Customer Reviews

Can-Am Photo History

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Taken together, this book and Pete's "Can-Am", put a human face on this unique time in American morotsports. The cars were unlimited, the men larger than life. Pete's easy flowing writing style punctuated by previously unpublished photos and interviews allow those of us who were there to return, and the newbies to grasp the flavor of what they missed.

The book fulfills the personal dream of one Can-Am enthusiast: to stroll through the pits of that golden era, camera and tape-recorder in hand, chatting with the greats and not-so-greats, with the knowledge of how it all turns out, and a historical appreciation of what surrounds me...

The photos are breathtaking, and the interviews enlightening. Take this snippet from John Surtees, on his dice with Hall at Riverside in '66: "...the Lola worked well [on the straights], we were running minimum flap and things on it. So the race had that pattern: he'd out-squirt me coming throught the hairpin on the long straight, I'd get right in the slipstream, he'd drag me along, and then I'd have to try to out-brake him again. Oh, that was a good race." Or, this one from Jim Hall: "One of the beauties of being a race car builder in the time that I did it was the fact that it could be a one-man show. I could have ideas and produce them and go try them, and find out whether they were any good or not. I got to actually feel the car was better, and it went faster. That's one of the nice things about racing, that you get instant feedback." For those of us who were there, Pete has a gift for turning history into literature, heroes into persons, then into now. Thanks Pete!

First of all, I have to say that I loved Pete's first book on this subject,"Can-Am". When I heard he was doing a second book, I was a bit skeptical. Was he simply milking the topic for a few more bucks? How could he top the original? Well, he did it! With its in-depth and very enlightening interview format (there's even an interview with Denny Hulme, done shortly before his death) and its wealth of superb all-new photographs, this book is a Can-Am lovers dream! Lyons captures the look and feel of the old, "real" Can-Am as we remember it, and as those who lived it remember it. My sole complaint: Too short! Tack another 100 pages onto the next one, Pete!

This book is the perfect complement to Mr. Lyon's first book on the Can Am series.

Rather than a race by race account, the book presents a quick season overview, a review of the machines of that year and then takes a focus on one or two personalities whose impact affected that year most strongly. Most of the material is new and it is fascinating. The material on Jim Hall and Peter Bryant alone make this book a must read for anyone who saw these cars race or wished that they had.

If you're only going to buy one book, buy Can Am. If you want a broader view of the series, the men and the machines, then Can Am Photo History is the book. Together, they're an awesome set.

As I spent many summers at Mid Ohio Sports Car Course watching these cars, the memories and insights into these awesome cars are irreplaceable.

Besides the hundreds of wonderful photographs, Pete Lyons has put together a delightful, insiteful, and informative collection of history, anecdotes, interviews, and technical details. Mr. Lyons has made a great contribution to the history of motorsport by commiting to print these interviews with the giants of the sport. His reporting is very up close and personal and imparts a rich human element to those heady days of thunder.

I give five stars for content, but only about three stars for publishing quality. Certainly this edition is clear enough and the photographs are of sufficient resolution to provide detailed study, but I personally would pay $100 for a premium edition printed on high quality stock with high quality inks.

Now if we could persuade Mr. Lyons to turn his keen eye towards the Grand Touring Prototype era of the late 80s-early 90s...

This book is one of those "must-haves" for dyed-in-the-wool racing fans. I will always love the Can-Am series, and this book brings it to life, in vivid detail (nearly 40 years later).

I have the Can-Am Book that Precedes this(Also a Hardcover) and This: Can-Am:Photo History(1999,Hardcover and softcover I have the Hardcover with Beautiful Chaparral 2G on the cover,the one Jim Hall hates.) In this follow up to Can-Am yes it is a Pictorial full of black and white pictures as well as Color and a color gallery however there is text and good reading not on the scale of the previous book which was a Reader with Plenty of pictures itself,this one has pictures not shown in the last book, The only beef I have is Can-Am Being Compared to Revolutions around the world? What Revolutions in Particular are being talked about? As Usual Revolutions never Work(Think of the Magnitude of Mayhem and Murder in Russia,Lenin,Stalin,In Cuba Fidel,Che.) So a better choice of words would have been better. Can-Am was a time when Cars were Cars and Men were Men, Probably one of the Only Good things about the Sixties Was The Racing,Can-Am was no Holds-Barred Forumla Libre Throughout North America before the Europeans In FIA decided to Have The 2J car Banned and when The Porsche sadly came in and Ruined Can-Am, From Mclaren with the Beautiful Chevrolets Destroying everything in Sight to the Chaparrals,Ford Might have gone to Le Mans and Won And Beat Ferrari But No Marque Touched Chevy In Can-Am.I was not even Conceived or to have been lucky to witness these monsters before "Political Correctness" (Earth Day,Hybrids,4 Door Sportscars,Electrics) Ruined the Landscape.