Customer Reviews

The Unfair Advantage - Special Edition Hardcover

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I remember being in college in the '70's and seeing ads in Road & Track for this book. It sold back then for about $12.00 (first editions, no less!) Unfortunately, a full tank of gas in those days was $2.75 and a bag of White Castle hamburgers was less than $2.00, so the book was out of reach. And then it went out of print, became a classic and got further out of reach. About 8 years ago, I found a copy in our local library and finally got a chance to read it - which I did in one sitting. It was like having Mark Donahue sitting next to you spinning some yarns, telling tall tales and explaining "what it's like out there." I met Mark's son, David, a few years after that at a Porsche club meeting and asked if he had a copy of the book to sell! He told me he didn't even have one for himself. He did say that there was talk of doing a reprint and lucky for us, it has happened. If you want to relive one of the most exciting periods in racing (with remarkable insights into the growth of the Roger Penske juggernaught), by all means get yourself a copy of this book. I just received the soft cover version and it's a keeper. Another wonderful racing book is Sterling Moss's - "All But My Life."

Being thirtysomething and more familiar with European than American motor racing (for inexplicable reasons there seem to be a great divide there, as also Mark Donohue alludes to) this was not first on my list of must-read's. However, unable to escape continued references in Autoweek and picking up interest in technique and technical aspects through own amateur formula racing I decided to buy this book in November - with no regret.

Donohue, while refraining from sidetracking into his personal life, nonetheless comes across as a whole human being, complete with anxiety, jealousy, hopes, fears, enthusiasm, dissapointment, pride and competitive spirit. I would have liked to work with this man who was a gifted driver and a great pioneer in motorsports.

His achievements were many and hereof his innumerous victories and role in building the Penske empire merely a part of the story. Donohue developed the "American", a.k.a. modern driving technique of braking, turning and accelerating in one smooth integrated action. He made strides in understanding aerodynamics, suspension geometry, "bumpsteer", tyre applications and basically all other aspects of driving and setting up a race car. He drove allmost all on-road racecar types of the era, including Nascar, Canam, Transam, LeMans, Formula 1, IROC, Formula A - unlike most other drivers, he was involved in several completely different race programs in the same season; a tremendous effort.

Reading this book will give you an appreciation of the complexity of setting up and keeping a race car competitive. It will not teach you how to do it but you may just have the interest to find out once you have been smitten by Donohue's indomitable thirst for knowing what makes a car do what under which circumstances and what you in turn can do to get the most out of it.

Mark Donohue was the thinking mans racer. He not only knew how to make a "plain Jane" into a race car but he knew WHY his steps worked. He had no need to worry about racing being a "black art"...He was an engineer who applied his knowledge to his racing projects and had fun while he was doing it. His book could be used for a "basic training" manual for a "racer-in-training". His untimely death "short-chainged" the racing world. If we were still graced with his presence, he would SHURELY have changed (for the better) the landscape of racing as we find it today. He is sorely missed but at least his memory and his book can teach us a few things about this "black art".

In many ways I sought after and bought this book because of its collector value and mistique. I was very surprised, however, to find that it is well written and quite and interesting read. The book is organized around the various cars that Donahue raced throughout his career, until his first (and unfortunately not permanent) retirement. He discussed the people involved in each of the cars, the challenges faced, mistakes made, and unfair advantages gained through innovation, preparation, and discovery. He is surprisingly candid about his own failings and feelings, but it is strictly professional. There are really only a handful of sentences that speak about his private life.

If you are interested in American racing throughout the 60's and early 70's this is a fascinating book. Donahue comes accross as insightful, humble, and at times insecure. It is a remarkable contrast to the overwhelming ego presented in books like FASTER! by Jackie Stewart. It's not an easy book to find, nor inexpensive, but if you are interested in the genre it is well worth the trouble and expense.

There are very few motorsports books extant that can be called true classics or world-changers. This is one of them, and it's one of the best on top of that. Mark Donahue was an extrordinary individual, not only a blindingly fast driver, but also a talented, disciplined, and most importantly, curious engineer.

To have the virtues of both top-level driver and top-level engineer embodied in the same person is a very rare combination. To have been present - indeed, to be one of the driving forces behind - a revolution within a sport and an industry is even rarer. To have this person write about his experiences while busy changing the world is precious beyond price.

To put it simply, you cannot be a student of the profession of motor racing without reading this book.

I offer this as evidence: while I am by no means an autograph hound, I do, from time to time, have occasion to encounter people within the motorsports family whom I admire enough to want to collect an autograph from. I use my copy of The Unfair Advantage as my autograph storage device. Putting this book in front of people like Jackie Stewart, Carroll Shelby, and Carroll Smith results in a shock of recognition, followed by praise for the author. What greater endorsement could you want?

This is a book I waited to be reprinted for a long time. Mark's honesty about his weaknesses and fears is a sign of his strength and desire to be the best. I admired him for his accomplishments and even more for his drive after reading this book. He helped make Roger Penske the racing legend he is. Will we ever see a man like Mark again? I doubt it!

It has been 30 years since Mark Donohue won the Indianapolis 500 (1972). My, how time flies! Mark was the at the peak of his career when his life was snuffed out in a race car crash. Mark Donohue and Roger Penske completely revitalized autoracing and changed everybody's thinking about how to run a successful auto racing team. Mark and Roger took auto racing to new levels of professionalism. Gone were the days of t-shirts and oily blue jeans, replaced by clean uniforms. Gone were the days of hamburgers and french fries, replaced with healthy food for the crew. Gone were the days of towing of the race car on an open trailer pulled by a rusty old pickup truck, replaced by semi-trailer trucks. His book "The Unfair Advantage" should be manditory reading for any race car driver or business professional. If you expect to get a head in the game of life, you should read this book.

This book is easily one of the best narratives about racing I've ever come across. It is a personal and honest account of the late Mark Donahue's racing career from his impromptu start to the zenith of his career in Formula 1, Indy Racing, and Can Am to his retirement.

Anyone who races or aspires to race will delight in his firsthand recollections of his racing exploits and his perspective on one of the great programs in motorsport history (the Can Am Porsche 917).

Highly recommended.

A book of this size usually takes me 1-3 days to read. This one took 2 weeks and I hated having to put it down. Its the story of a man whose only ambition was to be the best in his chosen profession. The book is full of interesting stories about the development of his race cars and driving techniques. A must read for anyone who enjoys motorsport.

I saw this book last weekend at a Vintage Race being held ther by HSR-West and figured it would be a great collectos item. But it is a lot more than that; it is a real insight to the trials and tribulations of racing and race car development. Donohue comes out as a very humble driver and he is not afraid to admit his mistakes and that of the team. This is a book that you don;t to put down but you also don;t want to be finished with it. I did see Mark Donohue at one of the Riverside Trans-Ams in 1968. I was always wondering what really happened at the end of the 69 season to make Penske swith to that AMC junk and now I know.. Do not miss this book.