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a former top driver on the international racecar circuit had been banned from the best european teams and fastest cars by the 1930s because of his jewish heritage. i might have said this wrong but he had been down on his luck and was desperately trying to save his company as the world moved towards the brink and a daughter of the multimillionaire claimed the glory. as nazi germany watched its campaign and pushed through, they banded together to challenge.

at the request culminated in a way that is still talked about to this day of which soon after it ended and completely erased for history. they chronicle one of the most inspiring upsets of all time, the symbolic blow against history's darkest hour. "the new york times" best selling author says it is a full throttle reminder. he has brought to life a researched tale of an unlikely band of dreamers that wished to challenge people and the best-selling author seth sports, politics and human might

bringing the motor racing to life is not easy to task. it is a victory for us all. tonight neil is the award-winning author and the best-selling author of the winter forecast, the perfect mile among others and grew up here in st. louis so welcome from afar. now i would like to bring him into the conversation and so if you althe wall where you are wag could get a hearty round of applause. [applause] >> guest: thank you for the great introduction.

>> i do want to say that for anyone watching that is not incredibly familiar with our racing into the history of cars for me personally this was such an incredible and very enthralling read and i appreciate the comparisons. this was a very appropriately matched but now i'm going to let neil talk a little bit about the book and tell you and i will come in and ask some questions. >> iit's nice to be talking to the left bank of books.

i was in new york and a friend of mine passed me a press release that uses "the wall street journal" editor and he passed me the press release about this little-known car that had been resurrected and was blocked by this american millionaire and it wasn't just the peculiarity of what it looked like. it kind of looked like a praying mantis on wheels but the back story itself that was profiled

soon after the nazis invaded paris hitler sent several of his henchmen to find the card and have it destroyed. he also sent individuals to the automobile club in france and all the records their worst when were taken and destroyed. i was very intrigued in the story of what this car could have done to engender such a response. what made it so important and as i began to unfurl the story and i learned his back story and the fact that he was a reluctant

hero, his father was of conservative jewish faith and his mother was catholic. he didn't really give it could subscribe to any one religion or another. as he said, driving with his religion but suddenly in the mid 30s and 1938 he found himself kind of forced into this the story at its heart coupled with the fact that they had this tremendous e-mail carolyn at the heart of it, she was a rich american who could very well just wow and is a very brazen individual who became one of the earlier race car drivers. she was one of the best racecar

drivers and then she decided at a certain point in 1936 to take on the germans and she would lead the development of the racecar and a team to defeat and i was pretty much done at that point and then began over the course of roughly two years researching this little-known story. there were very few mentions of it in any book so it was kind of one of those stories you have to gauge off of the past. there were family members going over europe and france and elsewhere. what on earth happened, why come and who were these individuals and what motivated them. so just a tremendously fun book. i wouldn't even call myself a car i at the beginning of writing it after spending about three years sort of in this

world and having the experience of even driving this race car i woulracecar iwould call myself y now. i would love to answer questions and make this as interactive as possible. what struck me so much as how dangerous racing was and how many people perished whether it be spectators were the drivers were mechanics, the race officials. were the numbers kind of staggering to you or was it just notable to me from reading?

>> guest: it was absolutely staggering. a long time ago i wrote a book about building the skyscrapers and this would've development of and i was alarmed at that point how many people perished but it was nothing compared to the dangers of these racecar drivers. this period of time which many people called the golden age of racing was also one of the deadliest acts because cars have really gone from going at the very best 100 miles per hour to going 200 miles per hour with no advantage whatsoever. today people still do die if racecar driving but there are changes, they are wearing fireproof clothes. they have helmets. they are very insulated.

at this time they didn't even wear harnesses our seatbelts. they literally had to brace their legs against the side of the drivers seat to stay in the car sometimes. they had no helmet. and of course no cage or anything like that. so it wouldn't be uncommon for one or two drivers to perish every single weekend in the grand prix. as renée dreyfus said, he became aware of it. it was just something that you had to expect so it was a very lethal sport at the time and became even more lethal as countries begin their national

pride on how fast the cars that go and that's what it's about is that nationalism that ended up affecting grand prix racing as much as it did the olympics in 1936. >> another thing i noticed was the big comparison but made it to the time you make some very spot on cases about the racial disparity that was happening. another thing that i'm surprised i even know about it would be

cars right before world war ii where they were shopping for the vehicles and trucks and i think right now they were dropping a lot of production on cars and switching to trucks. i didn't know if that was just another theory in comparison to the time or if it is kind of a mile marker if you will. one of the aspects that was so compelling to me is the time to. i had written about post-world war ii but never concentrated on

what happened at the time of absolute of people automobile manufacturers at that point in time were very much impacted by that so they are maker on the verge of bankruptcy to build the utility vehicles or cars. one critic said it was probably best for funeral procession or are we going to try to do something different. and ultimately, they decided in 33, 34 to race again which was a

