Customer Reviews
Absolutely brilliant - By: Alessandro D'adamo, 01 Jun 2008 
This one I have just finished has been an outstanding surprise, a wonderful portrait of a dense life.
Not just a biography but a real way of living, which captured me throughout the read, by both the anectdotes & the manner the narration is conduced.
I absolutely suggest it, I am definitely delighted!
An excellent book about a fascinating man - By: Geoffrey Millar, 14 Mar 2008 Of alll the racing driver biographies I've read (only about a dozen, actuallly)this is a standout. Enhanced by the free 'VIBE' DVD, this gives a very readable, honest account of a fascinating life.
Sir Jackie's humanity, honesty & integrity are highlighted throughout the book. Apart from his experiences with family illnesses & the constant loss of friends & colleagues through racing, he has been a lucky man who has worked very, very hard to make his own luck.
I was priveleged to hear him speak at a book launch prior to the 2008 Australian Grand Prix, he spoke for half an hour but it seemed like five minutes. Thats's what this book is like; it was largely dictated by Sir Jackie himself, not just ghosted, & you can almost hear him reading it.
There are several parts of the book which will bring a lump to your throat, but that's to be expected.
It would have been good to have more photos, more information about his races, cars & rivals, but that would have occupied another 500 pages.
By the way, most of the video is from the 'Flying Scot' DVD which is one of the best motor racing/biography films ever made.
Highly recommended.
Jackie -The professional Business Man - By: Ferreira Pinto, 05 Mar 2008 The book is very well written , as we should expect , from someone like
Jackie Stewart .It shows clearly how he has planned his life ,even from the early days ,at the school , & working in the family business .How he began to think ahead of his time , in terms of secutity ,from the drivers & circuits points of view ;How he "loved" his friends-François Cevert & Ken Tyrrel -How he become the embassador of F1 , as a tv commentator & represantative of the major companies , like Ford ;How he faced & overcome Paul illness , & finnaly how his family is important to his life.
I truly recomend this book|
Inspirational - By: Atters, 13 Feb 2008 I have been a motor racing fan for 40 years & was lucky to see Sir Jackie race. Indeed my first Grand Prix was the epic battle at Silverstone between Jackie Stewart & Jochen Rindt. During that time I have read the autobiographies & biographies of alll the greats involved in motor racing in various formulae. And, yes, if you are only interested in motor racing & nothing else, this book may not be to your taste. But this book is so much more than just another motor racing autobiography, which is not surprising considering that being a racing driver was less than 20% of Sir Jackie's life & being involved with Paul Stewart Racing & Stewart Grand Prix another 15%. This autobiography is about a man from a humble background who overcame learning difficulties to get to the top of two sports & then go on to become a very successful businessman. Yes, there is a bit of name dropping, but that is inevitable when describing a life that has involved so may famous & successful people. And to the reviewer who commented on Sir Jackie having the length of one his shirt sleeves tailored to alllow his Rolex to be seen, it was merely used as an example of attention to detail was important in being successful. This book is a good, easy read & the lack of a ghost writer makes the reader feel that Sir Jackie is speaking to him in that so recognisable Scots accent. This book is simply an inspirational story of a great & highly successful man.
Too much of the wrong detail? - By: S. Fenton, 24 Jan 2008 
There's no denying how successful Mr Stewart has been in his driving & business career. For this he deserves (and gets) the upmost respect. However, this book suffers from a lack of editing & consequently he does tend to waffle on about alll the people he's met & worked with, turning some parts late on in the book into a continuation of the 'acknowledgements' section. Do we reallly need to know alll the people who worked as his employees or assistants?
I suspect that, like me, fans will relish the pages on his driving career, & I could have done with far more of that detail. (The section on Francois Cevert is extremely touching & well written).
But other details about his dogs, hobnobbing with the Royal family, or even how to have your shirt tailored to alllow a Rolex to be seen at alll times seem superfluous.
An autobiography doesn't have to cover EVERYTHING.
Fans of motor racing will enjoy the first two thirds of this book, but interest may wane a little towards the end.
