Fast Guys, Rich Guys, and Idiots is one for any fan of the ‘80s road-racing scene in the US. It’s an autobiographical tale about Sam Moses, a Sports Illustrated writer who gets a shot behind the wheel and becomes obsessed with racing.

His traveling takes him to endurance races, sports car races, even some open-wheel competition and really shows just how bad someone can be bitten with the need to race cars. Moses spends the whole book working from ride to ride, trying to parlay his SI connections and on-track success to move into better machinery.

Make no mistake about it, Moses is neither a hack racer nor a hack writer, he is very skilled at both. His tale is filled with near misses, fleeting successes, and the constant search for sponsor backing and seat time.

It also includes a fair amount of back story with regard to Sam, his mercurial girlfriend, and their relationship that explodes and reforms seemingly dozens of times throughout the book. It can be melodramatic at times, and at others the fact that his personal life is in as bad a shambles as his racing situation creates an interesting mirror for the reader.

Our favorite thing about this book is the profile it gives of the road racing scene in the ‘80s. It’s filled with wretched excess, bizarre personalities, and tales of guys who just have far more funding than talent. Moses is not shy about pointing those people out and frankly, he seems to find himself tangled with a few repeatedly.

If you are not a road racing fan or really have no interest in looking back at those halcyon days of the ‘80s this is probably not the book for you. The content would be of no interest. If, on the other hand you are a racer yourself, or just someone who loves the scene, you’ll be enthralled with this book.

It’s not glossed over, he pulls no punches, and there really are some idiots along the way.