Perhaps it was my choice of vendor but this book took a month to arrive and did so--much to my surprise, in a package sent from London, England. This book is exceptional for its capture of what enabled Mark Donohue to be one of the most successful sports car racers of all time. His legacy lives on with his son David who is still racing and has won numerous high profile events (24 Heures du Mans, Rolex 24 at Daytona) throughout his career.

For anyone that enjoys a success story based on hard work and that little bit of luck that sometimes comes along,then this is the book for you.
An ordinary bloke that is now recognised as one of the all time great sports car drivers.
When the Porsche 917 first appeared,it was not the easiest of cars to control,but with his input and a company that would listen,they turned it into a car so totally dominant that the rules were changed to in effect
stop it from competing further.
All Hail Mark Donohue.

This book gives great insight into a critical period of racing history as interesting and informative as the beginning of racing history

The Unfair Advantage is one of the seminal books on motor racing in the United States as it developed in the sixties and seventies. Hugely interesting and important as an in depth view of the developmant of racing as seen through the eyes of Mark Donohue, one of the early technicians of motor racing. The simple solutions that were created from basic trial, error, retrial and success are at once astounding and nas plain as the nose on your face. Things that we take for granted in racing now were developed as 'unfair advantages' by Donohue and Penske as they struggled to develop winning cars in TransAm, CanAm, Formula 1, Usac Champ cars, and a variety of other venues. The lessons learned here have served many racers well over the years and the inside takes by Donohue on the movers and shakers of that time period are enlightening to say the least. Unfortunately, we lost Mark to a racing accident years ago, but we have these words to remember him by as well as his great record of on track success. A great read. I highly recommend it.

Donohue's very enjoyable autobiography goes into considerable detail about his racing career while understandably ignoring his personal life. His descriptions of the early days, when engine dynos were uncommon, and suspension setup was by guess and by God, are eye-opening.

It would have been nice to have some more technical details, but as he points out, they are a part of his team's "Unfair Advantage".

If you are a fan of Mark Donohue, or a racing fan from the era of the CanAm series, I believe you will enjoy this biography. It has enlightened me to the complications and hardships in preparing and maintaining a proper race care. There is much insight into the business side off the sport as well, and demonstrates Roger Penske's determination and acuity in running a top flight team.

I saw this book last weekend at a Vintage Race being held ther by HSR-West and figured it would be a great collectos item. But it is a lot more than that; it is a real insight to the trials and tribulations of racing and race car development. Donohue comes out as a very humble driver and he is not afraid to admit his mistakes and that of the team. This is a book that you don;t to put down but you also don;t want to be finished with it. I did see Mark Donohue at one of the Riverside Trans-Ams in 1968. I was always wondering what really happened at the end of the 69 season to make Penske swith to that AMC junk and now I know.. Do not miss this book.

This book is easily one of the best narratives about racing I've ever come across. It is a personal and honest account of the late Mark Donahue's racing career from his impromptu start to the zenith of his career in Formula 1, Indy Racing, and Can Am to his retirement.

Anyone who races or aspires to race will delight in his firsthand recollections of his racing exploits and his perspective on one of the great programs in motorsport history (the Can Am Porsche 917).

Highly recommended.

There are very few motorsports books extant that can be called true classics or world-changers. This is one of them, and it's one of the best on top of that. Mark Donahue was an extrordinary individual, not only a blindingly fast driver, but also a talented, disciplined, and most importantly, curious engineer.

To have the virtues of both top-level driver and top-level engineer embodied in the same person is a very rare combination. To have been present - indeed, to be one of the driving forces behind - a revolution within a sport and an industry is even rarer. To have this person write about his experiences while busy changing the world is precious beyond price.

To put it simply, you cannot be a student of the profession of motor racing without reading this book.

I offer this as evidence: while I am by no means an autograph hound, I do, from time to time, have occasion to encounter people within the motorsports family whom I admire enough to want to collect an autograph from. I use my copy of The Unfair Advantage as my autograph storage device. Putting this book in front of people like Jackie Stewart, Carroll Shelby, and Carroll Smith results in a shock of recognition, followed by praise for the author. What greater endorsement could you want?

Donohue's apparent candidness and ability to give about the right amount of technical detail without getting boring weaves you through a history of this period of racing when a few guys could do all the race prep. They lived a hard life on the road. Donohue divorced. A rare look from an engineer driver's point of view and the sometimes austere and lonely life of racing. Roger Penske was his team owner and is commented on from Donohue's point of view. Somehow this book changes you as a person as you seem to experience Donohue's racing life though an un-glossed writing style. This style is part of the secret of the books greatness. Though it was likely edited by someone it was NOT "normalized" to be a standard bland coffee table book. Instead it remains in character to the situations and people involved. A rare look into someone else's professional life. Highly recommended.

This is a book I waited to be reprinted for a long time. Mark's honesty about his weaknesses and fears is a sign of his strength and desire to be the best. I admired him for his accomplishments and even more for his drive after reading this book. He helped make Roger Penske the racing legend he is. Will we ever see a man like Mark again? I doubt it!