The Limit: Life and Death on the 1961 Grand Prix Circuit

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More About This Book

Overview

In THE LIMIT, Michael Cannell tells the enthralling story of Phil Hill-a lowly California mechanic who would become the first American-born driver to win the Grand Prix-and, on the fiftieth anniversary of his triumph, brings to life a vanished world of glamour, valor, and daring.

With the pacing and vivid description of a novel, THE LIMIT charts the journey that brought Hill from dusty California lots racing midget cars into the ranks of a singular breed of men, competing with daredevils for glory on Grand Prix tracks across Europe. Facing death at every turn, these men rounded circuits at well over 150 mph in an era before seat belts or roll bars-an era when drivers were "crushed, burned, and beheaded with unnerving regularity."

From the stink of grease-smothered pits to the long anxious nights in lonely European hotels, from the tense camaraderie of teammates to the trembling suspense of photo finishes, THE LIMIT captures the 1961 season that would mark the high point of Hill's career. It brings readers up close to the remarkable men who surrounded Hill on the circuit-men like Hill's teammate and rival, the soigné and cool-headed German count Wolfgang Von Trips (nicknamed "Count Von Crash"), and Enzo Ferrari, the reclusive and monomaniacal padrone of the Ferrari racing empire.

Race by race, THE LIMIT carries readers to its riveting and startling climax-the final contest that would decide it all, one of the deadliest in Grand Prix history.

Editorial Reviews

From Barnes & Noble

"I'm in the wrong business," race car champion Phil Hill told interviewers, "I don't want to beat anybody. I don't want to be the big hero." And probably, in quiet moment of circumspection, this gentle man probably reflected that a sport that features driving more than 150 miles per hour in a vehicle without seat belt or a roll bar possesses as many dangers as rewards. Nevertheless. This former auto mechanic became not only a race car driver, but a winning one. In fact, he became the only American driver to win the Formula One World Drivers' Championship. This story tells his story of how he won in one of the deadliest races in Grand Prix history.

Publishers Weekly
Forget those NASCAR wimps; the European and Latin American sports scar and Formula One circuit of the 1950s is where real men raced—and died—according to this high-octane racing saga. Cannell (I. M. Pei: Mandarin of Modernism) follows two drivers for the Ferrari team: the steady American master-technician Phil Hill and a charismatic German bat-out-of-hell with the sublime name of Count Wolfgang von Trips. Driving day and night at insane speeds through cramped streets and blind curves without seat-belts or roll-bars, the two fight a war of attrition as dozens of competitors and teammates are mangled, cut in half, and burned alive in crashes. (Just watching the races was so lethal—“the hood spun loose and sliced through the crowd like a giant scythe, decapitating a row of spectators”—that the Vatican denounced them.) The author revs the narrative with greasy atmospherics and colorful figures like the Bond villainish motor mogul Enzo Ferrari—“What a pity. What about the car?” was his eulogy for a dead driver. There are also tales of womanizing, great stoicism, and a few pit stops for Nietzschean bombast: “It is danger and the insistent proximity to death that most ennobles the soul.” Cannell’s full-throttle epic leaves you breathless. Photos. (Nov. 7)
More Reviews (2) Fewer Reviews
Kirkus Reviews
Vivid biography of a fast-and-furious competitor on the Grand Prix racing circuit. Former New York Times editor Cannell (I.M. Pei: Mandarin of Modernism, 1995) freely admits to not owning a car nor considering himself a particularly "impassioned driver," yet his biography of Phil Hill, a California mechanic who became the only American-born driver to win the Formula One Drivers' Championship Grand Prix, is a passionate, ambitious work. The author retraces Hill's youth, eager to escape the grip of his domineering, argumentative parents as a kid maturing in Depression-era Southern California. An early infatuation with cars found him tinkering with engine parts rather than playing team sports. An indifferent college student, Hill soon dropped out to work as a mechanic and international motor salesman, a livelihood that financed his first flashy European sports-car purchase. Time spent as a Jaguar trainee spawned some accomplished racing of his own throughout his eventful mid 20s, a time when both of his parents died within months of each other and the racing enthusiast became plagued with anxiety spells. Cannell astutely draws on a wealth of sports publications, memoirs and magazines to convey Hill's distinctive passion for the raceway and his competitive nature that belied a reputation for being kindhearted, timid and prone to severe stress. Hill climbed the ranks as a Ferrari rookie driver and meticulous automotive diagnostician, and was soon joined by crash-prone German nobleman teammate Count Wolfgang von Trips. Winning the Italian Grand Prix in 1961 proved to be the bittersweet pinnacle of Hill's career as von Trips died in the same race in a tragic spinout that also killed 15 spectators. Cannell doesn't lean on the crutch of exposition to convey Hill's intrepid, sporty story, demonstrating great talent as a biographer. A crisply written, effectively compelling chronicle.
The Daily Beast
“A roaring zip. . . . Ostensibly about a single Grand Prix season The Limit is also a biography of a man whose ambition and fascination with technology embodied America’s post-World War II ethos.”

Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780446554725
  • Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
  • Publication date: 11/7/2011
  • Pages: 336
  • Sales rank: 35,137
  • Product dimensions: 5.90 (w) x 9.10 (h) x 1.20 (d)

Meet the Author

Michael Cannell
Michael Cannell

Michael Cannell has written about sports for the New Yorker, the New York Times Magazine, Sports Illustrated and Outside, and was editor of the New York Times House & Home section for seven years. His previous book, the critically acclaimed I.M. Pei: Mandarin of Modernism, was published in 1995 by Crown.

Customer Reviews

Average Rating 3.5
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Sort by: Showing 1 – 6 of 7 Customer Reviews

  • Posted January 3, 2012

    F1 Fans will enjoy but

    With the 1961 GP season being the first that I followed, this work was highly anticipated. Long-ago memories were waiting to be rekindled, and the spark was there. Sadly, it did not add the flame that was hoped for.
    Don't misunderstand, it was an enjoyable read, and added to my knowledge of the 1500 cc formula, it just didn't reach the level I had looked forward to.
    Those who would relive the season would likely be better served by locating vintage Road & Track issues with the late Henry N. Manney III's narratives.

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted April 16, 2012

    Good read overall

    The background and lead up were very well done, but I would have liked the writting on the 1961 season, the focus of the book, to have been a little more comprehensive. Still worth a read if your a fan of F1.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted January 1, 2012

    Great book!

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  • Posted December 31, 2011

    Life and death at the limit

    This is the story of the events leading up to the 1961 Formula 1 racing championship, the first ever won by an American. The central characters are Enzo Ferrari, founder, visionary and undisputed boss of the auto maker that bears his name, Baron Wolfgang von Trips, only son of a minor German noble family with the desire to live fast and drive fast and Phil Hill, California boy who loved cars and racing and became the first great American international driver. By the time the end of the '61 racing season ended they would see many of their friends and drivers die in pursuit of the ultimate racing title. It's a well told story of the greatest racing series in the world.

    Rating - **** (Recommended Read)

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  • Anonymous

    Posted October 30, 2011

    Great story - amazing storytelling!

    Fast-paced, exciting book - I couldn't put it down and I am certainly not a fan of race-cars. Michael Cannell did a great job!

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted February 1, 2012

    No text was provided for this review.

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