Motorbooks International Hurricane! The Bob Hannah Story

A comprehensive book about the life and career of the legendary and enigmatic Bob Hannah is a welcome addition to moto literature. It's been 20 years since Hannah raced and longer since he was at the top of his game. Hannah's longtime friend Tom Madigan is the author, and he did an excellent job of pulling together interviews with key friends and associates. He also has an area with notes he made at the time Hannah was racing and recollections by the Hurricane himself.

The range of photos gathered and people involved is really amazing, and it makes for a very interesting read. The actual editing is not as wonderful, since there are a few muffed names and a few garbled sentences, but most are things only a serious and informed reader would notice.

Bob Hannah was an amazing racer who was dedicated to his fans. He was also cocky (perhaps with good reason) and notoriously adversarial with the press. One place he has always been somewhat modest in is considering his own talent, claiming he had little and made up for it with hard work. He may not have been a fluid master of technique, but there's little doubt he had major talent that was enhanced by his enormous work ethic.

The underlying truth that surprised me, and I was one of the despised working press of the era, was that Hannah's inhuman work ethic that pushed him to the highest levels of the sport also pushed his body over the edge. The pressure to win that his work ethic and drive put on him was added to by pressure from sponsors to perform. He came back from injury too early and trained past endurance until his final years of racing were lived in constant pain. Despite the "limited success" (by his standards) he found late in his career, the fans never found him a pain.

At $35, this book is sure to find its way into many moto households. Hopefully it will both motivate and caution future forces of nature.