The Fastest Men on Earth: 100 Years of the Land Speed Record

by Holthusen, Peter J. R.; Arfons, Art

• ISBN13: 9780750922036
• ISBN10: 0750922036
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2000-02-01
• Publisher: Trafalgar Square

Summary

Peter Holthusen recalls the challenges, dangers, disappointments, tragedies and triumphs that have characterized record-breaking attempts from the very beginning. Holthusen reconsiders the famous careers of Frenchman Camille Jenatzy and Leon Serpollet William K. Vanderbilt Jr., the Honorable Charles Rolls, Henry Ford, Barney Oldfield and Louis Chevrolet, who were among the great sporting legends of their time and he relives the more recent rivalries of a later generation. He asks why these exceptional individuals are prepared to risk their lives and their fortunes in order to become the fastest man on earth.

Table of Contents

Foreword	vii
Art Arfons
Acknowledgements	viii
Humble Beginnings	1	(7)
Alternative Power	8	(7)
Setting up the Sport	15	(6)
Magnificent Men, Mighty Machines	21	(49)
Parry Thomas and `Babs'	21	(4)
Persona Grata	25	(7)
Sir Malcolm Campbell
The English Gentleman	32	(7)
Major Henry Segrave
The Anzac Challenge	39	(6)
Norman `Wizard' Smith
Italian Interlude	45	(5)
Foresti
Villa
Kaye Don and the Sunbeam Silver Bullet	50	(4)
Mormon Conquest	54	(7)
Ab Jenkins
Eyston and Cobb and their Silver Leviathans	61	(9)
Last of the Purists	70	(33)
In his Father's Shadow	70	(13)
Donald Campbell
A Chapter for the Challenger	83	(9)
Mickey Thompson
The Summers Brothers -- The Forgotten Heroes	92	(11)
The Dawn of the Rocket Age	103	(9)
A Jet is Poised	112	(42)
The Flying Doctor	112	(5)
Dr Nathan Ostich
Art Arfons and the Green Monster	117	(12)
The Force Behind the Wingfoot Cars	129	(7)
Walt Arfons
`The Spirit of America'	136	(18)
Craig Breedlove
New Politics and a New Technology	154	(36)
A Legacy of Speed	154	(11)
Gary Gabelich
Against the Wall	165	(15)
Stan Barrett
Motive for a Mission	180	(10)
Richard Noble
The Drama in the Desert	190	(14)
Epilogue	199	(5)
Aussie Invader 3	200	(1)
North American Eagle	201	(1)
Sonic Wind	201	(1)
Maverick	201	(3)
Appendix: Evolution of the Land Speed Record	204	(5)
Bibliography	209	(2)
Index	211