Book Report — Snake vs. Mongoose: How a Rivalry Changed Drag Racing Forever
By Ed Sunkin
7/13/2010
Reading this book will return you to the dragstrips of the past and have you rooting once again for your favorite between these two racing rivals.
Time for our latest installment of Book Report, where I, like the great Oprah, recommend to you some of the best books out there for your summer reading enjoyment.
If you want a great read while relaxing in your favorite chair that details some of the best in competition drag racing, then you need to race out and pick up a copy of Snake vs. Mongoose: How a Rivalry Changed Drag Racing Forever.
Don "The Snake" Prudhomme in his Barracuda. Tom "The Mongoose" McEwen in his Duster.
The "Snake vs. Mongoose" racing feud had been making headlines long before they got their Funny Cars, but it wasn't until they made a deal with Mattel that drag racing became the multimillion-dollar business that it is today.
Happily co-opted by Mattel, the rivalry described in Snake vs. Mongoose was nonetheless real. Author Tom Madigan tells the story from the beginning, when engine builder Ed Donovan, with a nod to The Jungle Book, dubbed his driver "The Mongoose"— the one creature who could strike faster than a Snake.
The book chronicles the bad press, the toe-to-toe standoffs, and some of the best races in drag racing history.
And, within that story, Madigan captures the transformation of drag racing from the gritty, gut-driven sport of the 1960s into the full-fledged money-making machine of our day.
The book is loaded with classic black and white and color photographs, dating back to the early 1960s and covering the nearly five decades of thrilling NHRA racing. In fact, some in the industry contend that without the vision and effort between Prudhomme and McEwen, the glamour and glory witnessed in today's 330-mph NHRA drag might never have evolved.
Reading this book will return you to the dragstrips of the past and have you rooting once again for your favorite between these racing rivals.
Snake vs. Mongoose: How a Rivalry Changed Drag Racing Forever found a home in my automotive library, and I recommend a copy makes its way onto your bookshelf as well.
Fast Eddie —
Book Notes:
Author: Tom Madigan
Format: Hardbound
Pages: 160
ISBN: 978-0-7603-3486-7
Price: $35.00
Availability: www.motorbooks.com