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Murray Walker: The Last Word
The Farewell Tribute marks Murray Walker's retirement at the end of the 2001 season, and also an end of an era. Hilton, who knows Walker well, brings together a complete picture of his life - on-track and otherwise. Hilton writes little known facts and great moments of this charismatic racer's life. Includes anecdotes from F1 stars and T.V. insiders, and a selection of "Murray-isms".
- GenresNonfiction
144 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2001
20 people want to read
About the author
Christopher Hilton
126 books9 followersChristopher (Chris) Hilton was a former sportswriter with the Daily Express.
Hilton had begun his career in journalism at The Journal in Newcastle, and then worked at the Express‘s offices in Manchester before moving to London in the mid-1970s when recruited by then sports editor Ken Lawrence to cover Formula 1.
Hilton was a key member of the sports desk editing staff, as well as covering ice skating for the paper during the period when Torvill and Dean were winning world and Olympic ice dance titles.
For the past two decades after leaving the Express, Hilton has freelanced, especially in F1 and writing his books, including biographies of Ayrton Senna, James Hunt and Michael Schumacher, as well as a novel. As recently as last month, his latest book, about F1 team leader Ross Brawn, was published.
Chris Hilton leaves a wife, Jean, and daughter.
Hilton had begun his career in journalism at The Journal in Newcastle, and then worked at the Express‘s offices in Manchester before moving to London in the mid-1970s when recruited by then sports editor Ken Lawrence to cover Formula 1.
Hilton was a key member of the sports desk editing staff, as well as covering ice skating for the paper during the period when Torvill and Dean were winning world and Olympic ice dance titles.
For the past two decades after leaving the Express, Hilton has freelanced, especially in F1 and writing his books, including biographies of Ayrton Senna, James Hunt and Michael Schumacher, as well as a novel. As recently as last month, his latest book, about F1 team leader Ross Brawn, was published.
Chris Hilton leaves a wife, Jean, and daughter.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
October 5, 2022
Murray was, and stillis a complete one off. Love him or hate him he has excited generations with his inimitable style. Behind the legendary howlers in the heat of the moment lies a true professional with an immense knowledge of motor racing in general and F1 in particular. Despite the slickness of the current race commentary team on Sky Murray and Martin Brundle have never been bettered.
January 16, 2015
Despite having been an almost constant reader from a very early age, I was never really a great fan of biographies. Part of this, to my shame, was down to a lack of realisation that real life could be as interesting as fantasy worlds and situations or that the people I idolised, admired and wanted to be could have lives as interesting away from public view as the ones I was entranced by within it. This may be a comment more on the relative normality of my own life as much as anything else.
Although I had read and greatly enjoyed both Roald Dahl’s “Boy” in my younger years and, slightly later, Donald Woods’ “Asking for Trouble” (the latter originally as the second part of the film “Cry Freedom”), it still didn’t occur to me that there might be a wealth of real-life stories as fascinating and compelling as these were. I never was terribly quick on the uptake.
As a result, it took until the publication of wrestler Mick Foley’s autobiography in 1999 for me to realise there was a whole new world out there. I will forever be grateful for him for introducing me to a whole new area of literature. I have read many in five years since, sticking mainly to the worlds of comedians and sportsmen, feeling that as I enjoy their public sides, I may enjoy the previously hidden sides as well.
Hoping to receive Murray Walker’s autobiography as a Christmas present one year, I bought Christopher Hilton’s “Murray Walker – The Very Last Word” in an attempt to heighten the anticipation I was already feeling. It turned out to be a big mistake. Of all the biographies I have read, I have only come across two examples I have not enjoyed. This was the second.
The initial problem is with the length of the book. In fairness to the author, it may be that he’s restricted to a certain number of words by his publishers (who, as an aside, are Haynes – I never realised they published anything other than those car repair manuals!) which meant that he had to leave a lot out. When your subject has lived for nearly eighty years, there’s a lot to say, and when your publishers are renowned for motoring publications, it’s obvious what they would prefer the focus to be on. As a result, the years between Murray’s birth in 1923 and his full-time switch to motor sport commentary in 1982 are glossed over, almost into invisibility, with two short chapters covering a near sixty year period of his life.
This leads to another problem. The focus of the book is more on his commentary years, mostly his Formula 1 commentary years, relating very little from his childhood and his time driving tanks during World War 2, or his career in advertising, with these parts of his life really only hinted at. There was a brief mention of his living in Enfield, which being my current hometown piqued my interest, but this was the only mention leaving me unsatisfied, as I desperately wanted more.
This is not a book for someone with no or little interest in Formula 1 racing. Again, in fairness to the author, the name of Murray Walker has become synonymous with Formula 1 racing over the years, and it would be highly unlikely that someone without an interest in motor racing would be considering a purchase such as this. Indeed, the real clue is in the cover photograph, featuring Murray wearing a baseball cap with the F1 ITV logo prominent.
