The Boy Audiobook By Richard Williams cover art

The Boy

Stirling Moss: A Life in 60 Laps

Preview

Try for $0.00
Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

The Boy

By: Richard Williams
Narrated by: Richard Williams
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $18.14

Buy for $18.14

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

About this listen

'Captures the bold, engaging spirit of one of Britain’s best-loved sporting heroes' Sunday Times
'A fascinating read and sure to be the definitive account of his life' Mark Knopfler
SHORTLISTED FOR THE SPORTS WRITING BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD


Even in the midst of a global pandemic, the death of Stirling Moss on 12 April 2020 at the age of 90 made headlines, almost 60 years after he retired from Formula One. In The Boy, Richard Williams assesses what made him such an iconic figure.

Told in 60 brief chapters, Williams builds a fascinating and revealing portrait of a driver who was a hero to millions. As the long years of war began to recede, sport in Britain was getting moving again and there was a need for heroes. Denis Compton and Stanley Matthews were in their pomp, playing to packed houses. But Stirling Moss was a fresh face, just 17 years old when he first emerged in 1947. Too young to have served and been scarred by the war, he was soon revealed to possess not only an unearthly degree of skill but the qualities of courage and resolution noted in the generation that fought in the air and on land and sea. Their youth had been stolen; his was new and unspoiled.

The Boy explains how and why he came to occupy such a unique place in the esteem and the affections of the nation. Why him, rather than some of his contemporaries, such as Mike Hawthorn and Peter Collins, who shared a role in the rise of Britain as a power in international motor racing? Moss may never have been world champion, but he created a remarkable and enduring legacy, and Williams brilliantly shows just how he did it.©2021 Richard Williams (P)2021 Simon & Schuster UK
Sports War
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Critic reviews

‘Moss raced in 108 different cars, many lovingly described by Williams, who knows his torque from his traction. He writes skilfully for petrolheads but also those of us whose delight is in the quirky details... a book that is rather more than a biography. Call it an appreciation of what makes a sporting hero. This book would certainly be the starting point for any screenplay in affectionately setting out why Moss, the racer, was so revered.’ (Matt Dickinson)
'A fascinating read and sure to be the definitive account of his life' (Mark Knopfler)
'Williams's fast-paced and affectionate biography...captures the bold, engaging spirit of one of Britain’s best-loved sporting heroes... [he] seems incapable of writing a dull sentence about these now legendary racing cars’ (Justin Marozzi)

What listeners say about The Boy

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    9
  • 4 Stars
    2
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    7
  • 4 Stars
    2
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    7
  • 4 Stars
    1
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great book

Great story! What a legend! Would have loved to have seen him race and hear his stories.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Difficult to follow

Moss was an interesting figure, but there doesn’t seem to be any organization to the book; at least not chronological. The narrator jumps back and forth in the timeline, which made this history hard to follow.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!