"Silverstone-- The Story of Britain's Fastest Circuit "

“Silverstone—The Story of Britain’s Fastest Circuit” by Peter Carrick. 174 pp. 8¾ in. 5½ in. (Pelham Books Ltd., 52 Bedford Square, London, WC1B 3EF. £3.90).

There have been previous books about race venues—Brooklands, Montlhery and Donington, so an account of the popular Silverstone circuit where so much British motor racing has taken place and which was our salvation after the war after Brooklands and Donington had been destroyed by officialdom, is equally welcome. The style is popular without omitting technicalities and all the highlights of Silverstone are included, motorcycle and saloon-car racing as well as the top events. The Royal attendance, the close finishes, the accidents, and the comedy are well-portrayed but more important is the information this book contains about the origins of the nowfamous airfield circuit and the finances relating to it. The part played in the evolution of the course by Tom Blackburn and the Daily Express is well covered but the author might have been more generous to the VSCC in saying it was responsible for that first post. war speed trial at Elstree.

To pack everything about Silverstone into one book would be virtually impossible but as a popular survey Carrick’s book is deserving of attention, especially as the photographs used do it full justice.—W.B.