Thunder Road

by William Campbell Gault

Speed; thunder of racing cards grinding off the miles; courage; treachery; these rip across the pages of the story about Pete Elliot and his antagonist, Rocky Revere. Pete is ambitious either to own a first class race shop or to become a big time racer, and he turns to old Barney Spicer, ex-racer, for advice.
With Barney, Pete travels the racing circuit as mechanic for Barney's beautiful racer which Rocky drives. Barney seems blind to the fact that Rocky is a spectacular but unreliable driver. Not until just before the big Memorial Day race at Indianapolis does Barney finally wake to Rocky's perfidy. Rocky signs up to drive for a rival, one said to be unbeatable.
Now Pete comes into his own. He drives Barney's car in the race! Then he and Jed Marion, a friend, plan to go into business building motors. Danger, thrills, sportsmanship combine to make this an intensely absorbing book.

Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 1952

About the author

William Campbell Gault (1910–1995) was a critically acclaimed pulp novelist. Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, he took seven years to graduate from high school. Though he was part of a juvenile gang, he wrote poetry in his spare time, signing it with a girl’s name lest one of his friends find it. He sold his first story in 1936, and built a great career writing for pulps like Paris Nights, Scarlet Adventures, and the infamous Black Mask. In 1939, Gault quit his job and started writing fulltime.

When the success of his pulps began to fade in the 1950s, Gault turned to longer fiction, winning an Edgar Award for his first mystery, Don’t Cry for Me (1952), which he wrote in twenty-eight days. He created private detectives Brock Callahan and Joe Puma, and also wrote juvenile sports books like Cut-Rate Quarterback (1977) and Wild Willie, Wide Receiver (1974). His final novel was Dead Pigeon (1992), a Brock Callahan mystery.


Series:
* Brock 'The Rock' Callahan
* Joe Puma

Reviews

[Benny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book. Loved it. Good, clean and to the point. I am sure I will read it again. This was approximately Gault's 1st book written using the subject of Cars/Motorcycle Racing