The First Inklings of Disaster

Back in the 1950s, most automotive news was delivered by magazines, but not all of it. The particularly important events such as the Indy 500 were covered by national media outlets, but little else.

Unless there was a huge disaster, then, suddenly, all the clueless people who didn’t even know what a cylinder was had a strong opinion about whether racing should continue.

Such was the case in the 1955 Le Mans accident in which a driver and more than 80 spectators were killed. The news was splashed over all the major newspapers.

And the magazines barely managed to cover it until the next month.

One of the magazines that had to make do with just a quick column was the July 1955 issue of Road & Track–and they only had that because they were already planning to save that small portion for the Le Mans results, which they knew would be arriving just as they went to press.

So in their single-column “Late News” section, all they could do was give it half a column, of which only the first ten lines or so spoke of the accident, with the rest of the space being reserved for the results. I agree with this take–racing has always been a dangerous sport, even for spectators. Even in today’s hyper-sanitized-to-the-point-of-boredom racing environment, we saw a loose wheel fly over the crowd and land in parking lot at Indianapolis. When danger is part of the sport, and something happens, you can’t only focus on the tragedy; you need to move on and also give the sporting results. I applaud R&T for having done that.

The rest of the mag was similar to what, by this time, I’ve come to recognize as the standard for mid-50s Road & Track: an interesting mix of imported cars and early sports car races.

Gustavo Bondoni’s latest book is a high concept science fiction novel entitled–perhaps controversially–Fat Man. He hopes readers enjoy the book as much as he loved writing it… but mainly, he hopes it makes them think. You can check it out here.

Conan Doyle and Others

Serendipity struck last week as I happened to be working on a Sherlock Holmes story for Belanger books (a couple of books with my Sherlock Holmes stories in them feature here) when my to-be-read pile spat out the Winter 2022 issue of Fine Books & Collections, with Arthur Conan Doyle looking serious on the cover.

Now, I’ll be honest. Though I’m not even remotely a book collector, this magazine is probably my favorite thing to read of all time, so no matter who they put on the cover, I’ll enjoy it. But it was cool to feel that extra connection.

As always, the mag is full of things that anyone interested in culture, and particularly in the physical manifestations of that culture, such as books, maps, prints, etc. will enjoy enormously. It’s not necessary to hoard fine editions to be able to appreciate heir beauty, and if something does catch your eye, chances are it can be bought by normal humans… or at least a version of it can. Perhaps not the collectible first edition, but something similar which gives the feel of the piece without the monetary outlay.

So in this one, you can appreciate the stark simplicity of an original edition of Frankenstein or the artistry of the man who photographed the Land Art movement… or even the results of a never-completed worldwide mapping program.

For people with curiosity–and for book collectors, of course–this one is chock-full of wonders, and I eagerly await the next issue to pop out of the depths of my TBR pile.

Gustavo Bondoni’s latest book is a high concept science fiction novel entitled–perhaps controversially–Fat Man. He hopes readers enjoy the book as much as he loved writing it… but mainly, he hopes it makes them think. You can check it out here.

A Design Issue, and Some Fifties Musings

The July 1955 issue of Road & Track was interesting, and the whole little stack of fifties R&Ts also has interest quite aside from the old cars that are inside.

The major difference between this issue and others is that John R. Bond, the magazine’s publisher and editor had an article in which he mediated a discussion between two design giants: Strother MacMinn and Robert Gurr. The discussion took apart the styling of both prewar greats and more contemporary cars, with each being dissected by the clinical eye of men who made their living at the craft. I found it fascinating to see what they thought were good and bad points of designs I merely saw as classic.

But it’s not just in design aspects that things have changed in the intervening decades. The whole philosophy of putting together a magazine appears to be different.

For starters, and I may be completely wrong about this, the editor appeared to be an opinionated autocrat who was constantly at war with half of the reading public (those who loved American cars) and with not a few of his writers and contributors. Sure, Bond would print their pieces, but he wasn’t above slapping an editorial at the end of the article to say the writer was “too generous” in their assessment of whatever it was they were writing about.

His hand was in every nook and cranny of the magazine. He wrote many articles, intervened in others and answered some of the letters in an often acerbic way. I can only imagine how that would go down today. (my opinion of modern editors is that, while they are autocratic, they will always be “aligned” with whatever the bandwagon du jour might be. If it’s morality, they’ll force everyone to do that, if it’s diversity, they’ll make you wear pronouns on your name tag. You will never, ever know the real opinion or political stance of an editor you work with. It might happen to coincide with the fad or it might not… but his public stance will always be aligned).

