the great pictures accompanying them in the magazine) but there is no mention of the people written them. Rubython takes credit for it, which is typical for the man.
In his short spell as publisher in F1 (he was coming from business magazines) Rubython was able to piss off a lot of people in F1 for revealing a lot of "behind-the-scenes" secrets. McLaren boss Ron Dennis shouted to him in Monaco 2001, after the magazine wrote an article on Newey-gate, "that he would hate him for the rest of his live" as Rubython revealed in his own column.
As the publishing date of this book has been delayed for years I gather someone like Dennis has delayed its approval for some time. Has it been worth the wait ? Not if you have all the issues of F1 Magazine...