Cannonball!: World's Greatest Outlaw Road Race

A very detailed book about the greatest race that ever was. If you are into this type of interest, then it does make you want to be there, or wish you were. Very satisfying read.

My Co-Pilot and I both devoured this highly entertaining book after a "Cannonball" of our own from the east coast out to Chicago. It's a fantastic compilation of Yates' autobiographical musings about the bygone Cannonball era (ie the 1970s) and diaretical essays by many of the actual participants. Fans of the utterly ridiculous movies might be a little disappointed by this more serious treatment of the actual Cannonball Runs, but the book is full of off-the-wall characters and outrageous stories (the Fire-Am, Cop impersonation, and Flying Fathers are among the best).A must read for any enthusiast who likes road trips and/or driving at more than 65 MPH.

This 5-star rating is, admittedly, for true fans of this sort of adventure, but for anyone who has ever wanted todrive significantly over the posted speed limit for awhile,or those who might have actually done so, this is a "must."Brock Yates, the author, was one of the originators of thereal Cannonball Run, and he participated in all the genuineruns, that took place from NYC to Calif, when the idea was tosee which team of drivers could make the quickest trip. Therules at that time were, well, no rules. If that doesn't soundlike fun, then this book won't seem very exciting.The idea at the time, when the speed limit was set at a federallevel of 55 mph, making it one of the most ignored laws in ourhistory, was for some guys (and gals) to get together andbring whatever motor vehicle they wanted and try racing tothe other coast. Ethics? Rules? If you could get away withit, it was permitted in these Cannonball runs.Some of the funniest stories are about the various ideas ofsubterfuge, to either avoid detection, or, if caught, to avoidlegal penalty, employed by all contestants.Before various aspects of the law came down on the race, it wasrun for several years, and they all had to be fun.Yates knows all the stories, and he verifies the truthfulnessof the more wild ones, and no one has more knowledge of theseevents than he does, and he seems to remember them all.As he points out, there were some other, later, "copycat" runs,but they were weak images of the originals, even when he hadsomething to do with them.He also points out the futility of such runs today, with themuch heavier emphasis on speed enforcement--mainly as a revenueproducing action--and better technology and communicaton available to the police. In addition, and worse yet, he explains just how much more crowded our highways are, even theinterstates, these days, and how difficult it is to make anyreal speed in any circumstance anywhere. "Wide open spaces"have just about disappeared from the driving landscape, so wecan lament, with Yates, the lost freedoms of real fun driving.Several other participants also contribute pieces on theirinvolvement, so the other perspective is interesting.Yates was also involved in the filming of "Cannonball Run," andyou can feel his sadness as he recounts how his original ideawas lost as Hollywood "stars" took it over; the director broughtin his girl friend, and Reynolds insisted on several of his friends being included, and Yates was forced to continuallyre-write the script to accomodate those personal wants, sosome actors were brought in who were not interested in thestory and who detracted from the finished product. This writer's insights into how the Hollywood world works, and theforces that shape a film, sometimes contrary to a good story ora good movie, are worth the price of this book by themselves.The original Yates idea, sold to Hollywood, was to mirror theactual event, which was funny and exciting in its own right,and it was to have starred St

This book is perhaps the most fascinating book I've read since Hunter S. Thompson wrote "Generation of Swine." Only "Et Tu, Babe," by Mark Leyner comes close.As for Brock's not knowing whether or not there was such a thing as a Monza wagon, I think it's more a matter of him not caring that there was such a thing. The two or possibly three people who still care about the body configurations of Chevrolet's tragic Monza series should seek professional help.The fact is that the events depicted in this book were not recorded in any systematic way due to the highly illegal nature of said activities. These people were commiting crimes, folks. Thus there is no "Cannonball canon" to use as a reference point. We only have the memories of the people whose stories are told here. I for one am grateful they chose to share those memories in "Cannonball."

I just finished reading this wonderful book. It accuratelly displays the happenings of each original Cannonball. You can't get a much better source for what happened than from the creator of the race and the people who raced in it. It doesn't boringly portray the facts, it almost brings the events to life in your head. I heartily reccommend this book to anybody even remotely interested in automobiles. This is a must-have for any auto enthusiast.