Read to Win the War discussion

We've got one more week until the live author event wrap-up, which gives us time to chat about a new set of discussion questions on the second half of Faster, kindly provided by the author. I will be monitoring the board along with other museum historians, so feel free to add your comments and questions any time. Now time for book chat!

FASTER 2ND HALF QUESTIONS

1. How would you compare motor sport today versus in the 1930s? The celebrity of drivers? The nationalism? The advancement in technology, safety? Impact within culture?

2. In your view, what made Lucy such a successful team leader? Did you get a sense of how she motivated Rene? How did you feel about their relationship—or her interaction with Weiffenbach and Delahaye.

3. How did you feel about the crash of Bernd Rosemeyer during the speed record trials? Did you foresee this coming? What was your reaction to how the Third Reich coopted his death, the language they used in their propaganda? And finally, what was your perception of Rudi Caracciola? Did you have sympathy for him?

4. What was your favorite scene in FASTER? No doubt you suspected Dreyfus would win at Pau, but were there moments when you were unsure? Did anything about the final race surprise you?

5. The story of Jesse Owens at the 1936 Olympics is famous. So too the battles between American boxer Max Baer versus Max Schmeling? Why do you think that the name Rene Dreyfus—and his defeat of the German Silver Arrows—never received as much attention? Do you believe it is as symbolically important?

6. The original four Delahaye 145s are now each worth millions of dollars? What is it about classic cars that draw such a market? Have you ever been to a classic car show? Car museum? How connected is car and culture?

I would like to address the question about the perception of Rudi Caracciola. The sense I got about him from this book was that he was going to do whatever was necessary to be able to race (and win) at the most elite levels of European motorsports. The only way that was possible in Germany was to be a part of the collaboration between the Third Reich and Mercedes/Auto Union. Becoming the face of the Third Reich in motorsports was the price he had to pay to race...and he seemed to happily pay that price. In this way I think he was akin to Leni Riefenstahl, who funded for her films by collaborating with the state. In regards to Rudi moving to Switzerland and sitting out the war, I am not sure what to make of that...by that time he was certainly not fit to join the armed forces, like Max Schmeling. He may have just been sitting out the war as opposed to distancing himself from the policies of the Third Reich. I would love to hear more about this from the author.

Mark wrote: "I would like to address the question about the perception of Rudi Caracciola. The sense I got about him from this book was that he was going to do whatever was necessary to be able to race (and win..."

I thought of Leni as well.

Thank you for bringing this book to me and for the bookclub events! Looking forward to the next book selection.

Mark wrote: "Thank you for bringing this book to me and for the bookclub events! Looking forward to the next book selection."

You're welcome Mark, and thank you for attending and submitting a great question! I'm so glad you enjoyed it and I look forward to discussing our next selection. Stay tuned...