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.

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!

Great Book for Auto Racing Fans

This is a great book that chronicles the Ford vs. Ferrari racing feud in the 1960s, culminating at the race at Le Mans in 1966. The book seems meticulously researched. It moves extremely well and reads like a novel. One of the central characters of the book is Ken Miles, a mechanical genius and racer who was a key part of the development of the Ford GT. Ken's story was largely lost to the sands of time, and it was really great learning about this talented and important man.

In addition to the excellent story, the book does a great job setting the scenes in Detroit and Europe in the 1960s. Those were very different times when everything seemed possible and the book does a great job of capturing them.

The narration is excellent and adds to the enjoyment of the book.

Great story for all car guys

Fantastically written. A must read for racing fans and car guys everywhere. Lots of history. I could not put it down.

Highly entertaining

If you enjoy learning about the golden era of motorsports this book is for you.

such a fantastic read!

I watched the movie and then resdthis book. it's one of those times where the book is better than the movie.

Incredible work!

AJ you are an amazing writer! Thank you! Go Like Hell! I will never forget Ken Miles!

Great Story!

The story was read very well and held me captivated throughout. The truth is, Ken Miles won Le Mans in '66, the idea of a tie and the technicality that crowned Maclaren the winner was a disgrace to sports. Setting up a tie is not a race.

Ford vs Ferrari

Goes into a lot more detail than the movie. Learned a lot! Ford and Ferrari were both over the top owners.

Fantastic story coupled with incredible narration

It’s difficult for a narration to transport you behind the seat of a 60s race car, but this audiobook does just that. Wow.