Born in Shropshire soon after the end of the First World War, venerable
motoring writer W de Forte has driven everything from his grandfather's
first Daimler, to modern-day supercars ... ridden everything from
vertiginous Victorian penny farthings, to high velocity twenty-first
century superbikes ... travelled everywhere from the permafrost of the
Arctic Circle to the baking sands of the Baja Peninsula ... and met
everyone from Tazio Nuvolari to Valentino Rossi.W de Forte enjoyed an
eventful career as a top-level journalist, spanning 75 years, during
which time he tested many thousands of cars and reported on countless
automotive events around the world. This made him uniquely qualified to
comment on all aspects of classic and vintage motoring and motorcycling.
Relatively undimmed by age and ague, even in his mid-90s, de Forte had
no plans to retire, but, in late 2014, a high-speed prang while testing
a wayward Rudge Ulster at a racing circuit in Belgium brought him up
with a jolt, both literally and metaphorically. After recuperating in
hospital, he settled down to write his long-awaited and much requested
auto-biography. This unique and insightful book is the result. Packed
with fascinating stories about classic cars and motorcycles, A Life
Awheel - the 'Auto' Biography of W de Forte is an account of an
extraordinary motoring life, and the story of motoring in the 20th
century.
