James Dean: At Speed

James Dean: At Speed by Raskin, Lee. hardcover edition. ISBN: 9781893618497.

James Dean: At Speed provides a richly illustrated, precise account of Dean’s life, from his early childhood and his determination to succeed as an actor, to a minute-by-minute account of the events of September 30, 1955, and his untimely death. The unmatched accuracy and careful attention to detail of this research have earned James Dean: At Speed the endorsement of the Dean family and a personal foreword by Jimmy’s cousin, Marcus Winslow. Dean’s love affair with speed started early. By age ten he was driving around the family farm on a tractor, then on a motorized bicycle called a Whizzer. In high school he was the only teenager to own a motorcycle, a CZ 125cc, and he was famous for daredevil stunts and scaring the wits out of his classmates. In the years that followed Jimmy bought a succession of more powerful motorcycles. When his acting career generated the money that finally allowed him to purchase a proper sports car, he immediately bought a race-prepared MG, then traded that for a Porsche Speedster, with which he competed in sports car racing in Southern California. Jimmy was on his way to a race, driving his new state-of-the-art Porsche 550 Spyder, when he lost his life in an accident. This remarkable biography ends with a comprehensive epilogue that brings Jimmy’s story up to date and explains what has happened to the people and the machines that filled Jimmy’s life. This "Where are they now?" information is fascinating and intriguing, and it debunks the many myths and misconceptions that have become intertwined with Jimmy’s legend. Now, fifty years after Jimmy’s death, there are new facts and many surprises in store for the reader.