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Janet Guthrie: A Life At Full Throttle
A fascinating portrait of the first woman to race at the Indy 500 follows Janet Guthrie from the Florida School for Girls, to a stint as an astronaut in training, to her years on the sidelines of race car driving, to her eventually entry into the sport as a driver.
- GenresRacingNonfiction
398 pages, Hardcover
First published May 25, 2005
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166 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
September 3, 2013
I had the great privilege of meeting Janet Guthrie at a Smithsonian/INDYCAR event several years ago. Janet's book had just been released and I waited in the line to get a personalized copy. I was so overcome with awe that I froze after I told her my name and somehow managed to get a "thank you" out . That thank you was not for signing the copy of the book - it was for her persistence to compete in a sport that didn't want her. For paving the way for racing greats such as Lyn St. James, Sarah Fisher and Danica Patrick.
While I thought I knew Janet's story, I realize now that I had no idea about her. This book has been sitting on my shelf, waiting for the right time to read it. I currently needed a bit of inspiration and Janet provided that. It isn't about being a trailblazer or a woman, it's about commitment to your beliefs and following your heart in a field you love.
So again, thank you, Janet.
While I thought I knew Janet's story, I realize now that I had no idea about her. This book has been sitting on my shelf, waiting for the right time to read it. I currently needed a bit of inspiration and Janet provided that. It isn't about being a trailblazer or a woman, it's about commitment to your beliefs and following your heart in a field you love.
So again, thank you, Janet.
January 25, 2019
Excellent written book. Recommended for all who enjoy auto racing from the driver's perspective.
July 21, 2016
Who is Janet Guthrie? If you're not at least a middle-aged fan of auto racing, I wouldn't begrudge you the question.
As a fan of the sport since the age of 16 I do not blush to admit that I have read hundreds of books on the sport. More than a few of these have been biographies, and more often than not they've been self-serving fluff pieces, rushed out to capitalize on the often all-too-brief fame some star of the circuits has achieved. Usually ghost-written and not worth the time to print and bind them, let alone read them, they're literary candy...appealing on the wrapper and initially tasty, but ultimately unsatisfying. They work well as monitor stands and look pretty on a shelf, but that's about all they have to recommend them. And before I go any farther, I will come out and say it: this is NOT one of those books!
What it is, then, is the story of Janet Guthrie, Race Car Driver. It is lovingly-written, by Janet herself, the story of someone who didn't necessarily set out to prove anything other than that she was a helluva race car driver. And she was all that and more. "A Life At Full Throttle" is an amazingly well-told story of Janet's triumphs...personal triumphs mostly, at least in terms in racing history, but, such is the lot of the Pioneer, and that is what Janet surely was; not the first woman race car driver by any means, but the first to achieve any degree of notoriety on a global stage. I won't attempt to list all of her achievements, the book does a much better job of of that. Suffice to say, she was, for her time, the sort of sensation that Danica Patrick is today.
More important though is the personal struggles through which she persevered to reach the summits of her chosen field, the starting grids of Indianapolis and Daytona. And not just to simply make the race, but to be competitive, and in machinery that often didn't match that of her competition, on budgets that didn't match the level of preparation on the cars. "Overachiever" easily describes Janet's career in motorsports.
My only minor gripe with this book is that it stops rather abruptly in 1978, just as Janet's racing career seemed to be hitting full stride. True, 1979 and 1980 were not so much full stride as full stop for Janet Guthrie and her racing-wise, and that's just a shame if you were to know some of the details...but for an ill-timed wave off by her crew of a qualifying run at Indy in 1980 that would have easily made the race, she might well have had the race of her life, and there could have been a helluva epilogue to all of this. Even as is, it would have been fascinating to have had the opportunity to read of what had to be an intensely disappointing experience, but then the book would/could have ended up several hundred pages longer, and might have ended on a distinctly sour note.
In summation: Janet Guthrie didn't necessarily set out to be a Pioneer, but there you go. Funny what happens when you live out your dreams. Along the way she became, and remains, a role model for anyone fighting adversity, no matter their gender. There are lessons to be learned in this book for everyone, even if you don't have any interest in racing, but her inspiring, gripping story should be required reading for anyone who is a serious student of the sport of auto racing, or for anyone seeking a fascinating, engaging read.
As a fan of the sport since the age of 16 I do not blush to admit that I have read hundreds of books on the sport. More than a few of these have been biographies, and more often than not they've been self-serving fluff pieces, rushed out to capitalize on the often all-too-brief fame some star of the circuits has achieved. Usually ghost-written and not worth the time to print and bind them, let alone read them, they're literary candy...appealing on the wrapper and initially tasty, but ultimately unsatisfying. They work well as monitor stands and look pretty on a shelf, but that's about all they have to recommend them. And before I go any farther, I will come out and say it: this is NOT one of those books!
