"He punched the light at the end of the tunnel with such force that he thought he heard the walls of the tunnel collapse in his wake. To the viewer sitting still, the blur of his jet-black helmet extended, for an instant, the dark of the tunnel behind into the light of day. As his engine purred through the soaring bandwidth of it´s seventh and highest gear, the long, gray-streaked hair that ran out from under the back of his helmet beat wildly against the chassis of the black racer. While the driver could not notice the stunned silence brought about by the last announcement, what he did next caused the announcer to stop mid-sentence. And the gasp that issued forth from the crowd was of such strength that he thought he might have heard it..."

But even this was as nothing for what yet was to come.

In a monastery deep in the Carolina wilderness, a monk prepares for his ultimate destiny. A born racer, time, tragedy and a deep, religious faith have mellowed him to blot out almost completely his ´World of Before´ -- and the dreams of a much younger man.In an equally inauspicious district of Middle England, an eccentric car manufacturer puts the finishing touches on a career that parallels the automotive age. Accepting his familial role as purveyor of an exotic, handmade relic of a car in an age that had long since passed beyond the quaint, runabout world of his inventor-father, he now stands ready to watch his own son carry the banner of an impractical, but elegant classic into another century.

How the enigmatic monk and the eccentric carmaker combine forces to outwit and ultimately vanquish the world´s automotive powers at the world´s greatest race is a tale that will stay with you long after you read it.

Take a deep breath now... You will not have time to breathe during those fateful, final laps...

´What we have here is some wild combination of St. Francis of Assisi and Chuck Yeager! ...And, oddly enough, this one could outsell them all...´

This is not a how to book. It is a how you can book. It is not even a book in the conventional sense; it is a classroom seminar on advanced driver training. It is a discussion about the driving skills; drivers have the most difficulty with when it comes to car control. It is not a defensive driving manual, although there are not any driving skills available to replace defensive driving skills. It is a compilation of years of experience observing students participating in advanced driver training. Not from the perspective of what they did not know, but from the perspective of what they did not understand about driving because it had never been taught. It is an in depth discussion about how we can improve our driving skills and car control skills. The discussion examines what actually happens just before and during the driving emergency, to the driver and the vehicle. We will talk about controversial driving subjects, candidly and openly. We will discuss why the otherwise excellent driver suddenly “freezes up” when faced with a potentially life threatening driving situation and what we can do to prevent it happening to us. On the pages of this book, you will become intimately familiar with your vehicle tires, steering wheel, Brake and accelerator pedals. You will get to know those body chemicals that can drive our muscles to do phenomenal things or shut us down. You will get to know your eyes, and why their correct use, is critical to driver car control.

Skid control is not just about turning the steering wheel in the direction of the skid. Skid control is understanding and thereby anticipating everything there is to know about a skid! The discussions on advanced driving techniques follow a philosophy that has been proven on the driving course. If I simply tell you how to do something and then let you practice until you get it right you may or may not be able to accomplish that action under extreme excitation, fear or duress. If I can find a way to help you understand, WHY, certain skills are essential you will retain that knowledge and find a way to practice it and put it to use. There are no simple single acts of car control skill during the driving emergency.

The acts of steering while braking or mastering the techniques of maximum effective braking are easily accomplished in a controlled environment. During the highway driving emergency, they are several steps down the list of what needed to happen to avoid or reduce the damaging consequences of a crash! On the pages of The Complete Driver, we will examine all aspects of advanced driver skill and what we can do to improve our skills, on a daily basis, and why we must.

This is not a how to book. It is a how you can book. It is not even a book in the conventional sense; it is a classroom seminar on advanced driver training. It is a discussion about the driving skills; drivers have the most difficulty with when it comes to car control. It is not a defensive driving manual, although there are not any driving skills available to replace defensive driving skills. It is a compilation of years of experience observing students participating in advanced driver training. Not from the perspective of what they did not know, but from the perspective of what they did not understand about driving because it had never been taught. It is an in depth discussion about how we can improve our driving skills and car control skills. The discussion examines what actually happens just before and during the driving emergency, to the driver and the vehicle. We will talk about controversial driving subjects, candidly and openly. We will discuss why the otherwise excellent driver suddenly “freezes up” when faced with a potentially life threatening driving situation and what we can do to prevent it happening to us. On the pages of this book, you will become intimately familiar with your vehicle tires, steering wheel, Brake and accelerator pedals. You will get to know those body chemicals that can drive our muscles to do phenomenal things or shut us down. You will get to know your eyes, and why their correct use, is critical to driver car control.

Skid control is not just about turning the steering wheel in the direction of the skid. Skid control is understanding and thereby anticipating everything there is to know about a skid! The discussions on advanced driving techniques follow a philosophy that has been proven on the driving course. If I simply tell you how to do something and then let you practice until you get it right you may or may not be able to accomplish that action under extreme excitation, fear or duress. If I can find a way to help you understand, WHY, certain skills are essential you will retain that knowledge and find a way to practice it and put it to use. There are no simple single acts of car control skill during the driving emergency.

The acts of steering while braking or mastering the techniques of maximum effective braking are easily accomplished in a controlled environment. During the highway driving emergency, they are several steps down the list of what needed to happen to avoid or reduce the damaging consequences of a crash! On the pages of The Complete Driver, we will examine all aspects of advanced driver skill and what we can do to improve our skills, on a daily basis, and why we must.

Automobile accidents are rare. That´s right! Accidents, as in "chance happenings" (according to Webster), are hardly chance at all. Accidents don´t just happen. They are caused; caused by indifference and by incompetence. With few exceptions, they are the direct result of driver error which could have, and should have been avoided. Or, as some driving instructors like to say, "a meteor hitting your car is an accident, everything else is driver error". If you don´t believe that, this book will convince you.

In most states, the test to qualify for driving license is a joke. It demonstrates none of the skills required to avoid dangerous situations in traffic and does nothing to show the applicant´s ability to minimize judgement errors. This book shows exactly what they are and how to correct them.

Racing drivers use their eyes, hands and feet in ways which can benefit us on the highway. This book describes these skills in detail and how they can be used to improve everyday driving. It addresses the thought processes involved and suggests ways to avoid surprises - the most common of driving errors. It explains how to improve quick thinking, rapid decision making and anticipation to help deal with emergencies on the road.

Many of these largely unappreciated skills are only taught in High Performance Driving Schools not everyone can afford or have ready access to. Law enforcement agencies, and industries employing fleets of vehicles in their business, send their people to these schools for the very purpose of making them safer drivers. A list of these schools and their programs appears in the appendix.

This book also includes an introduction to the sporting aspects of automobile driving and the various types of motorsports available through the many clubs active in these pursuits. A list in the appendix includes names and addresses of clubs in the U.S.

The step by step self-training guide, at the end, includes all major points covered in the text and will help the reader through his or her own self improvement program.  

Please see book excerpt for a detailed CONTENTS OVERVIEW

www.alsbooks.com