really dramatic leap from what they were doing. generally, you find a they are an absolute of people in this time and trying to figure out how they can survive so that is where there comes into the picture in 1933 soon after he rises to power he makes it come to this mission typifies the german on the mobile company. we will revise the automobile industry and third, i'm going to dominate the grand prix racing so all of that came about because the economic, social and

political upheaval so i wouldn't be surprised if there were many reflections of god absolutely. >> back then they were designed and hoping to display them during the races for people with babies and drive them around whereas today they are absolutely not appropriate for driving on any sort of street. i know little about anything. when did this printout as a

showcase for cars you could purchase such a specific sport? this happened in the late 20s and early 30s i guess the best way to describe it but it's what the germans did with mercedes. they are a fledgling automobile company and decided to fund and build with the stipulation from the production really the head of the company was okay, we will

build a grand prix race car that every part of the car needs to be able to be suited for building a passenger vehicle that we can so do the general population. so that of course puts a lot of different parameters and in many ways roadblocks to the power that can be built. if you look at what the germans did by contrast because of their

sleek design, those cars, those engines, everything about them had no chance that they were going to be passenger vehicles. their victory on the grand prix had commercial aspects to it because it was good advertising for their company. we can build the fastest cars in the world, so by our faster vehicle. but they had no other correlation other than that. it was both as a propaganda union and also for the third

reich so it was as a nationalistic and that is what they were for a very long time. >> switching a little bit, a question i'd like to ask when doing the research was there something that you found that was so striking and such an incredibly interesting fact that maybe didn't fit into this but thought that maybe like something that you want to work into a future book or something that you are so struck by that didn't make its way into the book that you wish could have in

some way? >> i think that is a hard question. i can't think of anything really specific that i found a doctor the break of world war ii, he left a tremendously dramatic second part he joined the u.s. army and was involved in the

invasion of italy helped free europe and then went back to the united states and brought his family, his brother, his sister and ended up starting one of the most successful french restaurants in new york city and became this fixture on the restaurant scene and left the rest of his life and died a new yorker. you could write a whole book about that.

the research i probably couldn't get as much as i wanted to post a remarkable story about this whole sordid generation of women in the late 20s and 30s in many ways broke the glass ceiling so you see that danica patrick's of today they their presence in many ways to her

sort of come artery of women who defied everything to do with a love which is to race cars and so again, i won't be the one doing it but if anyone is out there listening, there is a great book to be good to be written they want to separate the words but they were racing at the same time is that perfect? it depends on the race. the grand prix itself if you were to think like formula one racing they dictate on what kind of car you could have in that

race and women were not in that in the 1930s. separate from that, there was all kinds of different sports car races. there were rarely races from one page to the next get there as quick as you can as well as like in italy so there were all kinds of different races.

those were quite [inaudible] they sort of look down on the female racers that i venture to say it would be better than the men were if there were the same number of women driving the rallies as men. i think you cut off a little bit there. >> women were just as good of a valley drivers and lucy sort of proved that point. a reminder for anyone watching if you do have questions be sure

to check them in the comments and also a reminder that the book is available at left bank's.com and is a perfect book for readers of history or a lost of words, come from sports stories at the mighty ducks. if you have questions involving history or car racing, i knew very, very little about the history of car racing. i don't even know what i thought about car racing but something that just started in the 60s

and 70s. it is a sport that i didn't appreciate history of. making the sport into something that a person really likes to read what i reall i really wasny before he started this.

the car was just kind of the vehicle of the stories of these individuals like renée and lucy and the german driver who was the sort of benefits that was drawn into representing the third reich but ultimately did so and the conflict they were good friends at one point and it fascinated me. it's no different if you think about them, no one really cared that much about this but the individuals in it. it is the same thing it's just the vehicle in which they fought

their fight. i have a question. >> i will drink my old fashion while you think. >> how reluctant do you think you are because i know you say that in the text and its kind of demonstrated that in a lot of ways the more i read about nazi history and see people kind of turning a blind eye and ignoring certain aspects of the party and ignoring that they don't want to see. but in a lot of ways even when they were ignoring it still supporting and still very much

in favor of definitions of whether or not they were fully consistent with a lot of people in the party maybe were not. i know he was involved early so how reluctant do you think he completely was? >> guest: that is a great question. the way to answer it is to sort of track the story he won his first race in 26 and was a huge celebrity he wasn't a participant or member at that

point in time but then a lot of car companies were abandoning racing 701933, early 34, he had a terrible car accident and so it was he just lost his wife in ascii accident and the only thing left was racing and getting back to racing the opportunity was becoming representative or never race again and i think the answer to that question for him wasn't

reluctant even though she didn't believe in the ideology or even necessarily a definitely not anti-semitism even if i don't think he hesitated. he did everything he could to get back in shape and joined the team because racing was his life and there was nothing else for him so he was willing to do whatever it took. ..

