Winning Is Not Enough: The Autobiography

by Jackie Stewart

One of the most highly regarded names in racing, Sir Jackie Stewart is the winner of three F1 World Championships and 27 Grand Prix races, and is ranked in the top five drivers of all time. In the 1960s and 1970s, with his black cap, sideburns, and aviator shades, Stewart was an unmistakable icon and his life was one of excitement, tragedy, controversy, and stunning success. On retiring from the circuit, he went on to build an massive international business career. This is the compelling tale of a life spent battling against the odds and achieving world-wide recognition as an outstanding sportsman, a role model, and a highly accomplished businessman. Includes a specially produced DVD featuring rare and previously unseen footage, personal photographs, conversations with Stewart discussing key moments in his life, plus interviews with business leaders, friends, and family.

Genres: Biography, Sports, Autobiography, Racing, Nonfiction, Biography Memoir, Memoir

495 pages, Hardcover

First published October 18, 2007

Reviews

[Patrick · Rating 2 out of 5]

In desperate need of a good editor - some interesting passages, on his school days, on his second title-winning season, on the foundation of the Stewart F1, but it's horribly prone to name-dropping, tediously didactic in places, dedicates 20 pages to a meeting with the King of Jordan in which he drives a car up and down an airfield, and a whole chapter to his bloody dogs. I like dogs, but in the unlikely event I become worthy of a biography, I wouldn't dedicate 30 pages to Bridie the Setter. Self-indulgent in the extreme

[Glyn Longden · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating: 5.5/10. Nominations are declared open for the title of "Word's Biggest Twit". Since I get to go first, I'm nominating F.I.A. president, Max Mosley, who indirectly referred to Jackie Stewart as a "certified half-wit" in a recent conversation. Whether you are or are not a Stewart fan, you'd be hard pressed to agree with Mosley; pretty much everything Stewart has attempted in life has turned out well. Mosley's statements says more about himself than Stewart.



Jackie Stewart is not stupid and is not a half-wit. Unfortunately, he's not a great writer either. Considering Stewart is one of the best Formula 1 drivers of all time, I was expecting more than just a quarter of the book to be devoted to his racing career. His venture into Formula 1 ownership is given just one chapter.



Stewart is a world champion name dropper. Pretty well the whole second half of the book is devoted to this activity. Royalty, business figures, politicians, celebrities of all type are lovingly paraded before us, presumably for us to admire how a wee Scot from remote Scotland became a friend and confidante to the rich and famous.



Of course, all autobiographies descend into this name-dropping mode. Authors want us to recognize that they parleyed whatever talent they had into a post-career success story. In Stewart's case it's not that some of his memories are uninteresting. His confessions and tales of dyslexia are important and obviously heart-felt. And it's not that I'm completely uninterested in King Juan Carlos of Spain or the Sultan of Brunei or Queen Noor of Jordan or Lord King of Wartnaby. But what I really wanted to read more about was Ken Tyrrell or Francois Cevert or Graham Hil or.....well, you get the idea.



I'm still an admirer of Jackie Stewart. At the end of his book he tells how he had to leave out all sorts of stuff because of space limitations. I wish he'd left out the endless list of names and given us more about his auto racing career. It would have made a better book.



Edit: I completely forgot to mention the DVD produced by one of Stewart's sons which comes with the book. About an hour in length it is an excellent add-on which introduces some of the people and places mentioned in the book. I hope to see this trend continue with authors in the future. It definitely makes the cost of purchasing the hard cover edition more bearable.

[Dane Sørensen · Rating 2 out of 5]

There's an important difference between "impressive" and "entertaining" - that's the message I got after ploughing through Sir Jackie's vast autobiography. The wee Scot's rise from the forecourts of a rural garage to become the most successful driver for twenty years, an unexpectedly successful F1 team boss and a crucial part of the Ford Motor Company despite dyslexia is immensely, titanically impressive... but it ain't showbusiness.

Part of the problem is the manner of Stewart's success; perfectionism and anal attention to detail are the only way if you want to achieve great things, sure, but that doesn't make for good copy. Jackie was exactly right to put so much effort into meticulous preparation in everything he did, but at the same time, my brain was begging him to shut up about it. I don't care that he's right, that nagging menopausal voice tunnels through the ear like your mum lecturing you on keeping your room clean.

Which makes his (far too brief!) account of his racing career bad enough, but when he gets into his various business deals and his job with quality control at Ford... forget reading the book, you might as well sit in on a strategy meeting with the beigest company in your area. It's also understandably (and to be fair, inevitably) self-serving, and his memories of how things went down are a tad suspect at times - most notably Jackie's insistence that Stewart Grand Prix was a quality team when he sold it to Ford, which Rashomons amusingly with Eddie Irvine's comment that he "sold them this piece of junk"!

