Richard Williams was the chief sportswriter of the Guardian from 1995 to 2012, having previously worked for The Times and the Independent. He was the original presenter of BBC2's The Old Grey Whistle Test and was the artistic director of the Berlin Jazz Festival from 2015-17. Among his previous books are The Death of Ayrton Senna (1995), Racers (1997), Enzo Ferrari: A Life (2002) and The Last Road Race (2004). A Race with Love and Death is his most recent publication (Simon & Schuster, 2020).
'Timely, vivid and enthralling in its close-up view of a world of
heroes, Richard Williams’ splendid book corrects the many myths
that cling to Dick Seaman’s name. Was he buried sitting upright in
the car in which he died? Did his overbearing English mother light
up the family’s ancestral home to guide Nazi pilots through the
night? Williams has found a subject worthy of his rare combination
of technical knowledge with compelling story-telling. It’s
unputdownable.'
*Author of The Bugatti Queen*
'One of the greatest motor racing stories, about one of the
greatest but least celebrated British drivers from an era that
produced perhaps the most awesome - certainly the most
fearsome - racing cars of all time, the original Silver
Arrows.'
*Nick Mason*
'A fascinating story...as you'd expect from one of the finest
sports writers of our lifetime, Williams advances our understanding
of the subject by elegantly weaving a narrative that combines the
Boy's Own derring-do of a between-the-wars hero with the
suffocatingly stuffy expectations of British society...Gives you
all the detail a purist would want from a racing biography, but
it's also an easy-to-read yet fascinating social documentary of the
era.
*Autosport*
'A tragic age and a tragic character, both seemingly compelled to
destroy themselves...a chilling reminder of how little control we
have over our fates'
*Damon Hill*
'To read A Race with Love and Death...is to smell the petrol that
frequently caused conflagrations as cars burst into flame from
leaks and collisions. Williams is the right man to tell [Seaman's
story] - a fine sports writer.'
*The Times*
'Readers...will be familiar with the elegance of his prose and the
breadth of his interests and expertise. All are on show here.'
*Guardian*
‘Richard Williams has written wonderful books…but this latest one
tops them all for drama, insight and casting fresh light on old
events.’
*Car*
‘The gifted sports writer – Richard Williams recounts Seaman’s
story vividly and with aplomb, ably calculating the spirit of the
age.’
*GP Racing*
‘The story of ‘Britain’s First Great Grand Prix Driver’ is expertly
chronicled in A Race with Love and Death as journalist Richard
Williams re-evaluates the speedster’s life and legacy.’
*The Sportsman*
'Richard Williams’ charming account of Seaman’s life, will
help...remind others of a time in Grand Prix racing when with
grievous regularity...the fast died young and died often.'
*Financial Times*
'Richard Williams – one of our most
elegant sportswriters – has written a biography of
Seaman that seeks to remind us of his unfairly expunged
sporting achievements...once Seaman’s career takes off and he
participates in bigger, more fully documented events,
Williams’s gift for bringing a race to life in all its
excitement comes into its own. He is a wonderfully lucid
writer, and a sort of anti-Murray Walker in that he never
tries to artificially ramp up the tension.'
*Daily Telegraph*
'Williams writes like a novelist, vividly creating scenes in order
to swing the spotlight on a character who should perhaps have been
remembered in the same way as Mike Hawthorn...It makes of a
compelling read.'
*Classic Cars*
'Williams provides the contextual sensitivity that takes a
lifetime to acquire... [His] research is nothing short of
incredible... A remarkable and moving account, one that
places you in every room with Dick, told with reason – matter
of factly, rather than chasing sensationalism.'
*Classic & Sports Car*
'Williams skilfully and gently lays out the nuances of a life that
ended violently... As it is, this exhaustively researched and
immaculately written book can only feed such fascinating but
ultimately sad speculation.'
*Sport 500*
|
Ask a Question About this Product More... |
|
