Customer Reviews

Death of Ayrton Senna

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

 

 

I was a big fan of Ayrton Senna at the time of his tragic death and remember clearly the events during the race weekend. Reading Richard Williams account of how things unfolded brought back all the emotions of that time. Especially good was the chapter describing his funeral, for a couple of reasons. Firstly he conveyed just how much Brazil loved their man and I was able to fully empathise with them on their loss. Secondly he provided details which anyone outside of Brazil, such as myself, probably did not know. I found myself sobbing again with the grief as if it had only just happened. The rest of the book skims over Ayrton's career and you'd get a better idea of who the man was and be awestruck by his achievements if you read Christopher Hilton's book The Hard Edge of Genius. The account of the accident itself and the ensuing legal action is enlightening and brings together information previously scattered about in newspapers and periodicals, putting it together in a logical timeline. Overall a good read but it doesn't get 5 stars because I felt there was something a little lacking, substance-wise.

I must confess: the first time I heard about Senna was when I saw Asif Kapadia's film. I've never been interested in motor racing, in fact in any kind of racing, generally speaking I'm not into sports. I went to see the film just because it was presented as a documentary and I loved it. Brilliant. I was totally fascinated by Senna's complex personality, his charisma. I saw the film several times, then I started to buy books and read about him and his absolute passion for formula 1. I think Senna was a gift to Formula 1 taking into consideration that even now, 17 years after his death, his personality is capable of making new fans. And this is good for all the drivers of that era, otherwise they are almost forgotten or unknown (to those who are not formula 1 fans). I would've never known that Alain Prost,G. Berger, Ron Dennis,and so many more ever existed if I hadn't have the wonderful opportunity to watch the film and see the real Senna in action. I am so happy that his life never became a biopic made in Hollywood with an actor in Senna's role. I loved the book written by Richard Williams. First I read another book and I was kind of disappointed although it contained lot of information. I didn't like the style though and I was disappointed thinking that Ayrton really deserves much better writing. The way Asif Kapadia made such a compelling film, Richard Williams accomplished in the book. I read in two days and I loved it. I highly recommend it.