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Driven

An Elegy to Cars, Roads & Motorsport

John Aston author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:David & Charles

Published:15th Jul '19

Should be back in stock very soon

Driven cover

DRIVEN is John Aston’s hugely entertaining motoring autobiography. This ambitious and far-ranging book begins with his early days as a teenage car enthusiast and race marshal in the late Sixties before covering the wide range of subjects close to his heart. These include the best and worst of Formula One, the icon that is Ferrari, the writer’s NASCAR adventure, and the delights of long road trips in his beloved Caterham Seven. But that’s not all, as you can read about why the NSU Ro80 was a prophet without honour, as well as what the writer thinks about the changing face of motoring journalism. Yes, one J Clarkson is mentioned ... And there’s more still, as a major part of the book is a first-hand account of a year in British motorsport. The writer’s love of the lesser known categories of motorsport illuminates the text, as does his insight into the places, people and machinery making up the sport’s diversity. He describes the mood music of events ranging from a round of the British Touring Car Championship to historic race meetings for Cortinas and Minis, before venturing further from the mainstream with drag racing at Santa Pod, speed hillclimbs, autograss and rallying. Oh - he also doubled the average age at a Time Attack meeting. Don’t expect objective reporting, as he holds strong opinions, but they are leavened by a tongue firmly lodged in his cheek. Any reader, enthusiast or not, is guaranteed to enjoy reading about these adventures as much as the writer enjoyed having them.

This book makes for a surprising and entertaining diversion from lengthy autobiographies of great motor sport figures. In essence, it's the autobiography of a lifelong motor sport enthusiast, but Aston writes with such erudition, with and lawyer's logic that, at times, the book feels it could form the basis of a manifesto for better racing. Read this book and you'll get the strong sense John Aston speaks for a great many of us. - Classic Cars. Driven is recommended unreservedly. - SpeedReaders. Good value for money and should keep even avid readers well-occupied. - Classic Car Weekly. An interesting read. - Auto Express. Informative, funny, iconoclastic and written in a style that makes it hard to put down ... an absolute must-read. - Speedscene. Recommended unreservedly. - NZRR&BC Magazine. This book is a must-read for British car enthusiasts, those who love the sport of racing as well as automotive-oriented Anglophiles. - The View Through The Windshield. Extremely entertaining ... you'll not regret forking out a few buck for this gem. - New Zealand Classic Car. This is a not to be missed road trip with one of the never boring, most interesting, enthusiastic, entertaining companions. It will provide many, many evenings of reading. – Victory Lane.

ISBN: 9781787114395

Dimensions: 210mm x 148mm x 12mm

Weight: 407g

272 pages