I was excited about this book but the writing was often incomprehensible. Gave it up half-way through. Try Brock Yates or any of enthusiast magazines if you want good writiing about cars.

This is a great book...a total surprise that will keep you on the edge of your Recaros from start to finish. It's about a man obsessed, his rentless attention to detail in the search for, perhaps his father? In the process Alex Roy takes us on a multi year ride at blinding speeds, across numerous continents in his quest to win a very dangerous, but wacky game.

The cast of real characters & the scrapes he gets into and out of are a riot. Who would ever think to tell the Highway Patrol that a car loaded with night vision cameras & police radios traveling at 160 MPH is a secret tornado watch vehicle sponsored by the government.

If you have ever driven really fast or just dreamed about it, you will love this book.Valentine One Radar Detector

I really love this book. It's a fun read and always interesting. Can you expect anything less from a story like the one written about?
I'm not going to go into any analysis other than say that yes, the writing is not the best (it's not Twain or Hemingway quality). But do you really care about that when reading this awesome story?
And this book has gotten me two dates just by talking about it on the train to NYC, so it's good for small talk as well.

Great summertime read. It's a very entertaining look at the world of rally car racing at very high speeds. I was fascinated about what it took to go 140 mph through regular US interstates, and finding out about this rally car world of the rich, that no one has heard about accept in films such as the "Gumball Rally" and "The Cannonball Run". Alex does a great job of putting you in the pilot or co-pilots seat as he races across portions of the United States and Europe with some great anecdotes. His quest for the mythical land speed record across the United States is gripping and compelling. The detail and expense that goes into his exploits is amazing.

I couldn't give it a higher rating because Alex was in desperate need of an editor or a better publisher. The passages are a bit disjointed at times and felt rushed to publication, especially during the first Gumball 3000 run. I found a few typo's and odd phrases that made certain narratives hard to read at times.

I hope that the movie that he is producing is more polished, if it ever comes out.

Though, Roy is a good cliché and techno/gizmo writer, he is not a good story teller. But, my biggest issue with the book is his exaggerations, to wit: He, while driving at 140 mph in his BMW with four passengers and luggage, calmly notes observing/discovering the back seat passenger hanging out the window with a camcorder. If he can embellish this, the reader can only wonder what else he is deceitful about.

"The Driver" is written by Alexander Roy (aka Alex Roy), about his experiences while involved in the underground world of cross county street racing & rallies. The book starts with Alex's father on his deathbed telling Alex about his involvement in underground rallies, and a mysterious person known only as `The Driver'. After his father's death Alex's life in underground street racing takes off as he first tries to recreate "Rendezvous" followed by the creation of Team Polizei and racing in famous road rallies until his ultimate cross-country race. Driving from New York to L.A. in under 32 hours!

Overall the book is a great read! You get a feeling of excitement as you ride shotgun with Alex & his co-pilots as they drive 140mph in the rain, weaving through traffic, and evading the police. Discover the madness and complexity of street racing and Alex draws up his plans while taking into account the fuel economy vs speed & weight , MPH vs time & traffic, time vs delays from cops, civilians, weather & gas stops! There are also several pages of glossy photos with Alex's parents, as a child, different rallies, co-pilots, & cars!

If you like the `Fast & Furious' movie series, Gumball, Bullrun, & Cannonball Run rallies, then this is one book you don't wanna miss! See racing from another side besides shiny metal & exhaust fumes!

I have always had a distaste for the car culture. I cannot stand NASCAR. I think street racing is natural selection at its best. I haven't watched a Formula 1 race since the untimely demise of Ayrton Senna. "Working on a car" is a concept utterly alien to me, and I prefer it stay that way.

Yet I was so completely enthralled by Mr. Roy's fascinating account of high-speed adventures and mischief, that I found myself finishing the book in 2 nights. And though, as other reviewers note, the narrative is disjointed at times, it does not seem to significantly detract from the story. If anything, it suits the subject matter. Whatever stylistic inadequacies a discerning reader may come across are minor and easily overlooked, considering that The Driver is not meant to be literary writing.

Of particular interest to many will be the author's detailed description of the impressive array of countermeasures he and his copilots employ to avoid detection and likely incarceration by law enforcement, ranging from doughnuts and sex dolls to thermal imaging and... spotter planes. Herr Roy's appreciation for the more absurd kind of humor - the best sort - is evident throughout the book, the pranks are hilarious, the cheerful disregard for authority is, yes, admirable, and the self-depreciating tone is refreshing. Hunter S. Thompson would approve.

