First edition signed by many, fine

Cannonball: World’s Greatest Outlaw Road Race
Author: Brock Yates
Publisher: MBI Publishing Company
Published In: St. Paul, MN, USA
Date: 2002
Pgs: 281

REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS

Summary:
The Cannonball Sea-to-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash, a coast-to-coast, New York to California road race. Movies were made. Stories were told. It actually happened, 4 times in the 1970s. In the days of the death of the American muscle car, when CAFE standards, corporate average fuel economy, were limiting the emissions and power of cars on American roads, these outlaws, inlaws, protesters, and proud Americans went on an odyssey across America. The idea being that well trained drivers could control their vehicles safely at necessary speeds and safely cross America, that there was no reason that the American Interstate System couldn’t stand alongside the German Autobahn. These are the stories of the drivers and the drive told in the words of the folks who actually drove the race.

Genre:
Adventure
Autobiography and memoir
Behind the Scenes
Biography
Film
History
Non-fiction
Society
Sport and leisure

Why this book:
I loved those movies. And the idea of reading the true stories of the actual races appealed to me.

This Story is About:
courage, working hard, doing the right thing, greed, friends, jealousy, love, caring, happiness, sadness, family

Story title is short story collection:
Favorite Character:
Brock Yates, the head outlaw in charge.

Least Favorite Character:
Shame that Robert Redford’s schedule wouldn’t let him do that initial run.

Character I Most Identified With:
Couldn’t find a character here that I really identified with. I see characters here that I recognize as archetypes that I’ve known all my life.

The Feel:
The book is on heavy magazine paper which is sorta cool. Gives it a different feel...even though that’s not the feel that I usually refer to in this section.

I wish this would have been more story and less recollection. I wanted this to be something that it wasn’t going to be. I liked it. But...just pipe dreaming.

Favorite Scene:
The realization that that wing they put on top of the van they made the initial run in was looking cool, but that was all it was good for as it ate mph and extra gallons of fuel.

One of the teams showing up dressed as priests as their Highway Patrol camouflage for the race. And The Right Bra Racing Team...obviously from their team picture, not wearing the aforementioned article of clothing.

The ambulance run.

The bra less Right Bra Team.

Pacing:
The pace is slow. To be expected in a book that isn’t really a story, but rather the recollections of people who took part in the various runnings of the Cannonball.

Plot Holes/Out of Character:

Hmm Moments:
The comment that was made after the 2nd Cannonball rings essentially true for me.
...We have maintained for a long time that a competent driver, in a good handling and braking car, is safer at 100 mph than an ill-handling, ill-braking hulk with a petrified driver at 50.

Makes me sad that so many of those who ran in these coast-to-coast rallys looking back on them from today’s perspective seem to be ashamed of it. I’d wear it like a badge of honor. Just makes me sad.

Reading about Yates hopes for the Cannonball Run movie and the way things turned out is sad.

Why isn’t there a screenplay?
There were a couple movies made from the bones of the Cannonball. None of them caught what Yates was looking for.

Casting call:
It’s a shame that the Cannonball movie with Paul Newman didn’t get made. That could have been awesome. No doubt, that movie would have held closer to Yates vision.

Last Page Sound:
Well...

Author Assessment:
It’s a decent read. I might like to peek at some of Yates other stuff just to see what his style is like on other subject matter.

Editorial Assessment:
Fine.

Knee Jerk Reaction:
it’s alright

Disposition of Book:
Library

Would recommend to:
genre fans ( )