by A. J. Baime
First published 2010
By the early 1960s, Henry Ford II faces a crisis. His grandfather's company is losing ground while baby boomers crave speed and style over the practical vehicles Ford produces. Across the Atlantic, Enzo Ferrari dominates European racing with his beautiful but deadly sports cars, earning the nickname "the Assassin" for the drivers who die racing them. Ford knows he must act boldly to revive his company's fortunes. With visionary executive Lee Iacocca and former racing champion Carroll Shelby, Ford hatches an audacious plan. They will invade Ferrari's domain by designing and building an American race car capable of defeating the Italian master at Le Mans, the world's most prestigious and brutal endurance race. No American manufacturer has ever accomplished this feat. The story follows Ford's risky venture into high-stakes European racing, where drivers abandon safety and sanity in pursuit of victory. This corporate rivalry becomes a personal battle between two automotive titans, played out on racetracks where the margin between triumph and disaster measures in milliseconds.
Genres: historical-fiction, 20th-century, business, adventure, sports, action, racing, american-history
Vibes: fast-paced, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: corporate-rivalry, underdog-story
Setting: Atlantic Ocean, Europe, Ferrari, Ford Motor Company, Le Mans
Period: 1960s
336 pages · Paperback · Mariner Books