The Driver, though it never touches on the subject, may cause the reader to examine what it is that drives people like Alexander Roy and simple average drivers to desire for speed. I'm not sure I can explain or formulate it. But if you are a man, and driving is more to you than merely traveling from point A to point B, this book is a must read.

I bought this book on a whim. I was looking for something technical to bring on a flight cross-country the next morning, and the selection at borders was thin. (Sorry Amazon!) This was the book in my hand when the store started to close.

I really enjoyed the story. It was very compelling, and I very much could relate to the author.

Some people won't like this book. Probably if you have gray hair, a perfect driving record, a ferrarri, or children you should probably pass.

This is one of the most exhilarating books I have ever read! It is impossible to put down once you start it, and never is there a dull moment throughout the entire thing.

This book is a great addition to car culture and an exciting read. Highly recommened!!!

As a driver in the last real Cannonball in 1979, I find this book absolutely fascinating in so many different ways. A few random thoughts:

1. At the beginning, Alex tries to set some sort of foundation for the book by creating a monumental amount of double talk in a vain attempt to imply that his father is somehow connected to the real Cannonball. Did he drive in it? Did he apply, get accepted and not go? Did he apply and get turned down? Did he not even apply? No evidence of anything is offered. Given Alex's efforts to document in mind-numbing detail his own cross-country trip, it's a safe bet that his father had no connection in any way, shape or form to the Cannonball. I'd say my grandmother is more connected to the Cannonball than Alex's father. At least she's related to someone who actually did it. Since Alex has the word "truth" on the cover, he might want to consider modifying the beginning of the book.
2. Alex seems to think that what he does is really "dangerous". That word is also right there on the book's cover. Anyone who knows anything about Brock Yates and the origin of the Cannonball knows that the whole objective was to point out how underutilized our speed-limit-constipated interstate system was compared to more enlightened folks like the Germans with their no-limit autobahns. Alex's "accomplishment" is no different than a German housewife on the Autobahn on the way to the grocery.
3. Alex seems to feel that his time of 31:04 is just flat out amazing. He conveniently forgets that when the last Cannonball was done in 1979 the interstate system was not yet finished. In Arizona and New Mexico in particular there were numerous sections not yet built. Real Cannonballers that year were sitting at dead stops at red lights and stop signs in countless small towns where Alex now gets to drone along in triple-digit territory on the nearby now-completed interstate. Dave Heinz and Dave Yarborough won it in 1979 in 32:51 with only a radar detector. Tom Hickey and a couple of buddies were right behind in 32:59 and they didn't even have a radar detector. Needless to say, neither had GPS, cell phones, Google Earth, scanners, night vision, gyroscopically stabilized binoculars, HID headlights, airbags or spotter planes. Neither had extra fuel tanks, either. Myself and a couple of buddies did it in a two year old Camaro with a bone stock driveline making a whopping 170 horsepower. Our top speed was therefore limited to around 115 and we finished in 39:45. Dave Heinz and Dave Yarborough had a Jaguar XJS and Tom Hickey had a 6.9 Mercedes, both of which could drone along at 130 to 140 quite nicely. Tougher than LeMans, Alex says? Please. Dave Heinz held the LeMans record for many years as the highest finish for an American driver in an American car in the GT class in a Corvette. He thought of his 32:51 in the Cannonball as a fun, relaxing weekend. Oh, by the way, it took Alex three tries to come up with his 31:04 even with a completed interstate system. His first try was a 34:46, his second a DNF. No real Cannonballer got a "best of three" opportunity.
4. Alex constantly reminds us of his "multiple trophy wins" in the world of "rallys". One of them turns out to be a "style trophy". That's nice. Real enthusiasts think of things like the FIA's World Rally Championship or the Paris-Dakar Rally when they hear the word "rally". Certainly not hokey, gimmick-laden contrivances like the Gumball or Bullrun.
5. Alex Roy endlessly tries to give the impression that he is "obsessed" with cross country driving. After reading this book it appears his main obsession is an insatiable need for self-promotion and publicity. Sort of like a Paris Hilton on wheels. I wonder if she's represented by the William Morris Agency, too?

All i can say is that this guy is my hero! The book is well written and very easy to read. I really wish it was longer though...