A further criticism, again to be laid at the door of the publisher rather than the author is the way the book is set out. The chapter beginnings are mostly joined by cartoons, where photographs would be more interesting. Then there are the frequent breaks in the text where a section headed “Murray’s Moments” are added, usually comprising of a quote from a colleague of Murray’s or someone he has met during his time in motor sports. These sections are often illuminating, and nearly always amusing, but the way they are inserted destroys the flow of the book, as they aren’t always relevant to the period being discussed. I do feel that these would have been far better inserted as part of the text.
Many of the pages also have quotes, usually one of Murray’s famous “gaffes” down the outside of the page. These infringe upon the text and tend to catch the corner of your eye, again ruining the flow of the reading as they distract you.
Slightly less forgiveable seems to be the focus of the research that has gone into the book. There are quotes from many of the people he has worked with in Formula 1 commentary, both from his time with the BBC and (mostly) from after the switch to ITV. There is mention that the author spoke to Murray himself in 1982 and again briefly in 2001, but there is very little mention that the book has been put together by asking Murray himself very much about his life. The feel of a lot of the information is that it’s more a collection of anecdotes than biography, and a lot of the early chapters about Murray’s life before Formula 1 appear to be taken from secondary sources, rather than from the man himself.
In my opinion, Christopher Hilton commits the ultimate sin with biography writing, in that there is a great amount of author intrusion. On many occasions he refers to things he himself has done, people he met, and interviews he conducted. There are references to books he has written prior to this one, and the word “I” crops up a little too often for my tastes. There are also some poorly written links, where Hilton seems to be taking us on a journey, with himself in the lead. The overall impression is that this is less a biography of Murray Walker, but more a Christopher Hilton book that just happens to be about Murray Walker.
For all this, though, the language used is pretty simple, and reading the book is an easy and untaxing procedure. For the fan of Murray Walker and, in particular, the Formula 1 devotee, there are glimpses of life in the commentary box that we rarely get the chance to see. Due to the narrowness of the book’s focus, there is almost more about this part of Murray’s career than in his own autobiography. Despite the poor quality of format and style, this manages to be an interesting read, if only because the subject matter is fascinating.
Ultimately, however, it is impossible to recommend this book to anyone. For the non Formula 1 fan, it would hold no interest. For the fan of Formula 1 in general and, particularly, the fan of Murray Walker specifically, you can purchase “Unless I’m Very Much Mistaken”, Murray’s autobiography and get a better written and far more rounded and interesting read for the money. Hilton has also written a number of other motor racing based books, mostly about drivers and people featured in the sport. From my experiences with this, I will certainly be avoiding anything with his name on the cover in future.
This review may also appear under my name at any or all of www.ciao.co.uk, www.thebookbag.co.uk, www.goodreads.com, www.amazon.co.uk and www.dooyoo.co.uk
Although I had read and greatly enjoyed both Roald Dahl’s “Boy” in my younger years and, slightly later, Donald Woods’ “Asking for Trouble” (the latter originally as the second part of the film “Cry Freedom”), it still didn’t occur to me that there might be a wealth of real-life stories as fascinating and compelling as these were. I never was terribly quick on the uptake.
As a result, it took until the publication of wrestler Mick Foley’s autobiography in 1999 for me to realise there was a whole new world out there. I will forever be grateful for him for introducing me to a whole new area of literature. I have read many in five years since, sticking mainly to the worlds of comedians and sportsmen, feeling that as I enjoy their public sides, I may enjoy the previously hidden sides as well.
Hoping to receive Murray Walker’s autobiography as a Christmas present one year, I bought Christopher Hilton’s “Murray Walker – The Very Last Word” in an attempt to heighten the anticipation I was already feeling. It turned out to be a big mistake. Of all the biographies I have read, I have only come across two examples I have not enjoyed. This was the second.
The initial problem is with the length of the book. In fairness to the author, it may be that he’s restricted to a certain number of words by his publishers (who, as an aside, are Haynes – I never realised they published anything other than those car repair manuals!) which meant that he had to leave a lot out. When your subject has lived for nearly eighty years, there’s a lot to say, and when your publishers are renowned for motoring publications, it’s obvious what they would prefer the focus to be on. As a result, the years between Murray’s birth in 1923 and his full-time switch to motor sport commentary in 1982 are glossed over, almost into invisibility, with two short chapters covering a near sixty year period of his life.
This leads to another problem. The focus of the book is more on his commentary years, mostly his Formula 1 commentary years, relating very little from his childhood and his time driving tanks during World War 2, or his career in advertising, with these parts of his life really only hinted at. There was a brief mention of his living in Enfield, which being my current hometown piqued my interest, but this was the only mention leaving me unsatisfied, as I desperately wanted more.