As a detailed summation of Jackie Stewart the man, then, Winning Is Not Enough is decent verging on pretty good. As a motor racing book, however, it's gob-smackingly awful.

[Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointing is how I would sum up this book.

Initially, it's a promising start. It covers the usual topics that an autobiography does, early life, school and the shift into the career they're known from. It's all relatively interesting and importantly, well written.

However I found the chapters covering his career in F1 a bit scattergun. They switch from first year, to last, to somewhere in the middle, the the start, and don't seem to be written in any particular order. For a book of over 500 pages, I also found that his career seemed to be the section of the book with the least focus. Which I found odd, considering people know Jackie Stewart from his time in and around F1.

The book however really starts to fall apart once he's retired. At this point, it becomes not so much an autobiography, but more lists of all the people he's met and the companies he's worked for. It also seems that every person he's ever met is either the most intelligent, kindest, or most genuine person he has ever met.

One whole chapter (best part of 20 pages) is exclusively about the King of Jordan. Another is about all the people he has met who have dogs. There is also an entire chapter on his favourite medical clinic in America.

There is another chapter where he is writing about a charity clay pigeon shoot contest he organised, but the first two pages of it are just a list of everyone who took part and all the sponsors.

I thought I would enjoy the chapters about owning and running his own team, yet these were quite sparse in detail also, and never really covered why he sold it despite having pretty much guaranteed sponsors he'd be there for 5 years.

There just seems to be far too much product placement in this book to make it truly enjoyable. But by far the worst problem this book has is his righteous sense of self being. It's full of 'positive thinking' bullshit. The type that people who have had good fortune and good luck in life can't wait to force upon others. It just gets tedious and I ended up only skim reading and then skipping the last 3 chapters because I just couldn't bring myself to carry on anymore.

[Bradley · Rating 4 out of 5]

For the most part this is a wonderful autobiographical account of Jackie Stewart’s life up until mid-2007, including his exploits on and off the track. Its amazing the sorts of things he achieved as an individual, including winning as an f1 driver and team owner. Stewart raced in an era when F1 racing was incredibly dangerous and while many of his friends and rivals were killed in racing accidents he somehow managed to avoid being maimed himself and go on to achieve so much. His recollection of events is highly readable and it felt like I was flying through the pages, soaking up everything he did in his life. However, as much as I respect Stewart and consider him one of the more gentlemanly world champions ever to grace the sport, he does have an air of liking the sound of his own voice and this book only enhances that perception. I couldn’t help but think he used voice recognition software to ‘write’ the book, not because he is dyslexic but because he could communicate his lifestyle far more efficiently lol. I like the fact that he went into many of the events that affected his life outside of his racing career but sometimes I felt some of them were…. not the sort of thing you stick in an autobiography, particularly a chapter devoted to his pets. I don’t know, maybe it’s just my ridged perception of what is expected of a biography but I felt it dragged the book down somewhat. There are also some glaring errors like Stewart's confusion with the Senna/Prost Japan incident in 1989 with the one in 1990. He states Senna intentially drove into Prost in 89 and the infamous interview took place that very same year when in fact it was all 1990. Its incorrect recollections of events like this that make the reader wonder if everything else Stewart says is historically correct.... However, overall, it’s a fantastic read for any motorsport fan. Some versions of this book include a companion DVD. Mine did not so I can't comment on it.

[David Hill · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the earlier chapters of the book more than the later ones, perhaps because I'm more interested in Stewart's racing exploits than his achievements since then. He drove during a period when F1 was shockingly hazardous and was a prime mover in getting the sport to adopt much needed improvements in safety. That was the topic I was most interested in learning about. I'd also have been happy to learn more about the creation of his own F1 team.

The text is engaging and easy to read, but sometimes spends too much time on the family pets, or a copious amount of name-dropping. I'm somewhat amused that a man who succeeded to the degree he did purely because of his own abilities is so smitten by royalty. Sure, some royals are impressive individuals, but they got what they got due to an accident of birth. I think any number of people could have been similarly impressive had they been given the same opportunities. Certainly the polar opposite of Stewart's rise to success.

I enjoyed the book, but didn't find that it satisfied the itch that led me to read it. I'll keep looking for biographies or memoirs of F1 participants of his era.

