| Description |
273 pages, 24 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, portrait, map ; 24 cm |
|
regular print |
| Contents |
Prologue: Seven Mile Beach (December, 1929) -- pt. 1. Anzac spirit -- 1. Fast forward (1890-1916) -- 2. Roaring days (1917-1928) -- 3. Ninety Mile Beach (1929-1930) -- pt. 2. The big job -- 4. The syndicate (1930) -- 5. Dangerous curves (1931) -- 6. Nose job (December, 1931) -- 7. 'The worst ride of my life' (January, 1932) -- 8. Windy (February, 1932) -- 9. May Day Mayday (March-May, 1932) -- 10. Yellow flag (May-December, 1932) -- pt. 3. The dead lakes -- 11. The shape of war (1933-1945) -- Epilogue: The other side of the sky (1946-1972) |
| Summary |
"In the bitter autumn of 1932, as the world crashed into the Great Depression, Australian motor ace Norman 'Wizard' Smith sat on the remote Ninety Mile Beach in far north New Zealand, waiting for the wind to change; waiting for a chance to drive his streamlined super car the Enterprise to a new world speed record. He would be the fastest man on earth - a golden god! He waited and waited... Norman Smith was an enigma. A contemporary of Bradman, Kingsford Smith and Phar Lap, he was dumpy and shy. But when he got behind the wheel he became the Wizard, his command uncanny, the speeds breathless. In league with engineer Don Harkness, who designed and built the Enterprise, he was pointing Australia toward a brighter future. Until somewhere along the line, things started going wrong. What really happened on that lonely beach? Clinton Walker lays bare the tragic fall from grace of Norman 'Wizard' Smith - an ordinary man lost to an extraordinary quest, and, until now, a forgotten figure." -- cover description |
| Analysis |
Biography & autobiography |
|
Motor sports & recreation |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (pages 267-271) |
| Audience |
Tertiary/Undergraduate, General |
| Notes |
Also available online |
| Subject |
Harkness, Don, 1890-1972
|
|
Smith, Norman Leslie, 1890-1958.
|
|
Automobile racing drivers -- New Zealand -- Biography.
|
|
Automobile racing -- Australia -- History.
|
|
Automobiles, Racing -- Speed records -- Australia -- History.
|
|
Dragsters -- Australia -- History.
|
|
Motor car racing -- Australia
|
|
Automobile racing -- Australia -- Speed records -- History
|
|
Motorsports -- Australia -- History.
|
| Genre/Form |
Biographies.
|
| ISBN |
9781862549500 (paperback) |
|
