Carroll Shelby Paperback – Illustrated, March 15, 2014

To begin this review I'll rate this book @ 5 STARS ! True the print is small but I'm having no problem reading it , to me the print is no smaller than most pocket books. Should note I do wear reading glasses & I'm no " Spring Chicken ". Maybe the small print permits more knowledge to be stored on less pages ? For a lover of Cobras & anything else Shelby especially the " MAN " himself it's already opened up a few unheard of stories I find new to me. Sure , there is a few omissions of really no importance but things like Ted Sutton getting recognized as the man that dropped the 427 in a 289 rolling chassis thus being responsible for building the first 427 Cobra ( CSX2196 ), the stories from Joan Sherman being there at Carroll's side promoting the Cobra from the very beginning while book-keeping , etc, etc & all the others ( & there's many ) that gave their 2 cent's worth to Rinsey. I find this book a very interesting read jam-packed with lots of antidotes from many people who were around Carroll from the very early part of his life to the present. Just check out the Author's Acknowledgements on page 536 & the Forward to the book on page 7 by Edsel B. Ford. The book for me is a long read & of course being a Cobra fanatic you can well imagine my first chapter of choice. But Carroll's story from start to the present is very interesting indeed & if you have followed motor racing you will read of a lot of race drivers & car owners , builders , etc, that intertwined with Carroll's interesting life that you will recognize. It's all here, his childhood, growing up, service life as a pilot, his business's, race car driver, innovator, his ventures, his wives, Africa, the ups, the downs, an incredible story of success, failure & adventure. THANK YOU RINSEY, CARROLL, & ALL THE CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS BOOK - 5 STARS , an excellent addition to your Cobra Library. !

Ian not sure how the book was as I got it as a gift. For what I was told it was good.

I'm not a racing cars enthusiast, but I became interested in learning more about Carroll Shelby after seeing the movie Ford v Ferrari. I'm also not an avid reader, so I was a bit put off when I saw this thick book with pages full-up with printing, top-to-bottom, side-to-side, but as I started reading, I found the writing style very easy to read, entertaining and interesting, and my initial visual impression of the book turned out to be symbolic of the lifetime described within. What a full life this man lived, much of it made possible by the transitional and transformative times in which he lived, and I loved reading every page of it.

Very informative, very detailed. Well written.

I gave this 4 stars because it is extremely well written and thorough. Being a motorsports fan of all kinds this is the first book I ever got about a legendary racer. Rinsey Mills did a great job, I just learned reading about racing isn't near as exciting as watching it.

This is not only a very detailed, deep dive into the life of Carroll Shelby...it is also a deep dive into the history of road racing in the 1950s and 1960s. If you're a car guy you should read this book. As an American, you should acquaint yourself with story of how difficult it was to build decent American sports cars back in the day...we couldn't have done it without the Brits. Although this is the 'authorized biography', it doesn't always show Shelby in the most flattering light. No punches are pulled...especially in the interviews with the female principals in this true life drama (some really awesome zingers about famous automotive celebrities you will know). But again, this is a detailed history...an interesting and important body of historical information...not what I would call a exciting page-turner for the average person who doesn't care about cars or racing.

There's been many magazine articles, books and coffee table photo-books printed over the years on Carroll Shelby. With the release of this book I was hoping for a well laid out history of the man, his cars, his racing teams and his private life.What I got instead was a poorly written, poorly edited, rambling rollercoaster of a book. Whoever edited or proofed this book, if it even was proof read at all, they should be sacked. The grammar and punctuation, even by American standards, is appalling.I'm positive that many hours of research were spent in preparing this book, but the final delivery really needs work.Hopefully a revised edition is reprinted, with a clearer storyline and greater attention to grammar. If you only have a passing interest in CS, look elsewhere. If you're a keen enthusiast of the brand, you might consider buying this book just to add to your existing library.Overall, it's a bit disappointing.

Thick book full of information starting from Shelby's birth.It bogged down a bit early on during his racing career when all the other drivers were mentioned.But this is the book to read to separate the myth from the facts regarding the Cobra, the Daytona, Lemans and who actually was responsible for the success at Lemans.I wish it covered the 427 Cobra more and it could use a lot more photos.I would recommend it for Shelby fans.