<< 1 >>
Rating: 
Summary: Low downforce configuration for this book!
Review: Excellent book covering the authors life before, during, and swan-song as he leaves Formula One. His approach to introducing you to the new drivers and watching them move onto other teams or careers is very interesting. You can definetly tell his best years were with Michael Schmuacher. The excellent photography compliments the story. And the references to Jabberwocky will keep you thinking. This book contains all of the personal information you expect to find in a book with this title (too bad there was so much of it in his other work covering the Bennetton GP year).
Rating: 
Summary: A quick, but somewhat disappointing, read
Review: I'm certainly going against the grain with this review, but I felt the need to speak out. I very much looked forward to this book because Mr. Matchett does such an excellent job commentating on Formula One races for Speed Channel. His technical knowledge and articulate manner add a great deal to the broadcasts. Perhaps I should be fair, in that I was expecting something more along the lines of what other reviewers have said about the book. Yes, there are some fascinating bits about the drivers he's worked with, and there are some humorous pieces as well (especially the part about Piquet's antics when Matchett had to stick his head down in the foot box with Piquet still buckled in). My complaint about the book is that it tends to go into great detail regarding the periphery of Matchett's journey into Formula One, and not enough into the technical acrobatics the mechanics have to perform, both in the garage and on the track. If you want to hear about the quaint little towns, the drives up the country on vacation, and the pub down the corner from Steve Matchett's point of view, then get this book. I feel it concentrates too heavily in these areas, and I was frustrated for it. Why, I recall perhaps the most compelling chapter wherein Matchett and crew are furiously chasing a hydraulics gremlin that is wreaking havoc with the car's variable suspension. He describes in excellent detail the agonizing frustration of checking each component, over and again with no success. Because of the enormous pressure the mechanics are under, this section starts to read like a suspense novel. In the end, though, after building us up to share the unbearable frustration he feels at the time, he doesn't let us know how the problem is fixed, or how the situation turns out. He just ends with saying something along the lines of "see how frustrating it gets?" Frustrating, indeed.
Rating:
Summary: A Perfect Saturday Night read before arising for the next GP
Review: Matchett is the one commentator that makes racing come alive. I am amazed at the details that he sees and shares with the SPEED viwers. I discovered this book and Steve's second book at this year's Daytona 24 Hours in an infield tent. I had no idea that this knowledgeable mechanic was also an author. I could not put this book down and when I did it was only to pick up the second title.
If getting up early Sunday to see the Grand Prix is part of your schedule, then by all means buy these books. I can hardly wait for the new title on the Ferrari team due out just about now (June 2004). Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: A Perfect Saturday Night read before arising for the next GP
Review: Matchett is the one commentator that makes racing come alive. I am amazed at the details that he sees and shares with the SPEED viwers. I discovered this book and Steve's second book at this year's Daytona 24 Hours in an infield tent. I had no idea that this knowledgeable mechanic was also an author. I could not put this book down and when I did it was only to pick up the second title.
If getting up early Sunday to see the Grand Prix is part of your schedule, then by all means buy these books. I can hardly wait for the new title on the Ferrari team due out just about now (June 2004). Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: The title, a reference to Chaucer, is accurate indeed.
Review: Some reviewers expected this to be only directly F1, and then criticise when it is different. His other books describe F1 very well indeed.
This is a story of how a mechanic progressed from entry level to the highest level of motorsport, and what that personal experience was really like during this journey and at the F1 destination. It is successfully done, and gave me significant insight into the backstage reality of a life in the F1 circus. Its perspective helps me enjoy and understand the sport much better, not only back then, but also today. For example, from this book, the change in the team experience due to the 2004 Parc Ferme rule can well and truly be experienced.
Rating:
Summary: Very enjoyable book. Highly recommend.
