Go Like Hell

Ford, Ferrari, and Their Battle for Speed and Glory at Le Mans

By: A. J. Baime

Narrated by: Jones Allen

Length: 8 hrs and 49 mins

Publisher's summary

By the early 1960s, Ford Motor Company, built to bring automobile transportation to the masses, was falling behind. Baby boomers were taking to the roads in droves, looking for speed not safety, style not comfort, and Ford didn’t offer what these young drivers wanted. Meanwhile, Enzo Ferrari lorded over the European racing scene, crafting beautiful, fast sports cars that epitomized style.

Baime tells the remarkable story of how Henry Ford II, with the help of a young visionary named Lee Iacocca and a former racing champion turned engineer named Carroll Shelby, concocted a scheme to reinvent the Ford company. They would enter the high-stakes world of European car racing, where an adventurous few threw safety and sanity to the wind. They would design, build, and race a car that could beat Ferrari at his own game, at the most prestigious and dangerous race in the world, the 24 Hours of LeMans.

Go Like Hell transports readers to a golden era in racing when Ford’s innovative strategy led to victories on the track and renewed respect for the American automobile.

©2009 Brian Biegel and Peter Thomas Fornatale (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

Riveting

Great way to learn about the history of European racing in the 50s/60s. I'm hooked. Loved the movie too but this contains so much more detail. Great narration, well done.

An absolute must for any true racing enthusiast.

An absolute must for any true racing enthusiast. Puts you in the driver's seat where you can actually feel and hear the engine RPM'S.

Must Read (Hear) for Car Fans and History Buffs

This is a great slice of American and automotive history. I enjoyed this audiobook tremendously.

Unfortunately, narration is very poor. The narrator attempts to do foreign accents. This is distracting and quite frankly somewhat offensive. His Enzo Ferrari accent is not politically correct.

Ford vs. Ferrari battle in the 1950s & 1960s

This story is central to how racing jumped into the space age from the folksy start after WWII.

Most of the names were my heros growing up in the 1960s.

Riveting

I've heard this story time and time again. as not much of a Ford fan you can't help but appreciate tenasidy. on all sides this is a well written and narrated audiobook.

the sad thing is much like group b of rally racing, only death pushes safety.

fantastic story of events

this story is so amazing. came here after watching the 2019 movie Ford v Ferrari, this book should be heard by everyone.

Glory Days of Racing. Great Story

I am a sports car racing fan, but I never knew the history of the iconic Ford GTs and the Ferraris of the 60's. this book was fantastic.

A great book!

The book is very well written and the reading is entertaining. Both keep you pulled into the story. I highly recommend this.

A piece of automotive history unknown to most

If you could sum up Go Like Hell in three words, what would they be?

Competitive automotive testosterone

Who was your favorite character and why?

Ferrari- because he's up against an increasingly powerful opponent, but comes back to fight!

Have you listened to any of Jones Allen’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No-

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Go like hell, but the first one to get there loses.

Any additional comments?

Educational and entertaining

They should make this into a movie.

What made the experience of listening to Go Like Hell the most enjoyable?

Jones Allen did a great job with the character voices including pronouncing names and places in Italian, French, English and American accents.

What did you like best about this story?

Ford and Ferrari are bigger than life men with egos to match. Both of them had an enormous impact on the auto business and racing in particular. The stories about many of the drivers and the tension between their urge to win and the risks they were willing to take was very interesting.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Just Win!