One Good Run: The Legend of Burt Munro [Paperback]

Tim Hanna (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 25, 2006

Here is the amazing story of Kiwi motorcycling legend, backyard engineering genius, and land speed record holder Burt Munro. Munro was the archetypal eccentric inventor. He took an original Indian motorbike and modified it in his shed so it became capable of extreme speeds. From small town New Zealand in the 1920s to heroic accomplishments in the USA, Munro was still inventing up until his death in 1978. This is very much a "little guy beats the odds" story-Munro still holds several records in the US-as a mark of respect, the category he raced in was "frozen" for all time. The publication of the book has been timed to coincided with the movie The World's Fastest Indian, directed by Roger Donaldson and starring Sir Anthony Hopkins, scheduled for release October 2005.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Tim Hanna is a former advertising copy writer, he has also written for television and is a motorcycle enthusiast in his own right. He has personal connections to director Roger Donaldson.

Product Details

• Paperback: 300 pages
• Publisher: Penguin Global (January 25, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0143019740
• ISBN-13: 978-0143019749
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #654,821 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #89 in Books > Sports & Outdoors > Miscellaneous > Motorcycle Racing

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars one good run : The Legend of Burt Munro, March 2, 2006

By 

Charles A. crawley "artiecee" (Sydney Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: One Good Run: The Legend of Burt Munro (Paperback)

Just brilliant. A great true storey of perseverance persistence and dedication to his one love his trusty Indian Scout.
Having bought it brand new in 1920 as a 21 year old, then selling and eventually buying it back. Burt was self taught as a mechanic engineer and manufacturer.
As parts were modified he made them, and made them using the most rudimentary tools and any second hand materials he could find.
From a small rural town in New Zealand he took his, by now, much modified bike to Bonneville Salt Flats and 200 miles an hour, when the bike was more than forty years old.
This book is called The Worlds Fastest Indian in other markets, the same name as the equally brilliant movie which hi-lights some of Burt's adventures. He loved to travel to America and the people he met there. He most certainly loved riding and modifying his Indian Scout.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great book, May 25, 2006

By 

Sepp Seitz (Durham, NC United States) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: One Good Run: The Legend of Burt Munro (Paperback)

I saw the movie first and absolutely loved it. Got the book from Europe after two failed attempts to order in the US.
It is an inspiring story with a good mix of technical detail and personal info about Burt Munro. It's well written all in all, not high literature, but a good bio style. Captivating and easy to read. Has some nice photographs also.
I loved the movie but thought that some scenes must have been exaggerated for dramatic purposes. Reading the book made me rethink: attaching a tree to the trailer to fix a lost wheel, old men need love too, mowing grass by burning it with gas,... It all appears in the book also, maybe slightly rearranged in the timeline though. Some things the man has done make you shake your head in disbelief.
If you like bikes, liked the movie, and like to read, you more than likely will enjoy this book also.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good story about a unique man, October 26, 2006

By 

Michael J Edelman (Huntington Woods, MI USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: One Good Run: The Legend of Burt Munro (Paperback)

If you've seen, and loved, The World's Fastest Indian, you might want to think twice about reading this book. Despite a good deal of romantization on the part of author Tim Hanna, the Burt Munroe depicted here is not exactly the kindly old coot seen in the movie. The real Munroe was a single-minded, often difficult, man who, in truth, abandoned his family, and ignored a good many social graces in order to pursue his one interest single mindedly.

But then, history is rarely made by gentle, accomodating people, and in this regard, the real Burt Munroe does not disappoint. While the movie is charming in its depiction of the kindly innocent abroad, the real story is much more complex, and in the end, much more interesting. Munroe was anything but the naiive innocent abroad on his first (of many) trips to America. He'd lived in Australia, travelled to England and much of the continent, and was quite the sophisticated traveller when he arrived at Bonneville. His knowledge of engineering was indeed largely self taught, but he also took advantage of the wisdom and experience (and good graces) of many others who advised him along his way.

Hanna does a very good job of telling Munroe's story- although he is perhaps a bit too eager to recreate conversations and internal monologues for my tastes. Still, it does help to move the narration along. And he does treat Munroe's relationship with his family rather perfunctorily, although I suppose it could be argued that it's not really the aspect of his life that people are most interested in.

Fans of motor racing and motorcycles will find much to enjoy here, particularly as George Begg's biography of Munroe (which Hanna acknowledges was a major source) is no longer in print.