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REVIEWED: Manmade Thunder By Godwin Kelly
Gregg Leary reviews "Manmade Thunder” by Godwin Kelly...
Gregg Leary  |  Posted September 22, 2009   Charlotte, NC


I have reviewed over 100 books for SPEEDtv.com. “Manmade Thunder” is one of the best. If you plan to purchase one NASCAR book this year…this is it. Once you give it a place of honor on your coffee table, plan to buy several more copies as Christmas gifts for ravenous fans on your list who will pick it up and not want to put it down. I have had the honor of watching the book develop for the past six months as a member of the dakini Advisory Board. I have been a Godwin Kelly fan since I read his excellent biography of my first stock car hero, Glenn “Fireball” Roberts, and I was honored to get the chance to read his words prior to publication. Godwin is the perfect pick to write the ultimate NASCAR book since he has spent most of his life within a few miles of Daytona International Speedway.

“Manmade Thunder” carries the “SPEED” seal of approval, as does the excellent Formula One book, “Speed Addicts: Grand Prix Racing.” Both are published in partnership with Dakini, whose publications are truly works of art. Their pride in craftsmanship and meticulous attention to detail is sadly lacking in many books I have read from other publishers. The color photographs in “Manmade Thunder” are reproduced so beautifully that the book essentially becomes a 320 page NASCAR art gallery that showcases more than 260 wonderful portraits. Many of Don Hunter’s stunning black and white images are printed here for the first time in a manner that would make Ansel Adams proud.

The front dust cover black and white photograph of Dale Earnhardt Junior’s #88 emerging from the boiling cloud of a smoky burnout is the perfect accent that punctuates the appropriate title…”Manmade Thunder.” (Kelly’s caption reveals that “Dale Earnhardt Jr. opened the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in dramatic fashion by winning the Budweiser Shootout at Daytona International Speedway. It was his first race in the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.”) I love captions that tell us something more than the obvious. The cutlines in “Manmade Thunder” are a wealth of information. The back cover contains a dozen miniature versions of the two page spreads that divide the 320 page gourmet meal into individual courses.

1: How NASCAR Got Here
2: Drivers Get All the Attention
3: Paying Homage to “King Richard”
4. Man in Black
5: Modern-Day Prototype (Jeff Gordon)
6: A Caged Personality (Jimmie Johnson)
7: The Driver You Don’t Know (Dale Earnhardt Jr.)
8: Smoke and Fire (Tony Stewart)
9: Gentleman Racer (Mark Martin)
10: A Call to Duty (Kevin Harvick)
11: Young and Restless (Kyle Busch)
12: Indianapolis Importance

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