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Editorial Review Product Description
Carroll Hall Shelby was a character, an icon in car culture, and has accomplished and failed at many things in life from chicken farmer to an 83 year old man who is now (again) advising Ford on the creation of a Shelby Mustang.
The book goes back into Shelbys history in racing, the beginnings of the Cobra, the Daytona, the 427 Cobra, Fords battle for LeMans, the front drive Shelby Dodges, the infamous Series I, Shelbys participation in the development of the Viper, his quarter century-long running battle with the army of Cobra clonesters, and much more. ... Read more Customer Reviews (7) 
Shel earned his way
Great book, great guy.
But... and there's always one of those, when Shel began racing he, like others, was an unknown and had to climb the ladder. When he arrived in England in 54 with a US Backed DB3S he arrived at Aston Martin in Feltam seeking help/support. It was here he met a young lady Doreen Sherwood (later to become Doreen Green), John Wyres Secretary. Doreen soon had Carroll sorted out, tell him racing here in England & in Eurpoe is far different than in America. Doreen took care of getting Carroll entered, start money & prize money. On the weekends when the Works cars werent racing Dickie Green would take off with Shel to keep the DB3S running... AT LeMans in 54 Carroll put the 3S in the sandbank and had to dig it out! To see this pic, [...]
I first met Carroll at the Los Angeles Times GP at Riverside in 1958, i was only weeks old! The stories I've heard! WHat Carroll has now Carroll earned, every inch of it!Michael Green
Solid Info, Horribly Written
First off, this book contains some great info about the man and the cars, as well as some good quotes.
What bugged me was two things.One; the book is filled with grammatical errors and feels like its written in the style of a middle school research paper.("In march, shelby placed in third place at such and such racetrack.In june, he won first place at this other racetrack.In august...")Secondly, the author CONSTANTLY cites other books written on Shelby.On the one hand, it's good that the author did his homework.But the sources are cited so often, you might as well just buy the other Shelby books.
On a scale of pass,borrow, or buy, I would say borrow if you want to know everything about shelby, but if you're just a car fanatic like myself, there are plenty other (and better written) books about the topic, making this one an easy "pass".
If You Can Overlook the Quirks...
While first reading this book I became horrified as I found errors in grammar, syntax, tense, spelling, you name it.It reads like a first draft that was never proofread.The most annoying aspect of the book is the "good 'ol boy" style of writing with repeated use of "Texan" sayings throughout, beginning on page one: "Carroll Shelby was born in 1923, in Leesburg, Texas, a town what folks down there in East Texas call a 'wide spot in the road.'"After about the 25th such "Texism," this one referring to a "skilletful of rattlesnakes," I was well and truly annoyed, and I'm a Texan.
What's more, chapter nine is devoid of this writing style.It's more erudite and articulate, with no "Texisms." It's as if it were written by a different author.
If you can get past these things, the book is actually a delight to read, giving the general reader an engaging, accessible overview of Shelby's life, his campaigns with the Cobras and Ford GT's, the building of the Shelby Mustangs, his dealings with Ford, life after Ford, the Shelby Series One, his battles with the Cobra clones, and his current adventures.
I have read very many books and articles on Shelby and FIA racing in the 60s, and I am reasonably well informed on the subject.I found that the book covered the life and times of Shelby and his cars with general information that can be found in other books; but every once in a while I would uncover facts, events, and anecdotes that I had not read about before, giving me leads to research further and thereby adding to my knowledge base. For example, there is a reference to a one-off Cobra Coupe built by the A.C. factory for LeMans 1964 with a body very different from Shelby's coupes.There is also a brief mention of the Lone Star/Cobra III coupe, a one-off that was to be the successor to the Cobra.There are very few photos in the book,and none regarding these two cars, but with Google you can find photos and further information regarding the A.C. Cobra coupe and Lone Star as well as anything else mentioned in the book.
If you can accept with good humor the writing and editing quirks, then you will enjoy this story, told in an informal, down-to-earth manner.For the general Shelby enthusiast, this book is entertaining and informative.The well-informed Shelby enthusiast will also find it a worthwhile read and hopefully unearth some new insights into Shelby's life, his times, and his cars.
A book in search of a proofreader!
One of the aspects that makes this book intriguing, is that it covers the time span from just before Shelby started racing, up to the point when the new GT500's started production. The book attempts to span roughly 60 years of Shelby's life - trying to cover them in just chapters or a condensed book naturally won't cover his entire history in depth.However an admirable attempt is made.
Where this book falls short, & there is a huge weakness here, is it's quality - spelling, grammar, repeated words, use of both a current & past tense next to each other like he couldn't decide which one to use & forgot to go back & delete one of them, as well as historical & technical errors. If any book has ever called out for an editor & proofreading, this one is it!It would make the basis of a good first draft, if he had only had a proofreader or editor go over it & make the numerous corrections first.
If one can look past the poor quality & errors, it makes for some interesting reading, as long as one doesn't attempt to take it as ultimate source for Shelby info.
Shelby
I bought this book for my husband, a car fanatic.He was very disappointed.He said it was poorly written, not proofread at all, and he does not recommend it.We are avid readers, owning several hundred books, and he did not like this one at all.
Get it if you are interested in Shelby but don't be disappointed by the poor quality of the writing.
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A great look at rally history