Tom Rubython

Tells of the life of the greatest racing car driver the world had ever seen, Ayrton Senna, who died following a horrific crash during the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix.

The Life of Senna

Maxime van der Wal

Was hoping this would be the most comprehensive biography on Ayrton Senna, and thus the only biography of him I’d need, but unfortunately that’s not the case. My main problem with this book is the sloppy editing. The chapters didn’t flow into each other very well, and a lot of quotes were repeated, making it quite mundane to read (not to mention the frequent spelling errors). The part about Ayrton’s girlfriends was quite frankly embarrassing to read and the chapter on the trial after his death was way too long and elaborate. On top of that, the author was clearly biased in its writing, and I was hoping this biography would be written from a more objective point of view. What I did like were the photos by Keith Sutton that were included, which provided an image to the stories that were told. This was especially useful for a younger person like me who wasn’t alive when Ayrton was racing. 

All in all, this book could’ve easily been reduced to around 400 pages instead of 600, making it a much easier read. I don’t understand why a rough draft like this has been republished several times after its release in 2004 and not been changed enough to produce a better quality. Wouldn’t recommend it.

The Life of Senna

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