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enlarge | Author: Tim Hanna Publisher: Penguin Global Category: Book
List Price: $18.00 Buy New: $10.56 You Save: $7.44 (41%)
New (31) Used (10) from $10.30
Avg. Customer Rating: 13 reviews Sales Rank: 44265
Media: Paperback Number Of Items: 1 Pages: 300 Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.1 Dimensions (in): 9 x 6 x 1
ISBN: 0143019740 Dewey Decimal Number: 796.750993 EAN: 9780143019749 ASIN: 0143019740
Publication Date: January 25, 2006 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
Full Story of Burt January 15, 2007 Covers his full life and details his relationships w/ the character in the film, as well defines his incredible determination and personality and lust of life
One Good Run & a great book.... January 10, 2007 2 out of 3 found this review helpful
If you've seen the movie or are into motorcycles read this book. The book gives a background of Burt's life & how & why he ended up on the Bonneville salt flats. The hurdles he overcame to get to that point makes a great read & is an inspiring story. The movie was a greatly condensed version of his life whereas the book is more detailed. Also included in the book are photos of Burt & his famous Indian. If you liked the movie you'll love the book....
Good story about a unique man October 26, 2006 6 out of 6 found this review helpful
If you've seen, and loved, The World's Fastest Indian, you might want to think twice about reading this book. Despite a good deal of romantization on the part of author Tim Hanna, the Burt Munroe depicted here is not exactly the kindly old coot seen in the movie. The real Munroe was a single-minded, often difficult, man who, in truth, abandoned his family, and ignored a good many social graces in order to pursue his one interest single mindedly.
But then, history is rarely made by gentle, accomodating people, and in this regard, the real Burt Munroe does not disappoint. While the movie is charming in its depiction of the kindly innocent abroad, the real story is much more complex, and in the end, much more interesting. Munroe was anything but the naiive innocent abroad on his first (of many) trips to America. He'd lived in Australia, travelled to England and much of the continent, and was quite the sophisticated traveller when he arrived at Bonneville. His knowledge of engineering was indeed largely self taught, but he also took advantage of the wisdom and experience (and good graces) of many others who advised him along his way.
Hanna does a very good job of telling Munroe's story- although he is perhaps a bit too eager to recreate conversations and internal monologues for my tastes. Still, it does help to move the narration along. And he does treat Munroe's relationship with his family rather perfunctorily, although I suppose it could be argued that it's not really the aspect of his life that people are most interested in.
Fans of motor racing and motorcycles will find much to enjoy here, particularly as George Begg's biography of Munroe (which Hanna acknowledges was a major source) is no longer in print.
Worth The Wait June 2, 2006 4 out of 4 found this review helpful
I patiently waited out many Amazon "order delays" figuring the book had a high order rate after the movie was released. Finally arrived about a week ago. The book is very well written and gives a great amount of detail on this slightly "odd" but determined fellow. I have not seen the movie yet as it came and went in our town in about one week. The one character flaw that shows up for Mr. Munro is that in the pursuit of his goal he seemed to forget he had a family. Worth the read. Could use some more pictures......
A great book May 25, 2006 9 out of 9 found this review helpful
I saw the movie first and absolutely loved it. Got the book from Europe after two failed attempts to order in the US. It is an inspiring story with a good mix of technical detail and personal info about Burt Munro. It's well written all in all, not high literature, but a good bio style. Captivating and easy to read. Has some nice photographs also. I loved the movie but thought that some scenes must have been exaggerated for dramatic purposes. Reading the book made me rethink: attaching a tree to the trailer to fix a lost wheel, old men need love too, mowing grass by burning it with gas,... It all appears in the book also, maybe slightly rearranged in the timeline though. Some things the man has done make you shake your head in disbelief. If you like bikes, liked the movie, and like to read, you more than likely will enjoy this book also.
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