Enzo Ferrari: Power, Politics and the Making of an Automotive Empire

Enzo Ferrari
Power, Politics, and the Making of an Automotive Empire
(2018, David Bull Publishing)

by Luca Dal Monte

The author in conversation with Stefano Albertini (NYU).

When Enzo Ferrari was born in 1898, automobiles were still a novelty in his native Italy. When he died ninety years later, the company he built stood at the top of a global industry, with the Ferrari name universally recognized for performance, racing prowess, and state-of-the-art Italian design. Enzo Ferrari: Power, Politics, and the Making of an Automotive Empire is the definitive account of an epic life.

Drawing on years of original research conducted in Italy and abroad, author (and Ferrari insider) Luca Dal Monte uncovers a wealth of new facts about Enzo’s origins, ambitions, business practices, and private life. The book revisits all the highlights of Ferrari’s rise to greatness: his driving career in the 1920s; his management of racing teams for Alfa Romeo in the 1930s; the launch of his own company and team in the late 1940s, and his unprecedented successes building cars for the road and race track in the following decades.  But the book also examines lesser-known and sometimes hidden aspects of Ferrari’s career, from his earliest failed business ventures to his political dealings with Italy’s Fascist government, Allied occupiers, and even Communist leaders.  And it lays bare the internal politics of the Ferrari company and team, whose leader manipulated employees, drivers, competitors and the media with a volatile mixture of brute force, paranoia, and guile.

Accompanying the in-depth text are extensive endnotes along with a full bibliography and index.  The book is illustrated with four separate sections of photos, exhibits, and artefacts, and opens with a foreword by former Ferrari president Luca Di Montezemolo, who previously served as the company’s Formula One team manager.

This is truly the definitive biography of Enzo Ferrari, one that makes previous accounts obsolete. Its depth, scale, and detail make it essential reading for automotive and motorsports enthusiasts. But other readers will be drawn to a sweeping story of Italian life, business, and culture during the 20th century.

In ENGLISH.

From the Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimo.