Buy The Book: Ken Miles – The Shelby American Years by Dave Friedman


Buy The Book: Ken Miles – The Shelby American Years by Dave Friedman

Lots of people had things to say about the whole Ford vs Ferrari movie and its historical accuracy in certain places and scenes.  While that was certainly true there was one shining thing that came from that movie which made all the eye rolling worth it.

A spotlight on Ken Miles.

Had the movie not come out, I’m not sure this book would have come out and I know it would not have made as much impact on me as it did when reading it. By all accounts from the people who were actually there, Miles was lots of what we saw in the movie. A guy who lost his repair shop, a guy who had a temper, who suffered no fools, who drove really damn hard, and someone who was absolutely brilliant on a global scale in racing. The photos and the captions in this book take the sketchpad version of Ken Miles you likely “know” and completes it in wonderful fashion, rounding out his life and times in spectacular form. I loved every page and David Friedman did such a great job assembling the images and their context the pages practically turn themselves.

The story of Ken Miles is also the story of other men. Men like Dave McDonald who was a Shelby driver for a time and a man who had all the chops that Miles had behind the wheel and maybe more before his tragic death. Of course in the 1960s and into the 1970s the dark clouds of tragedy often hung over the racing world and they would hang for Miles as well. He died while testing the “J-Car” version of the Ford GT40 in a horrifying testing crash while his own son was at the track with him.

As Miles can no longer speak for himself from the great beyond, others, like his son speak for him. The resultant book is a great retrospective on a career and life well lived.

People who are truly great at something are often not the easiest to get along with or understand. Their process and method to achieving their greatness often disregards the niceties of daily life that we so often take for granted. Sure, Ken Miles may have been warm tempered but he was a fantastic guy as evidenced by the words of friends, competitors, and co-workers in this volume.

If your interest about Shelby and/or miles was sparked by the movie or whether you simply want to know more about the man and the history of the period he raced in, this book is a must own.

Hammer this link to score a copy of this really magical book – amazing history and photos

Check out the images below for some small examples of just how comprehensive the photography in this book is!


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8 thoughts on “Buy The Book: Ken Miles – The Shelby American Years by Dave Friedman

    1. Just Gary

      X2 Phil Remington!

      -Founding member of the “Low Flyers”, SCTA/Bonneville racers’ club.
      -His modified roadster went 125 mph in 1946.
      -Worked for/with Stu Hilborn (of Hilborn fuel injection fame).
      -Chief engineer, building Scarabs for Lance Reventlow.
      -And then Carrol Shelby hired him….

  1. Just Gary

    X2 Phil Remington!

    -Founding member of the “Low Flyers”, SCTA/Bonneville racers’ club.
    -His modified roadster went 125 mph in 1946.
    -Worked for/with Stu Hilborn (of Hilborn fuel injection fame).
    -Chief engineer, building Scarabs for Lance Reventlow.
    -And then Carrol Shelby hired him….

  2. Michael Evans

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  3. Michael Evans

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  4. Michael Ward

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    Hello! Thank you for this review. It was really interesting. Ken Miles The Shelby American Years is an excellent book on a legend who sadly was robbed of his much deserved triple crown win, I am far from a Miles or Ford Fan but I know about and admire him, and Angers me to no end what Ford did by stripping of him of Le Mans. I highly recommend this book and the wonderful Work Of Friedman.

  6. essaybasics

    Hi! Thank you for this review. It was really interesting. Ken Miles The Shelby American Years is an excellent book on a legend who sadly was robbed of his much deserved triple crown win, I am far from a Miles or Ford Fan but I know about and admire him, and Angers me to no end what Ford did by stripping of him of Le Mans. I highly recommend this book and the wonderful Work Of Friedman.

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