Mon Ami Mate

by Chris Nixon

From DJ flap - Mon Ami Mate is the story of two of Britain's finest and most charismatic racing drivers. They played a large part in putting Great Britain on the International racing map. The author traces their brief but action-packed lives with the aid of dozens of people who knew them and presents a candid portrait of the two friends that goes far beyond the mere catalogue of race reports. Packed with new information and illustrated with almost 300 photographs - most of them not seen before. (Description by http-mart)

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction

Hardcover

First published July 12, 1991

Reviews

[Tony · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mon Ami Mate is the story of Mike Hawthorn and Peter Collins, two young, colourful British racing drivers who worked their way up to the top flight in the 1950’s, finally becoming team mates and great friends at Ferrari in 1957. During their brief careers they raced F1 and sports cars against the likes of Ascari, Fangio and Moss, for teams including Aston Martin, Jaguar and Ferrari. Both were race winners, and in 1958 Hawthorn became Britain’s first Formula 1 champion (after Stirling Moss intervened on his behalf, in doing so sacrificing his own best shot at the title...). But their lives were cut tragically short, within months of each other. Perhaps that’s why, unlike some of their contemporaries, they’re largely forgotten now.

Chris Nixon approaches his subject like the true historian he was. His book is detailed, well researched and very readable. While there are enough race statistics and technical descriptions to satisfy even this motor racing nerd, the author also manages to give a real sense of what these two men, and the 1950’s racing scene, were really like. And he does so without rose tints, for example his objective analysis of Mike’s role in the 1955 Le Mans tragedy. With hundreds of evocative photos, this is a real treat.

[Paul Bennett · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic book about two Grand Prix legends.