Mickey Thompson: The Fast Life and Tragic Death of a Racing Legend
When Mickey Thompson and his wife Trudy were assassinated in their driveway in the pre-dawn hours of March 16, 1988, the salacious details of the crime and the years of legal wrangling that followed made for hundreds of splashy headlines and sexy television soundbytes.
After all, the story had it all . . . unknown hooded gunmen riding into a gated Southern California community on bicycles, ambushing their victims and brutally ending their lives while neighbors ate breakfast and read the morning paper.
Leaving behind more than $70,000 in jewelry, the killing was an obvious “hit,” and those close to Mickey and Trudy immediately pointed to Mickey’s hot-headed former business partner Michael Goodwin as the mastermind behind the tragedy. Nearly 20 years later, Goodwin was found guilty by a Pasadena Superior Court jury in 2006 of two counts of first-degree murder. The actual gunmen were never identified or apprehended.
John Walsh and America’s Most Wanted did multiple episodes leading up to the conviction. Robert Stack featured the murders on Unsolved Mysteries. CBS’ 48 Hours Mystery got in the act. Everyone wanted a piece of the story.
A good story, however, has much more than a powerful ending.
Who was Mickey Thompson? What made him more than just another victim of violent crime in America? This is what Mickey Thompson: The Fast Life and Mysterious Death of a Racing Legend explores.
Mickey was one of the most influential figures in early American motorsports. While he did have loyal and longtime friends, Mickey always did things one way . . . his way. And he did it with speed . . . he did everything with speed.
From his 1950s adventures in the Carrera Panamericana, ending with five dead and dramatic pictures in Life Magazine in 1953, through making a one-way run of 406.60 miles per hour at the Bonneville Salt Flats in 1960 in his famed Challenger, through multiple trend-setting entries in the famed Indianapolis 500 and into the creation of some of the most popular off-road racing series and motor sportsstadium shows, Mickey’s life was full of “firsts.”
And in a world that seems to be moving faster than even Mickey Thompson could have imagined, the complete story of this true American legend is one worth slowing down for.
Product Details
Editorial Reviews
Review
"It's a compelling book which is hard to put down." --- Drag Racing Action
"It's a compelling book which is hard to put down." --Drag Racing Action
"This 304-page hardcover book, which includes 75 black-and-white photographs, reacquaints readers with Thompson, who he was and what he accomplished." --National Speed Sport News
"Thompson was a highly influential driver and promoter in the drag-racing field of motor sports. A hard charger and innovator, he lived life at 200 miles per hour and in the process developed a legion of fans and not a few enemies. Still, it was shocking when he and his wife were murdered in 1988, even more shocking when it took the authorities 15 years to solve the case, and surreal when a business associate was convicted of the crime nearly 20 years after it happened. Arneson (John Force: The Straight Story of Drag Racing's 300-MPH Superstar) relays the tale in a stark narrative that highlights Thompson's accomplishments, the facts surrounding his death, and the heroic fight of his family to keep the case in the spotlight until justice was served. Recommended for public and all motor sports collections." --Eric C. Shoaf, Library Journal
SPEEDTV.com, September 2008 (views per month: 604,122).
Review
"Mickey Thompson: The Fast Life and Tragic Death of a Racing Legend grabbed me from the second I saw the cover photograph. I would label the image "A couple of Mavericks." The photo shows Mickey with a bandaged hand posing in front of a Ford Maverick dragster. How appropriate. Mickey was the ultimate "Maverick." He did things one way-HIS way! Mickey Thompson: The Fast Life and Tragic Death of a Racing Legend documents the triumphs and tragedy of this motorsports legend. The book rates four out of five lug nuts. " --Gregg Leary, SpeedTV.com
Review
"Author Erik Arneson, through close cooperation with the Thompson family, has written a full accounting..."
"The author, head of public relations for Speed Channel, offers a strongly researched recap of Thompson's remarkable life story in this 304-page hardcover. Arneson enjoyed the family's cooperation on the book, with added help from countless interviewees and court records from the determined police investigation that finally resolved the slayings and brought the Thompson's killer to justice. On a bittersweet anniversary, this book arrives as very overdue and very welcome."
Review
"Well researched, Erik talked to most if not all of the main players in Mickey's life. Performing the job of bringing all of these facts, stories and remembrances together is no small job. It's done beautifully in Mickey Thompson: The Fast Life and Tragic Death of a Racing Legend. It's a good book and deserves your serious attention, if you want to learn more about a true racing legend. I highly recommend it."
Customer Reviews
excellent book for fans
Bought this for father in law for xmas.He picked it up and didnt stop reading till he was finished.He recommends it to any car fanatics
Great Book
Perfect and well written book for any fan of hot rodding or of American Culture. Highly recommended.
America's Racer
A real page-turner about one of the icons of speed. A self-taught, Southern California hot rodder who engineered and raced land speed record cars and was part of the rear-engine revolution at Indy. I sat in front of the 1964 Indy 500 pileup that killed Thompson's driver, Dave McDonald and veteran Eddie Sachs - Mickey was accused of building a junk car and contributing to the disaster, but the other side of the story was the always conservative USAC officials who forced last-minute changes in his racer without time to retest the car. Well written book that fully explores the investigative work that led to the jailing of Mickey's former partner who ordered the murder of Mickey and his wife 14 years prior.
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