BOOK REVIEWS
The Boy – Stirling Moss: A Life in 60 Laps by Richard Williams (Sportsbookofthemonth.com price: £16, saving £4 on rrp)
On the surface, his seemingly nonchalant manner and an easy smile capable of attracting the ladies might make Sir Stirling Moss sound like a playboy, an early version of Simon Templar’s ‘Saint’, but behind the relaxed exterior lay a determined, steely-eyed professional sportsman who readily embraced Formula One’s inherent dangers.
Moss raced professionally over 500 times until a near fatal crash in 1962 brought his career to a premature end, yet he remained loved by the British public for the rest of his life as much for his achievements as for his patriotism and gentlemanly behaviour.
In 1958, for example, he finished second in the F1 championship to compatriot Mike Hawthorn, missing out on the title by a single point.
Moss would have been crowned champion were it not for an act of selflessness rarely seen in any sport after he helped Hawthorn overturn a ruling disqualifying him from the Portuguese Grand Prix.
Moss competed in an age when endurance races were popular and it was not unusual to drive flat out for up to eight hours, stopping only for fuel.
Moss’s devil-may-care attitude is summed up by his attitude towards crash helmets – he only wore one after his father insisted.
However, together with most drivers, he shunned seatbelts because he and his fellow competitors believed that in the event of an accident it was safer to be thrown from the car instead of being stuck in it.
Not surprisingly, there have been several very good Sir Stirling Moss biographies, in particular Robert Edwards’ 2014 version, but Richard Williams, a former Guardian sports writer, has done a fantastic job bringing the noise and smells of post-war F1 to life.
Williams’ narrative races along probably because he avoids ‘processionalism’, the tendency to list his subject’s achievements in chronological order and build a story peppered with well-worn anecdotes around it.
Instead, Williams transports readers back in time to F1 pits where we’re deafened by the roar of Maseratis and Ferraris limbering up as their drivers prepare for what was often a death-defying assignment.
Oh, and here comes Stirling Moss, fresh from his latest victory at Monza – relaxed, unhurried, donning his signature white crash helmet and light blue boiler suit. You could be in Monaco. If and when you’re ever allowed to visit the tiny principality, The Boy would be most appropriate holiday reading.