Archie And The Listers (Signed)

By: Robert Edwards . 2nd hand book in very good condition

Ace exponent of the four-wheel drift, world class sports car and Formula 1 driver of the 1950s, and enjoying the same adulation from fans as contemporaries Stirling Moss, Mike Hawthorn and Roy Salvadori – this was Archie Scott Brown. He was dashingly handsome, fiercely competitive, fun to be with, adored by everyone, and severely disabled.

It was fairly well known that Archie's right arm was not as it should be. But both legs were also badly malformed. Only his left arm was complete. For someone so handicapped from birth to get to the top in anything at all is an achievement. To do so in an exactingly physical sport like motor racing is nothing short of miraculous.

This compelling book, re-issued to meet continuing demand, tells the story of Archie, from his early childhood undergoing countless operations to gain reasonable mobility, through to finding work as a travelling salesman to fund his real love – motor racing. The 1950s was a particularly exciting era of motorsport when Britain was establishing itself as the leader in the design and construction of competition cars. Inextricably linked with Archie are the Ives of Brian Lister and Don Moore, two like-minded young lions who went on to form the Cambridge-based Lister racing team. Brian designed the cars, Don developed the engines and Archie drove.

For five seasons from 1954 Lister cars were never out of the motor racing headlines. This small but astoundingly successful equipe consistently beat much larger works teams such as Aston Martin and Jaguar. It caught the public's imagination – especially popular was the mercurial and respected Archie Scott Brown. He raced until 1958 when, while leading the Belgian Sports Car Grand Prix at Spa, he came off the wet track in his Lister-Jaguar, which somersaulted into straw bales and burst into flames. He died from severe burns.

Robert Edwards – respected biographer and historian – is the author of Aston Martin in the Haynes Classic Makes series and The Art of Dexter Brown. It was while researching another Aston Martin book that he unravelled the inspirational story of Archie Scott Brown.

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