“Lewis Hamilton – The Story So Far” (Gareth Rogers, 2007)

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Another unofficial Lewis Hamilton biography hits the shelves before he’s even finished his first season of F1.

That doesn’t necessarily mean that the book won’t be worth reading – after all, Hamilton did years of racing before he even reached F1.

Sadly, “The Story So Far” is a weak effort that doesn’t even expand our knowledge of Hamilton’s pre-F1 years.

It’s the second of at least five books on Hamilton expected to hit the shelves before Xmas.

“The Story So Far” is not badly written – it’s a much easier read than the first Hamilton biography – but there is no depth to it at all. However good the author is it’s a wasted exercise if they haven’t got any new or interesting material to work with.

The bibliography lists a host of websites but it won’t tell you anything you couldn’t have gleaned by watching ITV’s F1 broadcasts.

It goes without saying that there’s no new interview with the man himself, or even anyone particularly close to him.

A grand total of 11 pages out of 190 are given over to Hamilton’s life before F1. That’s 11 pages to cover a year in GP2, two in Formula Three, two in Formula Renault and a raft of karting success.

The rest of the book just regurgitates everything you already know with no new information: the stunning debut, the win, the drama at the Nurburgring, McLaren’s punishment and Alonso’s betrayal – and then it crashes to a halt.

The final chapter is titled ‘Crystal Ball’, and in paragraph before it the author tips Alonso to win the title.

So it’s short, unoriginal, and instantly dated. If you’ve just emerged from a seven-month coma and need to catch up on the F1 season, it’s a good purchase. But otherwise forget about it.

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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3 comments on ““Lewis Hamilton – The Story So Far” (Gareth Rogers, 2007)”

  1. At least he got round the first corner, becuase it sounds like Gareth Rogers didn’t even manage the equivalent of that. I will bear this mind and avoid this book when it arrives in the library…

  2. A crass attempt to make a buck on someone elses efforts.

  3. If it weren’t for people like Gareth Rogers, the world would be a happy place with fluffy creatures running around and rainbows everywhere, like that “Jeremiah was a bullfrog” Sky advert.

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