Customer Reviews

Stealing Speed: The biggest spy scandal in motorsport history

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A excellent book! I cannot believe this story is not more well known and written about. The story about Ernst Degner is amazing and full of twist and turns, this book should be made into a movie. I enjoyed the story about Walter Kaaden, it makes me appreciate what a great man he really was and receives so little recognition still to this day for his dedication to the advancement of the 2 stroke engine. This book is a fast moving story that I did not want to put down until I was finished. Matt Oxley is a fine writer and gives insight that only a motorcycle racer could, especially when describing the racing action at the Isle of Mann TT.

Any motorcycle racing fan who lived through the fifties to the eighties should be interested in this book. A wonderful look behind the scenes of the mighty battles being raged while we were just enjoying the races. This book was needed to leave witness to the history of a sport that concerned not only stealing speed, but also stealing freedom, betrayal, and living a sport which kept the riders on the edge of death, and indeed took away the lives of many great racers.

I grew up during the 50s and 60s. I got my first motorcycle in 1967. I've worked on Suzukis professionally since 1974 and even worked for American Suzuki as a service rep from 1981 through 1996. I now teach in the Suzuki program at Motorcycle Mechanics Institute in Orlando. Yet, even with all that background. most of this story was new to me. I don't find it surprising as the Japanese are masters of copying, refining and improving ideas. Who knew that the 2-strokes we rode and loved in the 70s had their origin in Hitler's "buzz bombs?" This book is a must for any fan/student of early Japanese motorcycles and GP racing in the 60s. It ranks right up there with the story of Kim Newcombe and the Konig. ([...]) Definitely a must read for any serious fan of the era. It's not that thick a book, but packs a lot of history into a few pages.

Seems the publisher wouldn't sell this book directly in the USA. Mine was under backorder for almost a year after it went to press, and I was finally forced to cancel from Amazon. Instead I ordered it from a bookseller in the UK and it shipped immediately.

This book will appeal to motorcyclists, mechanics, engineers, 2 stroke fans, Suzuki fans, MZ fans, historians, race fans. You get the picture. Kaaden and Degner's story is gritty and it's easy to underestimate the change these two had on the evolution of Grand Prix and Japanese motorcycle companies.

Matt Oxley has written an enthralling tale about a subject many of us knew only on the periphery, so the unravelling of the story of Nazi engineering, cold war politics and motorcycle development, is very hard to put down. Highly recommended.

What a great read! A true story that provides great insight into a unique period of time. Intrigue, suspense and competition plus the underdog-beating-the-big-guys twist. I couldn't put it down. I have passed the book on to two different friends and they had the same reaction.

I greatly enjoyed this book. It is an easy, entertaining, yet informative read. It is not only a document of classic motorcycle racing events, but it also gives a feel of Cold War history.

I think anyone can enjoy reading 'Stealing Speed', although some basic interest in motorcycles or an identification with the presented time period may help. To fully appreciate the content it may be also handy to know the difference between a two stroke and a four stroke.

I liked the style of the narrative. It is not a typical journalistic documentary where the author tries overly hard to sell his story by using sensationalist language. What made me feel skeptical, and why I would give it 4.5 stars if I could, is that he misspelled several of the German names and expressions throughout the book. It makes me wonder whether Mr. Oxley's sources were not reliable or if he did his research sloppily. Either way, I hope that doesn't mean the other facts, as presented, aren't also to be taken with a grain of salt.

This is a great book that, in my opinion, will appeal to many readers. It combines technical facts, adventure, and great characters. Best of all it is a true story. Highly reccomended to the motorcycle enthusiast or anybody that just enjoys a good story!

Great historical perspective of those who risked everything so we could have heros and the modern race bikes that we have today. An awesome story!

I'm with you Charles, this would make a great movie! I really enjoyed the book, even if you are only slightly into bikes and racing you will be amazed by this story. I found it to also be a great bit of insight into the scene of East/West Germany at the time and how it played into motorbike racing of the era. And yes, the writer got it spot on with his lap of the IOM circuit, great stuff.