[Frederick · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm torn on this book. On one hand, the stories themselves are amazing. Jackie Stewart lived through an incredible period of grand prix racing. On the other hand, the flow of the writing leaves something to be desired. It just doesn't suck you in and grab your full attention like it should.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. I am a life long F1 fan and Sir Jackie was one of the top drivers of my childhood. He writes well of his triumphs and the tragedies. It is amazing that he won 3 world championships off just 99 races.

[Martin Doychinov · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jackie Steward is most certainly a great person, one of the all-time F1 greats, and overall - a gentleman. The autobiography is covering all his life, and even some bits before!😊
Not sure whether is a Scottish or a Steward trait, but in this book there are more names than in a multi-fat-book fantasy series. If you want to know the name of the person that built the house for his parents before he was born - this is the place. Although I doubt there is a single person that did. 😂
There are some interesting buts and pieces although as Jackie mentions at the end, he couldn't include everything or (what I noticed) he did not have the space to describe anything in detail.
Overall, this is a book, written to describe what Jackie wanted, not what his eventual readers would. Some parts are quite not interesting enough for a fan.

[Greg · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fascinating life like Sir Stewarts does not always make a fascinating book. The bits about Stewart's racing days don't disappoint but, alas, these make up only a portion of the book. Not to minimize his contributions to business, charity and family, its just not what most of want to hear about. Unfortunately, the book also suffers from a less than scintillating writing style. Nonetheless, a careful reader can skim through the book focusing on the triumphs of a remarkable driver who lived through a colorful and often times tragic period in motor racing.

[Pam G · Rating 4 out of 5]

While a fascinating read about life as a Formula 1 driver when Formula 1 driving was in its infancy, there was a lot of name dropping throughout the book. Sir Jackie is a an entertaining fellow who no doubt helped launch Formula 1 racing.

[Deity World · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well written and an enjoyable read to know what F1 was like before my time. I have heard of Jackie Stewart but now I have learned more about his life from clay pigeon shooting to F1 racing and all his experiences with his friends who have now left us.

[Tom Bennett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inspirational - and the description of a confirmation service in a race circuit hotel room is just beautiful.

[Ngangbam Rakesh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspirational. Every chapter is a learning experience.

[Ibrar Malik · Rating 5 out of 5]

Useful research for my upcoming book www.1994f1.com

It's a theme that runs right through the core of an autobiography of a man, Jackie Stewart, who was far more than just a world champion. Autobiographies are fiendishly difficult things to get right and perhaps that's why, even in the ego-fuelled world of professional sport, there are so few of them.

This is an entirely different book. From start to finish the voice of the book is unmistakably Stewart - methodical and logical with a deep sense of conviction. The most striking portion of the book comes just a few pages in - the second chapter `Am I stupid?', in which Stewart recounts his struggle with dyslexia and efforts to improve recognition of the condition in schools. It's uncomfortable reading after hearing Max Mosley's recent ill-advised attack on Stewart as a `certifiable halfwit'.

The book gets into its stride in the middle section where Stewart recounts his racing career, focusing not just on his successes but also on his tireless pursuit of improved safety standards and the conflicts this created. There's so much packed in that 500 pages seems on the short side. Even before he was a three times world champion he was an enormously successful shooter, and after being an F1 driver he was a sports commentator, business man, team boss of Paul Stewart Racing, then Stewart Grand Prix and president of the British Racing Drivers' Club.

Finishing the book it's hard to imagine how one could get a clearer impression of the man short of actually meeting him. This is the whole story on Stewart - driver and man, personal and professional. It's a really excellent piece of work. The title sums it up. Would "Winning is not Enough" work as a title for a book about Michael Schumacher? Ayrton Senna? Alain Prost?

Perhaps not. But for Jackie Stewart it's the least that can be said of him.

[jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kinda conflicted on this one. On one hand, Sir Jackie is insanely cool. Reading about his years spent racing and developing his own team was so interesting. I loved the more personal tidbits about his career and interactions with other drivers, particularly his brotherhood with Jim Clark and mentorship of François Cevert. Absolutely cannot fathom what it was like driving in the 60s when so many guys died racing and there were so few safety precautions.

However, the # of pages dedicated to the above topics was anemic compared to the # of pages in the book. This could have used a heavy hand in editing; a lot of the chapters felt like endless rambling. And some of the topics, particularly towards the end, felt so out of place. Do we really need a chapter on his friendship with Jordanian royalty and a chapter on his dogs? I wanted more time on the racing career, not random side quests. Sooo much of the latter portion of the book was focused on name dropping all the cool people with whom he’s connected.

