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The Driver: My Dangerous Pursuit of Speed and Truth in the Outlaw Racing World | 
 enlarge | Author: Alexander Roy
Publisher: Harper Paperbacks
Category: Book
List Price: $14.95
Buy New: $8.00
You Save: $6.95 (46%)
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Rating:  44 reviews
Sales Rank: 141819
Media: Paperback
Edition: Reprint
Pages: 336
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 8.9 x 5.9 x 1
ISBN: 0061374997
Dewey Decimal Number: 796
EAN: 9780061374999
ASIN: 0061374997
Publication Date: October 1, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
The riveting memoir of a life lived at the right-hand edge of the speedometer. Alex Roy's father, while on his deathbed, hints about the notorious, utterly illegal cross-country drive from Los Angeles to New York of the 1970s, which then inspired his young son to enter the mysterious world of underground road rallies. Tantalized by the legend of the Driver—the anonymous, possibly nonexistent organizer of the world's ultimate secret race—Roy set out to become a force to be reckoned with. At speeds approaching 200 mph, he sped from London to Morocco, from Budapest to Rome, from San Francisco to Miami, in his highly modified BMW M5, culminating in a new record for the infamous Los Angeles to New York run: 32:07. Sexy, funny, and shocking, The Driver is a never-before-told insider's look at an unbelievably fast and dangerous society that has long been off-limits to ordinary mortals.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 39 more reviews...
 The Driver November 16, 2008
Gary Smith (Louisville, KY)
4 out of 11 found this review helpful
As a driver in the last real Cannonball in 1979, I find this book absolutely fascinating in so many different ways. A few random thoughts:
1. At the beginning, Alex tries to set some sort of foundation for the book by creating a monumental amount of double talk in a vain attempt to imply that his father is somehow connected to the real Cannonball. Did he drive in it? Did he apply, get accepted and not go? Did he apply and get turned down? Did he not even apply? No evidence of anything is offered. Given Alex's efforts to document in mind-numbing detail his own cross-country trip, it's a safe bet that his father had no connection in any way, shape or form to the Cannonball. I'd say my grandmother is more connected to the Cannonball than Alex's father. At least she's related to someone who actually did it. Since Alex has the word "truth" on the cover, he might want to consider modifying the beginning of the book.
2. Alex seems to think that what he does is really "dangerous". That word is also right there on the book's cover. Anyone who knows anything about Brock Yates and the origin of the Cannonball knows that the whole objective was to point out how underutilized our speed-limit-constipated interstate system was compared to more enlightened folks like the Germans with their no-limit autobahns. Alex's "accomplishment" is no different than a German housewife on the Autobahn on the way to the grocery.
3. Alex seems to feel that his time of 31:04 is just flat out amazing. He conveniently forgets that when the last Cannonball was done in 1979 the interstate system was not yet finished. In Arizona and New Mexico in particular there were numerous sections not yet built. Real Cannonballers that year were sitting at dead stops at red lights and stop signs in countless small towns where Alex now gets to drone along in triple-digit territory on the nearby now-completed interstate. Dave Heinz and Dave Yarborough won it in 1979 in 32:51 with only a radar detector. Tom Hickey and a couple of buddies were right behind in 32:59 and they didn't even have a radar detector. Needless to say, neither had GPS, cell phones, Google Earth, scanners, night vision, gyroscopically stabilized binoculars, HID headlights, airbags or spotter planes. Neither had extra fuel tanks, either. Myself and a couple of buddies did it in a two year old Camaro with a bone stock driveline making a whopping 170 horsepower. Our top speed was therefore limited to around 115 and we finished in 39:45. Dave Heinz and Dave Yarborough had a Jaguar XJS and Tom Hickey had a 6.9 Mercedes, both of which could drone along at 130 to 140 quite nicely. Tougher than LeMans, Alex says? Please. Dave Heinz held the LeMans record for many years as the highest finish for an American driver in an American car in the GT class in a Corvette. He thought of his 32:51 in the Cannonball as a fun, relaxing weekend. Oh, by the way, it took Alex three tries to come up with his 31:04 even with a completed interstate system. His first try was a 34:46, his second a DNF. No real Cannonballer got a "best of three" opportunity.
4. Alex constantly reminds us of his "multiple trophy wins" in the world of "rallys". One of them turns out to be a "style trophy". That's nice. Real enthusiasts think of things like the FIA's World Rally Championship or the Paris-Dakar Rally when they hear the word "rally". Certainly not hokey, gimmick-laden contrivances like the Gumball or Bullrun.
5. Alex Roy endlessly tries to give the impression that he is "obsessed" with cross country driving. After reading this book it appears his main obsession is an insatiable need for self-promotion and publicity. Sort of like a Paris Hilton on wheels. I wonder if she's represented by the William Morris Agency, too?
 Great Book! August 23, 2008
Randall K. Scoggins
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
All i can say is that this guy is my hero! The book is well written and very easy to read. I really wish it was longer though...
Driving and then some. June 29, 2008
Hunter
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
A myriad of enthusiastic book reviews tout this book as "the best frickin' book ever" and, suffice it to say, I agree. Wholeheartedly. Thus, to avoid duplicity, I wanted to comment briefly on a less-reviewed aspect of "The Driver," one that seems to often take a back seat (pun intended) to the racing/high-speed/gumball-rallying/party-all-night theme that is the subject of innumerable other reviews: the author's attempt to answer some big questions in a car.
Clearly Mr. Roy can drive. Obviously he is a brilliant strategist. It is axiomatic that he is insane. But some of my favorite scenes in the book did not take place in the lovely M5.
Thus, for those who are thinking of buying this book and, also, in response to those who have taken the time to pontificate, often so carelessly, about Mr. Roy's life, and to judge, all too easily, his passion for racing and the actions he has taken in the exploration thereof, I humbly offer this.
To understand what makes this book so special, it is important to read and understand those passages that do not relate to the garmins, radar jammers and police outfits that otherwise make Team Polizei the wonderful and ridiculous phenomenon that it is.
Indeed, when read holistically, "The Driver" is a fast-paced journey through a world of insane cars, playboys and rally-racers just as much as it is a window into the driver's personal search for that which money can not buy. Meaning. Answers. Passion. "Cadillacs."
Excellent for the Gumball enthusiast - could do without the suspected fiction... June 8, 2008
Chris (NP, New Zealand)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
On the whole, a very good book.
The best parts are the recounts of the Gumball battles and the road racing. However, I think Alex felt the need to tie all the events in the book together with a single underlying storyline - one that I think is fictional. To me, it's too incredible to believe, and I don't think Alex would have believed it at the time either.
This book is really a must for Gumball enthusiasts. While it is accessible to those not familiar with Gumball, I would say it's most enjoyed by those in the know. An excellent accompanyment to any DVDs you have, as it gives amazing tales of antics not seen in the documentaries - both off the road and on!
Some of the stories are so enthralling I didn't want them to end, and this was one book I couldn't wait to pick up again after work.
Best book I have ever read. June 2, 2008
M. Compier (Sparta MO)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
This book is the best book I have ever read, A lot of information in it and still written in a way its easy and fun to read!
Anybody who is remotely interested in reading just has to read this book!
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