These old mags keep giving so much more than just automotive news. Plus, my collection is filling in!

Gustavo Bondoni’s latest book is a high concept science fiction novel entitled–perhaps controversially–Fat Man. He hopes readers enjoy the book as much as he loved writing it… but mainly, he hopes it makes them think. You can check it out here.

Another Fifth Di…

I sell a lot of fiction to The Fifth Di… which is cool for me for a number of reasons. The most obvious. is that I get paid for these stories, which is always a plus. More important than that is the fact that I get to share my writing with the mag’s readers.

Finally, I get to read what my peers are up to, which usually means getting to read a bunch of very cool science fiction and fantasy tales.

The March 2022 issue of The Fifth Di… (yes, I’m way behind on my reading… I’m working on that!) was another fun read with everything from science fiction flash to comedic novelette-length fantasy featuring a bumbling wizard.

It was a fun ride, but there was one piece that I particularly liked (well, apart from the one about the wizard, which rocked, too) and that was a poem by Pedro Iniguez called “Sandcastles on the Moon.” A wonderful, poignant piece.

Gustavo Bondoni’s latest book is a high concept science fiction novel entitled–perhaps controversially–Fat Man. He hopes readers enjoy the book as much as he loved writing it… but mainly, he hopes it makes them think. You can check it out here.

New Book Launch! FAT MAN!

I have a new book out… it’s called Fat Man, and I’m particularly proud of this one. I think it not only comments on today’s world by talking about the future, which is something good science fiction often does, but I also think it predicts a number of problems coming at us down the pipeline (not global warming… everyone’s doing that, so I thought I do some of the other stuff).

Check out this gorgeous cover, BTW:

Purchase link here.

And the description of the book, for those who’d like to get a better idea of what’s in store:

🚀 Embark on a Mind-Bending Sci-Fi Journey! 🚀

Are you ready to delve into a futuristic world where secrets, identities, and the battle against weight collide in a thrilling, mind-bending tale? Step into the pages of “Fat Man,” where personal trainer Luca Pairetti doesn’t just solve weight problems; he becomes them.

🧠 **The Ultimate Transformation:** 🧠

Luca Pairetti is no ordinary personal trainer. He possesses a unique and unorthodox ability: he uploads his mind into the brains of his wealthy clients. With unmatched discipline and know-how, he takes on their cravings, pain, and suffering while they enjoy a mental vacation. But his latest assignment from billionaire Samuel Walker is no ordinary challenge; it’s the opportunity of a lifetime.

💰 **A Billion-Dollar Offer:** 💰

Walker, weighed down by nearly 500 lbs. and a staggering bank account, offers Luca a job that could secure his retirement. Luca’s mission: transform Walker into a fit, well-known billionaire, all while maintaining the facade of a lifestyle worlds apart from his own. Can Luca pull off this audacious feat, or is he biting off more than he can chew?

🌟 **A Forbidden Attraction:** 🌟

As Luca gets to work, he meets Nina, Walker’s enchanting neighbor. She’s the kind of woman who has never spared a glance for someone like Luca but is captivated by the newly fit Walker. Luca’s foundations begin to shake as he grapples with newfound emotions and the impending end of his assignment.

🤖 **A Dilemma of Identity:** 🤖

As Luca’s assignment draws closer to its inevitable end, he faces a tough choice. Should he let go of a life he never thought possible or keep his personal masterpiece for himself? The boundaries between identity, desire, and reality blur in this gripping sci-fi thriller.

📚 **Why “Fat Man” is a Must-Read:** 📚

– Immerse yourself in a futuristic world where mind and body are intertwined.
– Experience the tension of an impossible transformation and a high-stakes impersonation.
– Explore the complex emotions of desire, self-discovery, and the allure of the unattainable.
– Witness Luca Pairetti’s journey as he confronts the ultimate dilemma: who he is and who he wants to be.

🌌 **Prepare for a Mind-Bending Ride!** 🌌

If you’re a fan of thought-provoking sci-fi, gripping thrillers, and explorations of identity, “Fat Man” is the novel for you. Dive into this electrifying tale of transformation and desire, and discover a world where the boundaries of reality are pushed to the brink.

📖 **Get Your Copy Today and Enter the Future of Sci-Fi!** 📖

Let’s Talk Sports Cars in 1955

The June 1955 issue of Road & Track didn’t seem special to me, reading it in 2023. Probably because the Jaguar on the cover can only appeal as a collector’s car–a fantastically competent and romantic relic, of course, but not something that excites because it is functionally better than anythng else I’ve ever seen.

Readers in 1955 would have seen it extremely differently of course. It was the kind of car that you could drive to the track and be competitive with (albeit perhaps not against the bonafide racers… but still). And that was important, because in 1955 sports car racing was still for sports cars, and many of the machines were actually just that–cars someone had driven to the track.

This comes to the fore when one reads the Sebring article in the June issue pictured above. Though the cars that dominated the race were mainly bespoke competition cars, a stock XK-140 (like the one on the cover) placed tenth, and quite a few stock cars ran (everything from Mercedes 300 SLs to Renault 4CVs).

They were interesting times indeed, as no one really knew what was going to happen with those categories.

One thing I found interesting is that, other than the cover, the magazine is black and white. Except it isn’t. About half of it is black and white with the remainder being dark green and white and dark brown and white. It’s an interesting contrast, with a few pages in alternate colors, but I have no clue why they might have done it that way. If any of my readers know, I’d love to hear about it! (and don’t worry if you arrive here randomly via a google search a few years from now… I’ll still read your comment).

It was, perhaps, not the best era to be a sports car buff, but that does make it interesting, I guess.

Gustavo Bondoni’s latest book is a collection of science fiction and fantasy crime stories entitled Thin Air. He hopes readers enjoy the stories as much as he loved writing them. You can check it out here.

In Which Hemingway is Wondrous and Luminous

Ernest Hemingway wasn’t anointed one of the greatest writers in history on a whim. His style changed the way people write forever, and even his most vitriolic current critics write the way he taught them to (no one has ever accused the people who hate Hemingway of being particularly smart or self-aware).

This, however, doesn’t mean that one has to enjoy everything he wrote. The Old Man and the Sea, for example, will never be one of my favorite books. A Farewell to Arms is better, of course, but perhaps not for those searching for a happy ending (I would also strongly recommend getting your hands on the version that has all the endings Hemingway considered–it’s quite insightful).

Some of his short stories are perfect. Some aren’t.

But there’s one book that is utterly sublime, uplifting and amazing.

That book is A Moveable Feast. This one is technically nonfiction, in the sense that it’s a kind of memoir of Hemingway’s Paris years… but it reads like fiction, the years between when he lived the events and when he wrote them having blurred the focus considerably. Also the writing was colored by subsequent events: his supposed thoughts from the era influenced by what he knew would happen to the people he was describing.

The death of many of them liberated Hemingway to talk about them freely. The affection he felt comes through, of course, but so do the less admirable thoughts he entertained–or came to entertain later.

As a modern reader, this one is a trip through time, to watch literary giants in their natural environment. In fact, I would argue that the cafe society of the inter-war era was the only time in history in which writers actually had what you could call a natural environment. It’s a book that, though tiny, immerses you and surrounds you with its Paris-ness. It’s like Bob Le Flambeur in literary form, and thirty years earlier.

Hemingway’s signature style is present here, of course. And it’s part of the book’s wonder. Even more than Joyce’s Dublin, this is the perfect love letter to a city. The weird part of this comparison is that when you combine Joyce’s internal monologue with Hemingway’s spare style, you end up with the solid base upon which contemporary writing is built… which proves that writing is weird: had I been alive in their heyday, I would have considered the two styles oil and water, and would probably have headed straight for the Hemingway camp.

Anyway, if you like literature, or Hemingway or Paris, or Silvia Beach or Ezra Pound or The Great Gatsby, read this one. You will like it, too.

Gustavo Bondoni’s latest book is a collection of science fiction and fantasy crime stories entitled Thin Air. He hopes readers enjoy the stories as much as he loved writing them. You can check it out here.

The Flying Shingle!

Those of you who have seen the movie Ford v. Ferrari (quick take – I liked it, Hollywood historical inaccuracies and all) will have a very specific and inaccurate view of Ken Miles (he was the MG racer that Matt Damon recruits to develop the Ford GT40 in the film).

Hollywood, in its search for drama, paints Miles as an under-appreciated talent that has a hard time making ends meet because he was extremely difficult to get along with, and needed Shelby (the man Damon was playing) to help him out.

Umm.

No.

Miles was hugely respected in the sports car community in the US, and was a logical man to run the development program. The latest Road & Track I read, from my pile of oldies, is from an era before the film. You see that green car? That car is the Flying Shingle (it had just been built in May 1955 so it wasn’t called the Fying Shingle yet). It ranks among the most famous MGs of all time.

It was built by Ken Miles.

But not only was it built by the man and featured on the cover of a major magazine. This issue also holds part 2 of a two-part feature about the car’s development, written by Miles himself in a style that belies any suspicion that he was aloof and unapproachable.

This isn’t the obscure genius the movie tries to sell us.

Other than the awesomenss of miles, this issue continues my fascinating trip through the 1950s. It’s amazing how much the editors of US magazines had to rely on extra limited contact with many of the vehicles they were writing about. A single test done by a third party. Photographs taken at a private test. Stories sent in my freelancers not on staff.

The sheer enthusiasm shown by the editors is amazing, but even moreso is the sense that there was a public out there desperate for any information. It’s easy to forget that much of what Road & Track published was utterly unavailable anywhere else… especially far from major urban centers. Sometimes rigid journalistic skepticism had to be set aside to give the readers the best they could… even if that sometimes meant correcting in the next issue.

Different times. Good times. Interesting times.

Gustavo Bondoni’s latest book is a collection of science fiction and fantasy crime stories entitled Thin Air. He hopes readers enjoy the stories as much as he loved writing them. You can check it out here.

It’s So Simple

Okay, we’ve reached one of my favorite eras of sports car racing at Le Mans: Group C. I know there have been other golden eras, including one that apparently began this year, and I also got to live though the wonderful second half of the 1990s.

But Group C is particularly cool because it was so simple: run whatever you wanted, as long as it was a two-seater (very liberally defined) that had certain dimensions and weight. The caveat? You had only a certain amount of fuel to do it with.

The result of this utterly simple and liberal formula was a golden age. The variety of cars, both competitive and hopeless, from major manufacturers and random garages, was simply amazing. The cars might have looked a bit similar, but they hid technical innovations and differences. Turbos. Engines with 4, 6, 8 and 12 cylinders. Rotaries. Plastic engines (no, I’m not kidding) all ran. And the tiny WM team turned up the boost, taped up the panel lines and hit 400 km/h on the Mulsanne. Beautiful.

All of this is reported on in depth in this book, part of a wonderful series by Spurring, and it reminds us that every single racecar formula in the present day is missing the mark. F1, with its stupid technical restrictions which mean that a team with a good car today can’t be caught by anyone in the foreseeable future, and even Le Mans, which has a good set of interesting cars, appears to be sliding down the slippery slope of Balance of Performance. There are apparently zero circuit racing categories where technical innovation is actually encouraged.

So we can wallow in the nostalgia of an era when rulemakers actually believed that racing was supposed to improve the breed.

And this is a particularly cool era in which to enjoy that.

Gustavo Bondoni’s latest book is a collection of science fiction and fantasy crime stories entitled Thin Air. He hopes readers enjoy the stories as much as he loved writing them. You can check it out here.

A Different, and Therefore Interesting Era

It’s a truism that the 1950s were the best decade for the US. The war had finished, the economy was booming and everything was jet-age this and jet-age that. A sense of optimism was out and around, and it just seems like it would have been a truly good era in which to live.

So the fact that I landed a little pile of Road & Tracks from right in the middle of the decade, 1955, makes for a very interesting chance to do some cultural exploration as well as learning about the mindset of the automotive buffs of the day.

The first thing that jumped to my attention is that R&T, despite the 1950s, and despite being under new management (by the legendary John R. Bond) seemed to share the same attitudes and preoccupations as it had in the 1940s.

The culture outside of the narrow world of imported cars and sports cars (including hot rods, to a degree) might as well have never existed as far as R&T was concerned (a huge difference with the 1970s, where the regulatory and social environment seemed to interfere with automobiles in every issue), and even though it is clear from the text that sports cars have suddenly become available to anyone with the cash, as opposed to being something that you have to travel to Europe to buy, it’s clear they represent a tiny niche, and that the lovers thereof are like family.

But there is also evolution. The magazine, though still small, at fifty pages, is a lot more professional, with recognizable names contributing articles, and some bespoke reporting, as opposed to exclusively reprinting articles from European magazines and making sh*t up. Compared with the ’40s, the upward trajectory was extremely clear.

And, though the track of the month feature was missed, the race reports got a heck of a lot better.

A very different experience.

Gustavo Bondoni’s latest book is a collection of science fiction and fantasy crime stories entitled Thin Air. He hopes readers enjoy the stories as much as he loved writing them. You can check it out here.