Forza Amon! A Biography of Chris Amon [Hardcover]

Eoin Young (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 2003

Chris Amon, a New Zealand sheep farmer's son who led the Ferrari team for two seasons in the late 1960s, is remembered in Formula 1 as the best driver never to win a Grand Prix. Yet his contemporary Jackie Stewart rated him 'one of the world's foremost drivers' and Jochen Rindt considered him a true rival. Eoin Young, an ace storyteller, chronicles the life of this extraordinarily unlucky racer who was driving at the age of six, had a pilot's license at 16, and raced a 1954 250F Grand Prix Maserati a year later.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'This won't disappoint' Motor Sport 'affectionate and readable' Formula 1 Magazine 'long overdue' Motorsport News 'Worth a read' Classic & Sports Car

About the Author

New Zealander Eoin Young, a distinguished motorsport journalist, has known Chris Amon since he first arrived in Europe to make his career as a racing driver. Young's autobiography, It Beats Working, published by Haynes in 1996, sold nearly 5,000 copies. He lives at Great Bookham, Surrey.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 239 pages
• Publisher: Haynes Publishing (December 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1844250164
• ISBN-13: 978-1844250165
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,991,855 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Go, Chris!, May 17, 2006

By 

Enrique de la Hoz (Madrid, Spain) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Forza Amon! A Biography of Chris Amon (Hardcover)

A big fan of Chris Amon, I tried to follow his career and watched some of the Formula One races where he was comfortably leading (Jarama 1968, Montjuich 1969) and must have won. The way I felt witnessing his car breaking down those times, I cannot even imagine how he must have felt! I also watched some other of his rides during those years in Spain, France and Britain. And I unfortunately missed his masterful driving pieces at Monza, Spa and, very especially, Clermont-Ferrand. After all, not much F1 on TV then, and no time and money to get to every Grand Prix there was.

And here I found, a few months ago, his biography written by no less than Eoin Young. Besides attending a race live, the other best way of knowing what was going on, and getting fine entertainment out of the reading, was to get a copy of Autocar, (not easy to find here in Spain) and read one of Eoin's articles. Of course, I couldn't miss this book!

I really felt transported to the "good old times", and enjoyed enormously the reading. It was much better than attending the missing races, and knowing first-hand about Chris personality, ups and downs, were both gratifying and touching. I especially savoured the italian anecdotes of his Ferrari times: His lunches in the company of the great Enzo Ferrari, were really something, not to mention the return trips with the Old Man at the wheel of the 2+2 Berlinetta. And the situation during the '67 Le Mans 24-hour, in the middle of the night, trying to replace a punctured wheel of his P4, can make you laugh to tears.

I believe this book is a must for anyone interested in the history of motorsport. Thanks to Eoin for such great reading moments.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Forza Amon!, October 22, 2005

By 

Jared M (New Zealand) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Forza Amon! A Biography of Chris Amon (Hardcover)

"Forza Amon" is the first full length biography of this legendary unlucky driver, and is a ripping good yarn. Previous writings about Amon were usually hindered by the fact that Amon was considered to be part of a trio - Bruce McLaren and Denny Hulme were other New Zealand drivers participating in Formula One at more or less the same time as Chris, and there are a number of "Trio at the top" titles which deal with all three New Zealanders. "Forza Amon" is written by a fellow New Zealander, Eoin Young, who used to work for the McLaren Racing Team in the 1960's, and later on as a motorsport journalist. Young and Amon both knew each other back in the early McLaren days when Chris was an up and comer in the game.

The tale begins with a young Kiwi on a farm in Bulls, New Zealand, the same young Kiwi who would taste the ultimate success at Le Mans in 1966, and who would go on to lead the famous and illustrious Ferrari team in their F1 efforts. During a Formula One career spanning 13 seasons from 1963 to 1976, Amon would famously lead 183 laps in Formula One Championship races, failing to finish first even once (he did win a couple of non-championship F1 events, including the 1971 Argentine F1 race).

Yound writes of Amon's early motorsport endeavours in small town NZ in the 50's, before debutting with Reg Parnell's outfit in 1963, having made the trip to Europe. The glory days with Ferrari, March, and Matra are covered. The distasterous Amon F1 car is discussed, as is the shambolic 1973 effort with Tecno, before Amon stepped into the 3rd Tyrell for the penultimate race of the season. Chris's F1 career winds down with Ensign, the little outfit for which Chris finished 5th in one race.

The book benefits from what appears to considerable input from Chris himself - it is obvious that Young spent a lot of time down on the family farm in Bulls, coaxing these stories out of Chris over a beer (or dozen). Young also draws upon contempory writings particularly those of Motorsport and Denis Jenkinson. There are a number of photographs, colour and black & white in 4 inserts throughout the book. "Forza Amon!" is fast, easy, and enjoyable reading especially for those who dislike the sanitized Formula One of today.

3.0 out of 5 stars Just okay, September 12, 2008

By 

S. J. Moore (Christchurch, New Zealand) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Forza Amon! A Biography of Chris Amon (Hardcover)

Despite some glaring omissions, such as the lack of any detail about Amon's first marriage, this is a very interesting biography, especially for a New Zealand reader who is old enough to remember Amon's racing years. The book is good but noticeably shorter than Young's biographies of Bruce McLaren and Denny Hulme.