This is not a book for someone with no or little interest in Formula 1 racing. Again, in fairness to the author, the name of Murray Walker has become synonymous with Formula 1 racing over the years, and it would be highly unlikely that someone without an interest in motor racing would be considering a purchase such as this. Indeed, the real clue is in the cover photograph, featuring Murray wearing a baseball cap with the F1 ITV logo prominent.
A further criticism, again to be laid at the door of the publisher rather than the author is the way the book is set out. The chapter beginnings are mostly joined by cartoons, where photographs would be more interesting. Then there are the frequent breaks in the text where a section headed “Murray’s Moments” are added, usually comprising of a quote from a colleague of Murray’s or someone he has met during his time in motor sports. These sections are often illuminating, and nearly always amusing, but the way they are inserted destroys the flow of the book, as they aren’t always relevant to the period being discussed. I do feel that these would have been far better inserted as part of the text.
Many of the pages also have quotes, usually one of Murray’s famous “gaffes” down the outside of the page. These infringe upon the text and tend to catch the corner of your eye, again ruining the flow of the reading as they distract you.
Slightly less forgiveable seems to be the focus of the research that has gone into the book. There are quotes from many of the people he has worked with in Formula 1 commentary, both from his time with the BBC and (mostly) from after the switch to ITV. There is mention that the author spoke to Murray himself in 1982 and again briefly in 2001, but there is very little mention that the book has been put together by asking Murray himself very much about his life. The feel of a lot of the information is that it’s more a collection of anecdotes than biography, and a lot of the early chapters about Murray’s life before Formula 1 appear to be taken from secondary sources, rather than from the man himself.
In my opinion, Christopher Hilton commits the ultimate sin with biography writing, in that there is a great amount of author intrusion. On many occasions he refers to things he himself has done, people he met, and interviews he conducted. There are references to books he has written prior to this one, and the word “I” crops up a little too often for my tastes. There are also some poorly written links, where Hilton seems to be taking us on a journey, with himself in the lead. The overall impression is that this is less a biography of Murray Walker, but more a Christopher Hilton book that just happens to be about Murray Walker.
For all this, though, the language used is pretty simple, and reading the book is an easy and untaxing procedure. For the fan of Murray Walker and, in particular, the Formula 1 devotee, there are glimpses of life in the commentary box that we rarely get the chance to see. Due to the narrowness of the book’s focus, there is almost more about this part of Murray’s career than in his own autobiography. Despite the poor quality of format and style, this manages to be an interesting read, if only because the subject matter is fascinating.
Ultimately, however, it is impossible to recommend this book to anyone. For the non Formula 1 fan, it would hold no interest. For the fan of Formula 1 in general and, particularly, the fan of Murray Walker specifically, you can purchase “Unless I’m Very Much Mistaken”, Murray’s autobiography and get a better written and far more rounded and interesting read for the money. Hilton has also written a number of other motor racing based books, mostly about drivers and people featured in the sport. From my experiences with this, I will certainly be avoiding anything with his name on the cover in future.
This review may also appear under my name at any or all of www.ciao.co.uk, www.thebookbag.co.uk, www.goodreads.com, www.amazon.co.uk and www.dooyoo.co.uk
May 3, 2020
Relatively short and most likely researched and written in great haste. Worth reading only if you are into Murray Walker anecdotal stuff. And then only if you've already read his autobiography "Unless I'm very much mistaken", which contains much more information about his life.
It's easy reading, probably won't take you more than 3-4 hours to finish the book. Christopher Hilton pays service to motor racing's most famous commentator by dumping a collection of random events, 3rd party interviews and generally funny incidents related to Murray's super long career, not always in a chronological order and not always making sense (especially to non-native English speakers).
However nothing really makes this book stand out. If you've read the said autobiography you're more or less covered. It feels more like some publisher or editor asked the writer to come up with something while the iron was still hot, i.e. soon after Murray retired from ITV F1 commentary back in 2001. Christopher Hilton's books on Senna and Schumacher are more thorough and researched. This one not so much. Just light reading.
It's easy reading, probably won't take you more than 3-4 hours to finish the book. Christopher Hilton pays service to motor racing's most famous commentator by dumping a collection of random events, 3rd party interviews and generally funny incidents related to Murray's super long career, not always in a chronological order and not always making sense (especially to non-native English speakers).
However nothing really makes this book stand out. If you've read the said autobiography you're more or less covered. It feels more like some publisher or editor asked the writer to come up with something while the iron was still hot, i.e. soon after Murray retired from ITV F1 commentary back in 2001. Christopher Hilton's books on Senna and Schumacher are more thorough and researched. This one not so much. Just light reading.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews