“Ferrari: 1960-65 – The Hallowed Years” book reviewed

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Knowing this book was on its way, I had mixed feelings.

On one hand, Ferrari is hardly underexposed in the literary world (apparently their battles at Le Mans with Ford are quite interesting). On the other, both Evro and author William Huon are known for the quality of their titles, so I was hoping this would comfortably surpass the usual Ferrari landfill fodder.

I’m delighted to report this is very much the case, with The Hallowed Years being the strongest Ferrari-focused title I’ve read in many years.

Offering a year-by-year, race-by-race summary of the six racing seasons between 1960-65, ‘The Hallowed Years’ chronicles a pivotal and dramatic period – both for the sport and for Ferrari itself.

In Formula 1 the book starts with the transition from front-engined machinery, moving to the iconic shark-nose, onto the tragedy of Monza in 1961 and subsequent glory with John Surtees. All the while, this is underpinned by sportscar success at Le Mans. In summary, it is a lot of ground to cover.

Huon does this deftly, supported by an excellent translation by David Waldron. The prose moves along at speed, pausing to profile the key figures, while also remaining rooted in the sport’s wider context.

What makes the book, however, is the inclusion of a wealth of images from the legendary Bernard Cahier, which bring the period vividly to life, whilst also capturing a wealth of detail that prose alone couldn’t cover. It is also a sharp, if hard to believe, reminder that Formula 1 was spectacular and glamourous, long before the Netflix cameras arrived in the paddock.

A substantial coffee table offering (with price tag to boot) ‘The Hallowed Years’ is aimed towards collectors and fans of the era, but for those so inclined this is well worth the investment.

Great books about Ferrari are few and far between, this is one of them.

RaceFans rating

Rating four out of five

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Ferrari: 1960-65 – The Hallowed Years

Author: William Huon (translated by David Waldron)
Publisher: Evro Publishing
Published: December 2022
Pages: 368
Price: £75
ISBN: 978-1-910505-81-6

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Ben Evans
Motorsport commentator Ben is RaceFans' resident bookworm. Look out for his verdict on the latest motor racing publications on Sundays....

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3 comments on ““Ferrari: 1960-65 – The Hallowed Years” book reviewed”

  1. Interesting, and nicely rounds off the best Ferrari years at Le Mans (with 1965 being their last overall win to date).

    Can you please tell if the English translation also included changing all the measurements from what I presume was SI in the original French to this odd English hybrid of using Imperial units with metric thousands. It tends to become a bit of a mess, and one that unfortunately also plagues the otherwise comprehensive Le Mans books by Quentin Spurring with the same publisher.

    1. Found some pictures of the book on the rallyandracing.com store, and the tables of Technical Specifications seem to have both kg/lbs and mm/inch and the Race Overviews seem to have both km/miles and kph/mph. That’s good! If they ever continue the Spurring series into the 21st century that’d be a good way to go about it.

  2. Sounds awesome but the price tag is a little much for be

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