What it is, then, is the story of Janet Guthrie, Race Car Driver. It is lovingly-written, by Janet herself, the story of someone who didn't necessarily set out to prove anything other than that she was a helluva race car driver. And she was all that and more. "A Life At Full Throttle" is an amazingly well-told story of Janet's triumphs...personal triumphs mostly, at least in terms in racing history, but, such is the lot of the Pioneer, and that is what Janet surely was; not the first woman race car driver by any means, but the first to achieve any degree of notoriety on a global stage. I won't attempt to list all of her achievements, the book does a much better job of of that. Suffice to say, she was, for her time, the sort of sensation that Danica Patrick is today.
More important though is the personal struggles through which she persevered to reach the summits of her chosen field, the starting grids of Indianapolis and Daytona. And not just to simply make the race, but to be competitive, and in machinery that often didn't match that of her competition, on budgets that didn't match the level of preparation on the cars. "Overachiever" easily describes Janet's career in motorsports.
My only minor gripe with this book is that it stops rather abruptly in 1978, just as Janet's racing career seemed to be hitting full stride. True, 1979 and 1980 were not so much full stride as full stop for Janet Guthrie and her racing-wise, and that's just a shame if you were to know some of the details...but for an ill-timed wave off by her crew of a qualifying run at Indy in 1980 that would have easily made the race, she might well have had the race of her life, and there could have been a helluva epilogue to all of this. Even as is, it would have been fascinating to have had the opportunity to read of what had to be an intensely disappointing experience, but then the book would/could have ended up several hundred pages longer, and might have ended on a distinctly sour note.
In summation: Janet Guthrie didn't necessarily set out to be a Pioneer, but there you go. Funny what happens when you live out your dreams. Along the way she became, and remains, a role model for anyone fighting adversity, no matter their gender. There are lessons to be learned in this book for everyone, even if you don't have any interest in racing, but her inspiring, gripping story should be required reading for anyone who is a serious student of the sport of auto racing, or for anyone seeking a fascinating, engaging read.
September 4, 2012
Janet Guthrie actually made race car driving so interesting that I want to watch a race! As I read this book, I kept wanting to tell people anecdotes or express exasperation over various events. She's a calm storyteller, and she definitely comes across as authentic, largely because she's clearly meticulous, reasonable, intelligent and calm.
The first section was a little technical for me, but after that, we go back to Janet's foundation as a person. Learning about her adventurous streak and her work ethic grounded the story and made it easier to follow as her racing career developed.
What she did and what she went through took amazing resolve, and I am incredibly impressed with her perseverance as well as her ability. I wonder what she could have done with better cars, support and sponsorship. I highly recommend reading this - regardless of whether you're into racing.
The first section was a little technical for me, but after that, we go back to Janet's foundation as a person. Learning about her adventurous streak and her work ethic grounded the story and made it easier to follow as her racing career developed.
What she did and what she went through took amazing resolve, and I am incredibly impressed with her perseverance as well as her ability. I wonder what she could have done with better cars, support and sponsorship. I highly recommend reading this - regardless of whether you're into racing.
November 6, 2016
An amazing, inspiring story of a truly remarkable person. It is to Janet Guthrie's credit that she didn't want to be known as a woman race driver, but only as a race driver. When her results are taken in context, she did well in a sport that threw obstacle after obstacle, most quite unfair, in her way. She finished ninth (some had her scored eighth) in her second Indy 500 in 1978, driving with a broken wrist; this finish was higher than what many big name racers did in their second start in the race.
A sports memoir also must be written well, too, and Guthrie does a great job of telling her own story. In addition to being a person of exceptional courage and fortitude, she shows herself to be cultured and articulate in her writing. This book goes on my shelf of driver biographies, right next to Niki Lauda and Vic Elford.
A sports memoir also must be written well, too, and Guthrie does a great job of telling her own story. In addition to being a person of exceptional courage and fortitude, she shows herself to be cultured and articulate in her writing. This book goes on my shelf of driver biographies, right next to Niki Lauda and Vic Elford.
April 27, 2012
This is the best book about auto racing I have ever read. It is literate, intelligent, fast-moving, and insightful.
Guthrie was the first woman to qualify for the Indianapolis 500 and the first woman to qualify for the Daytona 500, but if she had never driven a race car, her life would still be interesting. If you want to read an interesting book about an fascinating person, this book is for you.
Guthrie was the first woman to qualify for the Indianapolis 500 and the first woman to qualify for the Daytona 500, but if she had never driven a race car, her life would still be interesting. If you want to read an interesting book about an fascinating person, this book is for you.
June 11, 2020
This book is a struggle to read. I am interested in the content and her life but it is told in a way that is difficult to consume.
February 17, 2020
A fascinating, admirable woman, but the book gets very detailed into cars and engines...
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews