A Brief Review of Neal Bascomb's Faster: How a Jewish Driver, an American Heiress and a Legendary Car Beat Hitler's Best

Neal Bascomb, Faster: How a Jewish Driver, and American Heiress, and a Legendary Car Beat Hitler’s Best.New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2020.

 

The power of the narrative line. An enduring story focusing on motorsport history that features Many of the people involved without neglecting the car. An historical era that we never tire reading about. All of that wrapped up in a most entertaining read. In a few words, that is Neal Bascomb’s Faster: How a Jewish Driver, an American Heiress, and a Legendary Car Best Hitler’s Best.

 

At the heart of this story is French driver and later New York restaurateur René Dreyfus. Dreyfus was always fast, but rarely won during the 1930s because the cars he drove were not as good as the best in competition. As the book unfolds, Dreyfus is paired in this chronologically told story with German driver Rudi Caracciola, the “Rainmaster.” Caracciola was perhaps the most famous driver during the golden Grand Prix era of the 1930s, eventually becoming the lead pilot of the Mercedes-Benz Silver Arrows. Both Dreyfus and Caracciola’s stories have been told before, but not in the framework of such skilled prose and historical context. The climax of this rivalry takes place at the French town of Pau, where in 1938 the first Grand Prix race of 1938 takes place and an epic battle between the two protagonists is played out. It proves to be a clash between two men, organizations, automobiles, and nations.

 

The heiress who made Dreyfus’ bid at Pau possible was Lucy Jeanne O’Reilly Schell, American born but French adopted. It is Lucy Schell, a Monte Carlo rally driver with deep pockets, who sees to it that a once ailing car company, Delahaye, develops the 145, a model that is competitive with the Mercedes Silver Arrows. Schell put Dreyfus in the driver’s seat, and one remarkable win at Pau is the result. 

 

Along the way to Pau many characters are woven into this auto racing tale – Manfred von Brauchitsch, Jean Bugatti, Charly Caracciola, Louis Chiron, Alfred Neubauer, Tazio Nuvolari, Berd Rosemeyer, Hans Stuck, and many more. Indeed, the book brings in a cast of hundreds, including Adolf Hitler who lurks in the background.

 

The main elements of the story have been told elsewhere by Dreyfus, Beverly Rae Kimes, Rudi Caracciola, and others. However, Bascomb, starting little knowledge of automotive history and racing technologies – has pulled it all together in a masterful way. This work lifts the human spirit, while exploring human foibles and flaws. It is simply a great read.