Lewis Hamilton, the first black Formula 1 driver, and the first to win a Formula 1 grand prix, the second rookie to win more than two races, the first rookie to win consecutive races from pole position, the youngest Briton to win a grand prix, and of course the youngest ever winner of the drivers championship (I should say that this was true at the time the book was written but Sebastian Vettel, who won the championship last month, is now the youngest driver to win the championship), just to name a few accolades. The book is about Lewis Hamilton’s rise to the top of the racing world, and those who helped him along the way, and how he transformed into a British national hero, similar to the likes of David Beckham. It says that Lewis has always remained humble in a sport dominated by the rich and people who would not give the fans the time of day. However, Lewis has become a hero to many people, the young boys who want to be him, the racing fan who admire him and are amazed at his abilities, women of all ages for his off track personality and his biggest fan and supporter throughout his life, his father Anthony. The author, Frank Worrall, is an English journalist and has written many other biographies. Being English adds some bias towards Lewis Hamilton, especially in the chapter about his feud with Alonso where he puts a negative image in the readers mind about Alonso. Although Worrall tries to write without bias he can never truly achieve this. He too, along with almost the entire British population, would have been caught up in the Lewis Hamilton hype and must have felt some bias towards Lewis while writing this book. The books major strengths are that it is very chronological so the reader is not confused about the timeline and it also makes it easier to piece Lewis’ story together in their minds. One weakness is that the information and facts sometimes bombard the reader with too much information, and sometimes the author strays off topic. There a very thorough chapter on the Hamilton family background and the author talks in depth of the island of Grenada and this is too overwhelming with all the other information passed on to the reader. However, this creates a very detailed story of Lewis and with all of this information the reader is never asking questions and all of the gaps in the story are filled. In conclusion this book is an interesting read for anyone who is interested in Formula 1, however, if the reader does not have a small piece of previous knowledge on Lewis or on Formula 1 the book can be a bit challenging and confusing with some of the terminology, but the information is overwhelming for every reader.
Lewis Hamilton, the first black Formula 1 driver, and the first to win a Formula 1 grand prix, the second rookie to win more than two races, the first rookie to win consecutive races from pole position, the youngest Briton to win a grand prix, and of course the youngest ever winner of the drivers championship (I should say that this was true at the time the book was written but Sebastian Vettel, who won the championship last month, is now the youngest driver to win the championship), just to name a few accolades. The book is about Lewis Hamilton’s rise to the top of the racing world, and those who helped him along the way, and how he transformed into a British national hero, similar to the likes of David Beckham. It says that Lewis has always remained humble in a sport dominated by the rich and people who would not give the fans the time of day. However, Lewis has become a hero to many people, the young boys who want to be him, the racing fan who admire him and are amazed at his abilities, women of all ages for his off track personality and his biggest fan and supporter throughout his life, his father Anthony. The author, Frank Worrall, is an English journalist and has written many other biographies. Being English adds some bias towards Lewis Hamilton, especially in the chapter about his feud with Alonso where he puts a negative image in the readers mind about Alonso. Although Worrall tries to write without bias he can never truly achieve this. He too, along with almost the entire British population, would have been caught up in the Lewis Hamilton hype and must have felt some bias towards Lewis while writing this book. The books major strengths are that it is very chronological so the reader is not confused about the timeline and it also makes it easier to piece Lewis’ story together in their minds. One weakness is that the information and facts sometimes bombard the reader with too much information, and sometimes the author strays off topic. There a very thorough chapter on the Hamilton family background and the author talks in depth of the island of Grenada and this is too overwhelming with all the other information passed on to the reader. However, this creates a very detailed story of Lewis and with all of this information the reader is never asking questions and all of the gaps in the story are filled. In conclusion this book is an interesting read for anyone who is interested in Formula 1, however, if the reader does not have a small piece of previous knowledge on Lewis or on Formula 1 the book can be a bit challenging and confusing with some of the terminology, but the information is overwhelming for every reader.
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