An Independent Man: The Autobiography

by Eddie Jordan

The highs and lows of a life in the fast lane are explored in this examination of legendary racer Eddie Jordan's career. Eddie Jordan funded his first move into motor sport by selling smoked salmon?well past its sell-by date?to rugby fans leaving Lansdowne Road. When stopped for speeding by a policeman, he ended up selling him his car. He enjoyed racing, but soon set up his own team and then began to manage other drivers' careers. Eventually, having helped groom a whole series of future Grand Prix drivers such as Damon Hill and Martin Brundle, he moved into Formula One at the end of the 1980s. He gave Michael Schumacher his first drive, but lost him soon after to Benetton in a dispute over his contract. It wasn't long before the team began to pick up podium finishes, and in 1998 won its first race?a remarkable achievement on a comparatively small budget. The following year was even better. But sadly this was to be the peak, as the search for more finance and legal battles with sponsors hit hard, and he eventually sold the team. With the inclusion of his battles with Bernie Ecclestone, this memoir shows how, when so much money is involved, nothing is ever simple. Eddie Jordan has lived his life to its fullest, and his account is packed full of superb stories, colorful adventures, and revealing tales.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, Autobiography

416 pages, Hardcover

First published May 16, 2007

About the author

Edmund Patrick Jordan was an Irish motorsport executive, broadcaster, racing driver, and businessman. From 1991 to 2005, Jordan served as founder and team principal of Jordan in Formula One.
Born in Dublin, Jordan initially worked at the Bank of Ireland before he began kart racing aged 22, winning the Irish championship the following year and progressing to lower formulae. Between 1974 and 1979, he competed in Irish Formula Ford, Formula Three, Formula Atlantic, and Formula Two. In 1979, he founded the eponymous Eddie Jordan Racing, who competed in International Formula 3000 from 1985 to 1991.
Jordan then founded Jordan Grand Prix as a Formula One constructor in 1991, winning four Grands Prix across 15 seasons and finishing third in the 1999 World Constructors' Championship. He sold the team to Midland at the end of 2005. He worked as an analyst for the BBC from 2009 to 2015, before joining Channel 4 in 2016. Jordan was also a co-owner of rugby club London Irish and association football club Celtic.

Reviews

[Ian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eddie Jordan was one of the more colourful characters in Formula 1 motor racing in recent years. By his own account something of a chancer, the book charts his rise from Irish bank clerk through wheeling and dealing to finance racing in the lower formulas before making the jump to F1 in the 1990s. Ending up with his team a serious contender scoring several race wins to its name but never losing a reputation for having fun.

The book is nicely written with short chapters making it easy to dip into. There are also some good insights into other figures in the sport including Bernie Ecclestone and various drivers.

I’d have liked to see a bit more about Jordan’s later media career but that aside this is an entertaining read for any motorsport fan.

[Toby Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

These autobiographies become much of a muchness when you read many like myself. Another solid read of a colourful life in racing.

Thoroughly enjoyed reading about an era of F1 that I'm really interested in, the 90s with characters such as Schumacher, Senna, the Jordan roster, as well as Ron Dennis, Bernie and Flavio.

It's also quite pleasant to read an autobiography of someone who had success in their own right - but didn't dominate like some of the sportspeople I've read about, i.e. Valentino Rossi, Steve Davis

Easy reading by the pool on a much-needed Spanish getaway.

[Bill Fulcher · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolutely well written and fascinating look at the bare bones of F1 getting to the roots of the paddock with all its colourful characters thank you definitely put it your reading list if you are a petrol head

[Sarah Tummey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I bought it when I heard EJ had passed away, as I thought it would be a good way of remembering him and all he achieved.

As someone who never met him, I think the book does help you get to know him more as a person. I'm used to hearing his cheerful voice on TV, but he was surprisingly honest about his shortcomings and the effect his work had on family life. I particularly enjoyed his descriptions of Belgium 1998 and France 1999. A lovely selection of photos at the end too.

[Jack Youd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Being a bit before my time when watching F1, it was a very interesting read on how to break into the expensive world of F1 and all the politics that goes on behind the scenes. It is really unbelievable that Jordan a) started, b) last one season, c) for a race (4 in total) d) last for as long as they did. Great read.

[Perry Van Wesel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book about a great person in the history of F1. The only 'negative' was that I wished he had delved more into his latter years of F1. But the last chapers of what he did outside of F1 made it more than up

[Jonesy_laaa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to a very close friend of mine who is also a big Formula One fan like myself, I have been looking forward to reading this book and recalling and hopefully learning more about Eddie's time as a team owner in the sport in his own words.

The narrative style that is adopted throughout the novel is very comfortable, friendly and it feels that your having a honest and humble conversation with the man himself.

The autobiography starts with his journey into becoming a racing driver and the hardships and challenges that he faced during this time (with a few serious crashes along the way!) before making the switch to running his own racing team.

I have to say that throughout the autobiography, it is really refreshing to see an 'underdog' such as Eddie make the best of chances and opportunities throughout his time as a team owner in Formula One and achieve his dreams.

Jordan very successfully shows through his dealings with drivers such as Jean Alesi, Martin Brundle and Michael Schumacher allows F1 fans and the readers to explore a hidden world into a sport that keeps it's doors fully closed.

Alongside this, Jordan also shows in my opinion how his personality helped him achieve what he did in the sport, he still managed to keep his personality, loyalty and respect for everyone he dealt with or spoke with during his time in the sport. How many people could you say that about?

For me, the two niggles I had was his over use of the words 'nevertheless' or 'furthermore' and also some of his amazing encounters could have been explored a little bit further for me. But apart from these, I really did enjoyed the book immensely, I learnt a lot from the book and also my respect for him has increased.

Many people believe that Eddie is a bit of a joker but there is no denying that he has achieved a lot in the sport and has done it in the only way he knows how; which is being himself.

And there is no denying that he did that during his years in Formula One and still does to this day as a commentator with the BBC and it's coverage on Formula One.

But if you wanna learn more about the sport or about the man himself, I would urge you to read this book.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eddie Jordan doesn't pull any punches here, and it was very refreshing to see how things are for the smaller teams in F1.

A typical comment being along the lines of "How do you make a small fortune in F1? Simple. Start out with a large one."

I always admired the team's spirit and it was a real eye-opener at times - some of his conclusions at the end of the book really struck a chord with me.

All in all, a really good read for the F1 fan, and a book that will take pride of place in my collection.

[Nackie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great insight into the world of F1 as it used to be before the big manufacturers started dedicating what should happen. EJ is a great story teller and that's what makes this book so easy to read. he comes across as an eejit, but he has his head screwed on alright. well worth the read if you're into F1

[Kristina Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eddie Jordan has done a lot in his life and befriended a vast number of people along the way. While motor racing forms a large part of this tale, he doesn't neglect his other interests, namely golf, music and his charity work.

[Allieandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actually 387 pages, not 312. Enjoyed reading this autobiography, the only things that niggled was the overuse of 'nonetheless' and 'nevertheless', but that's just me being picky.

[Adrian Thomson · Rating 3 out of 5]

My overriding memory of this book is that there is a page which has Donington race circuit spelt both as "Donington" and "Donnington".