Review: Steve has finally brought f1 home. Aside from the occasional story about how Senna got upset at Alain, most F1 reading tends to be an excercise in number crunching. Steve has brought drama, personal emotion and even the feel of a new pair of Timberlands to the mind of the reader. I can't tell you how insightful this book is and what an impact it has had on me. I believe every F1 fan would enjoy the humble posture Steve takes in this romp through the whirlwind of his life. A great effort. I am waiting for another one Steve! How about the announcer's tale? I'd love to hear about Sam, David and Bob.
Rating:
Summary: Must-read for fans of motorsport
Review: Steve Matchett's "The Mechanic's Tale" is a great read. It cover's everything from his apprenticeship to his winning the WCC with Benneton. Matchett tells his story with an insider's view and with a lot of humour (I still smile thinking of his first experience using titanium). He also gives the right amount of technical information, so any average F1 fan should learn a thing or two about the cars, but it shouldn't bewilder any new F1 fans. This is a must-read for all F1 and motorsport fans.
Rating:
Summary: A quite unique book: witty, informative and very funny too!
Review: Steve Matchett's second book, The Mechanic's Tale, is a quite extraordinary work, in essence the memoires of a Grand Prix mechanic throughout his ten year career with the Benetton Formula One team. That an engineer has written such a fascinating and entertaining account of his life inside the somewhat secretive world of Grand Prix racing is unique in itself, but what makes this book so outstanding is the authors original approach to the subject and his natural flair for writing: his style is witty, rhetorical and very readable. "Every so often in the endless stream of biogrophies churned out by the Formula One book industry," says Motoring News, "something different emerges. This is it." Matchett touches on all aspects of this prestigious job, describing the incredible effort that the team are expected to give; the dangers and high stress of the pit stops; the myriad of famous drivers he worked with; and how Benetton and Schumacher stormed the world championships - amid great controversy - throughout 1994 and 1995. But The Mechanic's Tale is more than a collection of derring-do racing escapades; through his occasional digressions Matchett takes the reader on many colourful diversions, including an ill-fated ballooning trip; his views on the future of computer technology; and his slightly surreal comaprisons between Formula One and Orwell's 1984. All of that, combined with his attempts to make reason of Lewis Carroll's Jabberwoky, make this book anything but predictable.
Rating:
Summary: Was not what I expected
Review: Though many think this book as a sequel to Matchett's first novel, "Life in the Fast Lane", its main thrust is instead Matchett's career path from a mechanic working in both Ferrari and BMW to the Benetton Formula One Team to his resignation and transition from champion race mechanic to writer. It still contains some interesting anecdotes though from Nelson Piquet's penchant for farting when the mechanic rests his head on Piquet's lap to adjust the ride height of the car to Michael Schumacher's very photographic memory - he can give the chassis' behavior as the car enters and exits every corner of a race track. Matchett also quashes notions about Benetton having a 1st and 2nd driver - all cars are created equal from the chassis to its minutest parts. I was disappointed with the exposition as the author seem unable to decide whether the book is about his career path or an analysis of a Grand Prix event. Would have expected more analysis from him i.e. what he thinks of McLaren, Ferrari, who the best driver is, etc...
Rating:
Summary: Was not what I expected
Review: Though many think this book as a sequel to Matchett's first novel, "Life in the Fast Lane", its main thrust is instead Matchett's career path from a mechanic working in both Ferrari and BMW to the Benetton Formula One Team to his resignation and transition from champion race mechanic to writer. It still contains some interesting anecdotes though from Nelson Piquet's penchant for farting when the mechanic rests his head on Piquet's lap to adjust the ride height of the car to Michael Schumacher's very photographic memory - he can give the chassis' behavior as the car enters and exits every corner of a race track. Matchett also quashes notions about Benetton having a 1st and 2nd driver - all cars are created equal from the chassis to its minutest parts. I was disappointed with the exposition as the author seem unable to decide whether the book is about his career path or an analysis of a Grand Prix event. Would have expected more analysis from him i.e. what he thinks of McLaren, Ferrari, who the best driver is, etc...
<< 1 >>
| 
