A French Kiss With Death: Steve McQueen and the Making of Le Mans—The Man, The Race, The Cars, The Movie

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Item # BEN-02343  ISBN: 9780837615523

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In text and photographs A French Kiss With Death: Steve McQueen and the Making of Le Mans—The Man, The Race, The Cars, The Movie, examines the life of actor, Steve McQueen, the films in which he appeared and his love affair with the many cars and motorcycles he owned during his lifetime.

The book details the history of the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the backgrounds of Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, Lola, Matra and Porsche leading up to the 1970 Manufacturers' Championship Series.

You're there when Steve hones his driving skills in his Porsche 908 at Willow Springs, Phoenix and Riverside; and at the 1970 Daytona 24 Hours, 12 Hours of Sebring, and 24 Hours of Le Mans, on which the film Le Mans was based. A major portion of the book gives a detailed behind-the-scenes account of the making of Le Mans—from start to finish—with insightful and entertaining stories from some of the key players involved in the making of the film, both from behind the cameras and behind the wheels of the more than 25 cars used during the production: Alfa Romeos, Corvettes, Chevrons, Ferraris, Porsches, Lolas, & Matras.

The book is 464 pages in length with over 800 photographs—many taken during the production. The author is American driver Michael Keyser with additional help from English driver Jonathan Williams, co-driver of the Porsche 908 Solar Productions camera car that raced in the 1970 24 Hours of Le Mans, and an actor and stunt driver on the film. Over the past four years the authors have conducted dozens of interviews and collected hundreds of photographs to produce the definitive book on the making of Le Mans.

Table of Contents

1. Wheels & Reels
2. The Man and the Machine
3. Twice Around the Clock
4. Havin' A Ball
5. Rules & Regulations
6. Alfa Romeo
7. Ferrari
8. Lola
9. Matra
10. Porsche
11. 24 Hours of Daytona
12. Getting Competitive
13. 12 Hours of Sebring
14. Test Weekend
15. Cracks in the Facade
16. The Making of Le Mans

"Racing is life. Anything before or after is just waiting."—Steve McQueen in the film Le Mans.

Also consider: The Speed Merchants.

A French Kiss With Death: Steve McQueen and the Making of Le Mans—The Man, The Race, The Cars, The Movie