Here Are Two Book Reviews
1. Straight to the point, a book review from Marcus Pye, the UK’s leading motorsport commentator, historian and motoring journalist:
“Roberto your book is a joy”.
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2. An in depth review from "The Society of Automotive Historians"
"Roberto Giordanelli, the author of “Confessions of a Test Driver. From a Pedal Car to Formula One. The Story Behind the Stories”, is not just a test driver but is also a qualified engineer, a car restorer and builder, a successful racing driver, a qualified race driving instructor, a qualified sports coach and a recognised consultant in legal cases as well as a prolific author. It is that last skill which makes this such an interesting and enjoyable book.
Mr Giordanelli, a freelance throughout his career, has the rare ability of not only being able to drive exceptionally well, but also to understand what the car is doing, or not doing, and to explain it fully. It is undoubtedly this ability which has enabled him to get the respect and confidence of the likes of Maserati and Lamborghini works teams, as well as the owners of British racing cars to get him access to events and places few others have achieved.
This is undoubtedly a motoring book, but it is also part travelogue, part family history and part motoring history. Mr Giordanelli has dual British and Italian nationality, and whilst he has a love for things Italian, he prefers to live in the UK. The story is told year by year, so we read of numerous trips to the Continent as well as the USA and South Africa. Of his family we are told that in 1940, when Italy declared war, his mother, who was in the Italian armed forces, happened to be in London so she just hid her uniform, didn’t say anything to anybody, so escaped detention whereas his father, also in the Italian Army, was captured in North Africa and made a Prisoner of War.
Mr Giordanelli tells his readers about the mouth-watering selection of cars he has driven fluently and understandably. He doesn’t like clogging his story with technical detail but uses sidebars containing that stuff. He also tells the manufacturers and race teams what problems there are, or improvements that could be made, many of which have been adopted. Whilst never a formal member of any team, his considerable ability has secured him invitations to race many cars.
The history part of the book gives sufficient technical and other data to explain the evolution of several supercars. This is helpful for those of us who get confused by the profusion of models such as Countach, Diablo, Miura, Espada, Murcielago, Gallardo, Jarama and Aventador (they are all Lamborghinis by the way). Coverage includes many Italian supercars and racing cars as well as British cars, which are usually mentioned favourably. For example: his turbocharged monster Jaguar E-Type built in the early 1970s that got banned by the Modsports Association.
Mr Giordanelli has an often-irreverent sense of humour which enlivens many of the stories. This lavishly illustrated book is very well produced, informative, easy-to-read and highly recommended."
Google Roberto Giordanelli, and his website gives more information on the author.