Samuel Hawley

If you ask me, I can't tell you exactly why I asked this copy for a review, what I can already tell you is that I never thought I would be so deep into the story, it's sad and extremely well told, we can see the writer made his job researching for this book, but I definitely think that translating it into a book wasn't an easy task, especially when It is told from the elephant's perspective.

We already know about the cruelty against animals inside circus, but this book take you different level of knowing how men capture, train and treat animals in order to entertain crowds, I also found very surprising that there was a real Topsy that was executed and inspired this book.

It's hard to say that I enjoyed the reading because it's certainly a sad story based on a real one, so using the word "enjoy" it's a little bit conflicting to me but I hope you understand what I mean when I say I enjoyed this book.… (mer)

The Fight That Started The Movies is a book of prodigious research and entertaining prose. The story is a vibrant portrait of the interplay between sports, entertainment, and the technological ingenuity of the times.

Interesting descriptions of the development of film technology and processing are interwoven throughout the story. The prevailing cultural attitudes are expressed and, 1890's vernacular is used in the material. The historical context presented throughout the account helps the reader understand the global importance of prizefighting, the marketing of athleticism, and the business of showmanship in the late 19th century.
The details of the lives of the people involved are comparable to diary entries. The book reads as a straightforward account of the times and makes an enjoyable non-fiction work.… (mer)

My daughter and her wife presented this to me for Xmas knowing my lifelong interest in racing cars although more in the GP, Le Mans sports cars, and motorcycles sectors. But this was interesting and in a field, I knew of but little about - Breedlove's name was familiar, Arfons - think so, and the others unlikely. I'm more of a Clark, Gurney, Agostini guy. So this book turned into a really nice surprise and certainly opened up a recent era, now extinct, that was fascinating both from a technology and protoganist's perspectives.

When the aforementioned went after the Grail they were chasing Cobb's decades-old 400mph land speed record. By the end of the book, 700 had been exceeded - yup that's over Mach 1! What amazed me was, with the possible exception of tyres, the designs were almost handcrafted and built in regular garages. The book very successfully describes this and equally so, the drivers and the main protagonists.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this informative and entertaining book.

The book was written by a Canadian, from Kingston Ontario, who signed my book - difficult to do with a Kindle version! Thanks, ladies.

@samuelhawley1… (mer)