What do you think?
Rate this book
Alberto Ascari: Ferrari's First Double Champion
This lavishly illustrated volume vividly chronicles Alberto Ascari's legendary racing career. Award-winning author Karl Ludvigsen describes Ascari's foray into racing on Bianchi motorcycles, Ascari's 1940 Mille Miglia race; his win at the 1948 San Remo GP in a Maserati; his spectacular success in back-to-back world titles with Ferrari in 1952 and 1953; his frustrating move to Lancia in 1954; up through and including Ascari's devastating and fatal crash at Monza.
208 pages, Hardcover
First published March 2, 2001
16 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
January 31, 2021
Karl Ludvigsen writes a brief but full summary of the life of Alberto Ascari, packed full of details and quotes. Alberto was the son of racing driver Antonio, rival to Fangio, Italy’s last and the sport’s first double World Champion, winning back-to-back with Ferrari in 1952 & 53. The photos are a fantastic record of the days when drivers went racing in polo shirts or maybe a shirt and tie, without seatbelts and with just a thin helmet for protection.
July 20, 2013
I was given this book as a gift during a brief week-and-a-half visit to my parents' farm over Christmas. I finished it before the time came to return home. Yes, it really is that good.
When I first saw it I was a little disappointed, it wasn't the brick most biographies are, and the slim binding and abundance of photographs made me fear it was a bit of a kids' book. I was wonderfully mistaken. None of it is watered down and, thanks to being packed with quotes from Ascari's friends and family, the author does a lot more showing than telling, reminding us that Ludvigsen really is the master of this stuff. He gives plenty of detail about the death of Ascari's father Antonio how it had such an effect on the rest of his life; on Alberto's early foray into motorcycle racing; into how he financed his first Maseratis; into the rise and decay of his relationship with Enzo Ferrari; and therefore into his stint at Indianapolis and his devastating World Championships campaigns.
The only criticisms I have are that it doesn't quite go deep enough into his rivalry with Juan Manuel Fangio (the story could have used a bad guy), and that it ends rather abruptly after his death (a little more time spent outlining his legacy and generally giving tying it all up would have resulted in a perfect five stars from me). That said, Fangio is hardly left out, and Ludvigsen's outlining of the forgotten 1947, '48 and '49 seasons are enlightening and engaging, providing the context in which the debut World Championship of 1950 was run.
In summary, it's readable, informative and given how much ground is covered, amazingly brief. If you're a motor racing buff, you simply have no business not having this in your collection. Fantastic.
When I first saw it I was a little disappointed, it wasn't the brick most biographies are, and the slim binding and abundance of photographs made me fear it was a bit of a kids' book. I was wonderfully mistaken. None of it is watered down and, thanks to being packed with quotes from Ascari's friends and family, the author does a lot more showing than telling, reminding us that Ludvigsen really is the master of this stuff. He gives plenty of detail about the death of Ascari's father Antonio how it had such an effect on the rest of his life; on Alberto's early foray into motorcycle racing; into how he financed his first Maseratis; into the rise and decay of his relationship with Enzo Ferrari; and therefore into his stint at Indianapolis and his devastating World Championships campaigns.
The only criticisms I have are that it doesn't quite go deep enough into his rivalry with Juan Manuel Fangio (the story could have used a bad guy), and that it ends rather abruptly after his death (a little more time spent outlining his legacy and generally giving tying it all up would have resulted in a perfect five stars from me). That said, Fangio is hardly left out, and Ludvigsen's outlining of the forgotten 1947, '48 and '49 seasons are enlightening and engaging, providing the context in which the debut World Championship of 1950 was run.
In summary, it's readable, informative and given how much ground is covered, amazingly brief. If you're a motor racing buff, you simply have no business not having this in your collection. Fantastic.
October 28, 2022
A very good intro to the post WW2 greatest racing driver. A mandatory reading for every Ferrari tifosi and for the Formula 1 fans.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews