Winning Is Not Enough

Simply put, the wee Scot Jackie Stewart is a treasure. He has done so much for racing, and safety, and with his later work for Ford, driving in general. Plus, having personally had the pleasure of meeting him more than once, I can confirm that he is a genuinely nice man. But everything we thought we knew about Sir Jackie was mostly related to his racing persona.

This long-overdue autobiography is so nicely done, so brutally honest. He goes into great detail about his dyslexia, his educational challenges and the impact this had on his life. In fact, the way he describes the pain and shame of feeling “stupid” almost makes the reader want to look away. I doubt this could not have been written by a younger Jackie.

And of course he tells the whole story of his crusade to make Formula One a safer sport. There’s no telling how many lives were saved thanks to his hard work and dogged pursuit of FIA officials, track marshals and medical personnel. Jackie Stewart is one of a handful of people responsible for the popularity - and survivability - of Formula One today. If you’re a fan of motor racing, or if you enjoy a good biography of a interesting life lived well, you’ll enjoy this book.

Early parts of book very interesting, but second half not so much. He names every single person he had any contact with, and drops a lot of names. He writes in detail about his dogs. His spin on a couple of the stories doesn't ring quite true. But he does deserve a lot of credit for making the sport safer.