Overall just wanted more of the Flying Scot and less of the random side stuff.

[Paulo Teixeira · Rating 3 out of 5]

(PT) Autobiografia de Jackie Stewart, desde as suas origens até à atualidade, passando pela sua carreira como piloto, as suas relações com pessoas importantes como Jim Clark e Ken Tyrrell, a sua luta pela segurança, para depois falar da sua vida após-corrida, com os seus trabalhos como comentador, antes de montar a Stewart Grand Prix, e depois, ser o presidente da BRDC, a British Racing Drivers Club, que dirige o circuito de Silverstone.

O livro é agradável de se ler, embora tenha tanto de episódios da sua carreira como a de dicas corporativas. As suas amizades com os homens mais interessantes e poderosos do planeta, contrastam com a sua parte mais intima e familiar. Contudo, apesar de valer a pena ler sobre a sua vida, tem partes que são algo aborrecidas e desinteressantes.

Contudo, vale a pena a leitura sobre alguém com quem cresci a admirar.

[Nia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting and you definitely get a lot of insight into the exciting life of Jackie Stewart but at some points it'a bit long winded and there's definitely too much name dropping.
I may change the rating after reading more F1-world-themed biographies.

Comparing it with Kimi's biography (The Unknown Kimi Raikkonen) I'd say the writing is better in Jackie's book and the order of the events is chronological which is a plus but it's also longer, big part of the story happens after Jackie's racing career and as mentioned above, feels a bit long winded and "name-droppy" at some points.

[Sebastian MacLeod-Bonnar · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a legend to the sport!
Amazing to see how F1 has progressed through the years and to see how much he has to done for the sport (Hamilton is an idiot to tell this man to educate himself). Heartbreaking to read about how many men lost their lives. One that stuck out the most was the Tyrell’s second driver, Francois Cevert, what makes it worse is he didn’t know what Jackie and Tyrell were planning on doing...
The last 3 chapters were a bit of a drag, a lot of naming dropping, dedicated to various Royals and a chapter about his dogs. Still a great read!!!

[Khurley424 · Rating 3 out of 5]

It pains me a bit to only rate this 3 stars- it was interesting, but not particularly captivating- but this largely stems from the strengths and weaknesses of Sir Stewart I suppose. He has certainly had a storied life and career, and the book almost feels too short to give big happenings and history making events their due explanations and depth of detail. It also feels very "polished," we don't see any of the grit or behind the scenes drama that undoubtedly accompanied many of the moments recounted in the book.

[Jayhawk · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cant believe I have never read this book. Jackie was always one of my F1 heroes and I was honored to meet him in 1992 during the German GP. This book is the story of how he became the premier driver of his time, a champion of safety and there is lots of the book devoted to his business philosophy about how a person needs to add value to every business proposition. I really really liked this book. Even non racers will appreciate it I think.

[Phil Hodgkiss · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting to begin with but found some of the writing annoying. I think after we read the first few chapters or two we knew that the F1 world championship was the F1 so why do you need to write it out fully every time. F1 would have surficed. Could have reduced the pages need by a fair few. About two thirds way throughout chapter was nearly all names and their profession, where this could have been at the very end like most books are..Disappointed

[David Walley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Such an interesting book, and was fascinating to learn that Jackie Stewart was actually an actual skeet shooter in the Olympics for Great Britain before he was a Formula One driver. So much of the book was involved in making the sport safer for future athletes and gratitude should be given to Jackie Stewart for this. He sounds like a thoroughly nice guy and deserving of his success.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the overall coverage, even his post-racing career exploits. Getting things accomplished. He travels in a high class, posh world. The downer was that the DVD included won't play (I suppose because the UK and Canada have different formats).

[Mr. Mustela frenata · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.17

[Luis Galvez · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a fan of motorsports I find this book inspiring. Sir. Jackie Stewart is someone I admire.

[Liam O'Brien · Rating 5 out of 5]

Preparation and safety are mandatory. Refuse to be defeated by disappointment. Live life organically, take opportunities rather than follow a blind goal.

[Philip Watson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Far too long
Repetitive
What a name-dropper
Too pleased with himself

[Angela Holland · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was a very interesting biography. I have a lot of respect for Sir Jackie. I learned a lot about Formula One racing and him by reading this. The only issue was the last couple of chapters could have been condensed a little but other than that I loved the book.

[Dana]

DNF at 22%

I wish I could drag myself through this just because Jackie Stewart was such an icon of the sport. Unfortunately, I think the structure of the book was lacking, it was too long, and kind of dull to read.