>> when the germans announced every single year. a hero of the right and is with propaganda and writes editorials and even if writing the memoirs et cetera still did not subscribe to the ideology and was willing to do whatever so it is a complicated story and a complicated individual to

sacrifice their soul. >> and renée also were doing anything. you can definitely see the good versus evil type but similarly very much willing to do anything you can definitely see that. >> but they knew. right? and the's members of the german racing team they knew

what hitler was doing even before the war. torture and imprisonment of the jewish people of germany and yet they were still willing to be represented of that country and really was living in switzerland and quite is a easily could have pursued to walk away but he didn't. for lucy, renée, something about the life that was so much in their life they could not abandon that both rudy and renée write and speak how nothing else in life they

never felt comfortable with the world are at peace except when they were driving a racing for them that would be the highlight of their life the best times in the best moments with that clarity of purpose and the clarity of mind that feeling to be and a racecar was everything to them willing to compromise himself. >> the book is fantastic.

>> that was more of a comment. >> hire is my first book. i have done higher and faster i'm not sure i am doing longer. >> stronger? >> probably not. >> have you started to work on your next book? >> i have. most of my books i translate for a young adult audience faster will be for seventh and eighth and ninth graders scholastic publishes them and i have done that now my fourth

book like that in two editions my next book will be exclusively young adults written originally for young adults nonfiction about gandhi first big nonviolent peace movement which had epic consequences for india it is the story of gandhi this history of one seminal moment to tell the story of gandhi and this one dramatic event in 1930 and originally for the young adult audience has my younger daughter said you

write this for me. so there you go. >> jim also says this book is perfect for the rights have they been sold? >> yes. the right sold to comparative entertainment right when i submitted it to my publisher. so now it is being developed. we are almost done. i think we are going for directives. so fingers crossed this will make it and to be very

cinemati cinematic. >> the way he openly raises the story 1938 which is a very narrow french village just the scenery and matching them is incredible. >> i agree. i word love to go. >> i love sports. >> if you want to know steven spielberg? >> and i will post that with manet audition. >> did i mention? >> yes.

thank you yes i was going to say if anybody does want a fantastic bookplate when you order the book you can write a note you would like it signed to someone i will contact him to have to sign the book to you or to my father or your friends. and tell us who design those because they designed the cover and the book? >> this is the cover art which was originally illustrated. i am happy to sign it.

but not long paragraphs is not very big. >> i love the cover it draws people in i think very well i wish people were able to shop in the store. >> yes. that would be fantastic. >> it's hard time for a book to come out especially for one that deserves as much praise as your yours. i hope that it continues to fly into the hands of the readers it needs to find. >> any other questions? >> it is our pleasure we want to support local authors.

>> and basically as soon as i went to college i had a little embarrassment that my family was there and i lived in st. louis so hopefully next time i'm there i will see you on the west bank. >> yes. definitely say hi because we have never actually met and that would be fun. [laughter] is there anything you feel we haven't talked about? and others a couple of things but is there anything else that you feel that readers

might be curious about? >> honestly i just can't say enough about michelle because telling you earlier before we went live i have written different kinds of books. this is the first book where at the heart of it the hero of the story was so fun to write about and sometimes different chapters are easy to write are hard to read i fell every time i was writing about lucy that the words poured out of me and she burst from the page quite

easily because she such a dynamic person and she dominated the room she was in and with say exactly what was in your head and descriptions of her dialogue and what she was saying in the source material but she was so easy to write and fun to write it was like the hidden figures individual in this story and i have never heard of her having read about history over time. and even spoken to one person.

and one of those individuals the new york times would write in the obituary because it was my pleasure it would. >> did you talk to any descendents of the characters of the book? >> i did. and she herself died and she had another son who also died several decades ago. they did not have any children

it was dead-end. dead-end. dead-end. but ultimately the drivers family had kept through the family lore with the scrapbooks about her and her uncle in those articles written in french and italian and english. and what people talked about at his funeral. and that they knew quite well.

and then the book benefited with that generosity. so ultimately and over the course of years the biographer for his book if you know anything about writing books only a quarter of what you research gets into the book. there is hours and hours.

and an individual way. now this is i see from your sister. >> so if my father is not watching i think he would be surprised. >> that he probably needs of a key can't wait. will get a bookplate and send it in the mail. >> and the current events

without actually thinking about current events. and yes father's day is coming up. and just got the kids to bed. >> she is in des moines my mother is in kansas city so maybe she will stop then. so that perk is that people from all over the country and all over the world. as they have been doing in the store. >> absolutely. yes. that experience.

>> we went to leave people little bit of a - - to encourage them to buy the book. and to hear more about this book and thank you. >> and then hiding in the

production studio and it will be wonderful. >> thank you we will see you next time. thank you.