Book description
The quest for the land speed record in the 1960s and the epic
rivalry between two dynamic American drivers, Art Arfons and Craig Breedlove.
"Interesting and complex. . . .The best job I've seen done on
the subject so far."
-- Craig Breedlove
Until the 1950s, the land speed record (LSR) was held by a series of
European gentlemen racers such as British driver John Cobb, who hit
394 miles per hour in 1947. That record held for more than a decade,
until the car culture swept the U. S.
Hot-rodders and drag racers built and souped up racers using car
engines, piston aircraft engines and, eventually, jet engines. For
this determined and dedicated group, the LSR was no longer an honor to
be held by rich aristocrats with industrial backing -- it was brought stateside.
In the summer of 1960, the contest moved into overdrive, with eight
men contending for the record on Utah's Bonneville Salt Flats. Some
men died in horrific crashes, others prudently retired, and by
mid-decade only two men were left driving: Art Arfons and Craig
Breedlove. By 1965, Arfons and Breedlove had walked away from some of
the most spectacular wipeouts in motor sport history and pushed the
record up to 400, then 500, then 600 miles per hour.
Speed Duel is the fast-paced history of their rivalry.
Despite the abundant heart-stopping action,
Speed Duel is foremost a human drama. Says author Samuel
Hawley, "It is a quintessential American tale in the tradition of
The Right Stuff, except that it is not about extraordinary men doing
great things in a huge government program. It's about ordinary men
doing extraordinary things in their back yards."
[Review of print edition] [starred review] In the 1960s, young
American hot-rodders, working in garages and backyards, mounted a
challenge to the World Land Speed Record (LSR) long held by gentlemen
British racers like Malcolm Campbell and John Cobb. Best known among
them was Craig Breedlove, a movie-star-handsome young Californian with
his "Spirit of America" jet-powered car. Chief challenger was
Art Arfons, a drag racer from rural Ohio in his "Green
Monster." Also in pursuit of the record were Walt Arfons, Art's
estranged brother; Athol Graham in his homemade "City of Salt
Lake"; and Nathan Ostich, a doctor who designed and drove his
"Flying Caduceus" as a hobby. Hawley captures the
seat-of-the-pants excitement and terror of crashes at 600 mph at the
Bonneville Salt Flats. This well-told overview of the car culture of the
1960s, with photos of the legends of the LSR, is a gripping read that
will provide a jet-fueled adrenaline rush to racing fans and readers who
enjoy social history in the style of Mark Kurlansky and Erik Larson.
Samuel Hawley studied history at Queen's University and is the
author of The Imjin War: Japan's Sixteenth-Century Invasion of
Korea and Attempt to Conquer China. He lives in Kingston, Ontario.
