Enzo Ferrari by Richard Williams

This is delightful book on the life of Enzo Ferrari. It treats his universe as an evolution rather than being born by some big bang or immaculate conception. You feel like his personal driver(s), chef, accountant and barber have all been referenced for this behind-the-scenes feel of the book. There are the usual suspects, those closest to Ferrari who have for the most part been reverently quiet about their boss, but Williams has dug a bit deeper than other authors. For example, we know that Ferrari was denied a position at FIAT after the war. We (I) didn't know the man who turned him down was named Diego Seria. I'm impressed. 

I like the telling of the early racing days and the time with Alfa. There is even mention of his motorcycle racing team, which was pretty extensive. The Ferrari egg was his racing career. The Scuderia of the 20s and 30s was the larval period, feeding, learning and growing. After leaving Alfa he entered a pupae stage where his metamorphosis took place, and he emerged from the war a new creature, ready to fly.  

There are a lot of books on this subject, even some in Enzo's own words. It's hard to tell where specific information comes from. Yates' book was very well researched and he offered a lot of insight (some of it heavily biased) but history is a tough thing to document accurately. The story of Ford Motor Company's courtship of Enzo Ferrari has been told many times, sometimes by those who were there first hand, yet there are differences in all the stories. In Williams' accounting, using Franco Gozzi as a source, the deal  terminated in an explosion. In Don Frey's (Ford's representative) recollection in Road & Track, he made it sound like negotiations ended quietly with Enzo and Franco walking out for dinner.

One place where biographers seem to agree is a point I'd argue. In most books we're told that the only thing that really mattered to Ferrari was Formula One, and that he never attended races. Both Williams and Yates books treat GT, sports and prototype racing as an aside. Endurance racing is pretty well glossed over in both books. Le Mans is given only a paragraph or two in this book. But Enzo not only created cars for these races, but picked the drivers, manipulated rules and relied on sports car's success to catapult his name to glory. He not only attended all the Mille Miglia races, but stationed himself at a checkpoint giving strategy to the drivers. This is not incidental involvement. In the early days he used GT and prototypes as development for GP cars as often as he used GP cars as a way to improve the sports racers.

This book flows along well. It is written in a conversational style and really feels like the author has an inside track to Enzo's life. His personal and professional life seems to be handled with an even hand. The author shows the rough spots respectfully and the glories without too much applause. It's a good read and I recommend it to anyone interested in a clear and thorough telling of this great story.