A Brief Review of A.J. Baime, Go Like Hell: Ford, Ferrari, and Their Battle for Speed and Glory at Le Mans

Go Like Hell, published in 2009, is an excellent read. I am sorry it took so long for me to get around to looking at it.

The book centers on the rivalry between Henry Ford II and Enzo Ferrari, and their organizations. It culminates with the 1966 Le Mans 24 hour endurance race and in reading this, you are pushed to the finish line at a speed akin to the race itself. In the process of telling this story, Baime contextualizes GP racing during the first half of the 1960s, and does it with remarkable style. Yes, the author characterizes the two chief personalities mentioned above.  But he also does a remarkable job of describing the agony and ecstasy of auto racing at the highest level, and drivers who lived and died during this time -- Ken Miles, Carroll Shelby, Masten Gregory, John Surtees, Phil Hill, and others. I can think of no other book that does a better job in telling this story of one of the most exciting times in racing history.