Glen Smale

Le Mans 100: A Century at the World's Greatest Endurance Race, by Glen Smale, is a beautifully illustrated look at the history, race by race, of this iconic event.

I am not a real big racing fan, though that is mostly true if I include oval track racing. Racing that involves more twists and turns are more interesting to me. And the 24 hours at Le Mans certainly fits that description. The testing of the endurance of both driver and machine is, for me, what makes this such a compelling event. Plus, to be honest, the cars look pretty cool.

While set up as a race-by-race chronological look back, this is a lot more than just a bunch of recaps. The history, of the race as well as automotive history itself, is present when we read about the changes made, or the wartime damage to the area, or the political fighting between organizations. Since this is, first and foremost, a coffee table book, a lot of the detail is omitted. I think that is ideal, more pictures and less (but very concise) text makes for a much better coffee table book. I did look up a couple things that piqued my curiosity, so the opportunity to investigate further is available for those who want to know more about an incident or a driver.

One of the things I find so interesting in books like this, whether a book about a specific manufacturer or one about an event, is the ways the vehicles have changed over time. Not just from something essentially road-ready to specialized race cars, but the almost constant body changes in attempts to improve performance.

Highly recommended for auto enthusiasts and those interested in auto and racing history.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.… (más)