ATLAS F1   Volume 6, Issue 34
The Bookworm Critique "MICHAEL SCHUMACHER: DRIVEN TO EXTREMES"
By James Allen Published by Bantam Books	by Mark Glendenning, Australia

"I love Michael, I really do. But boy does he make it hard!" Damon Hill's comments, made shortly after Jerez 1997, summed up a particular aspect of Michael Schumacher's public image quite neatly. Few would argue over his ability - in terms of sheer talent, Schumacher is so far ahead of his contemporaries that it is virtually pointless to even attempt a comparison. Millions love him for it, and rightly so. There's another side to the picture though - several actually - and it's here that we run into problems. Put simply, Michael Schumacher is frequently his own worst enemy. The catalogue of on-track incidents in which he has played some part is long, and it has been discussed, debated, and dissected far too often for me to need to go into it again now. The interesting thing is that many of these incidents were not actually all that terrible. For sure, there are one or two that will remain as a blemish on his record in the history books, and probably with good reason. There are others though, which have been no worse than anything that a number of other drivers, both past and present have done. Things always seem to take on a slightly different slant where the German is involved though. This is due in part to his status in the sport - part of the price of success is the fact that every minutiae of each race weekend will be scrutinized far more heavily by the media and general audience than may be the case for a guy that has never qualified higher than 17th on the grid. There's also the media's endless search for a spin on a story. Traditional rivalries between drivers have added spark to countless seasons over the years, and if the press thinks that they can add enough kindling to create a fire, then it's a case of 'stand back lest your eyebrows be singed off'. Schumacher has had a feud of some kind with just about every driver of some note over the past few years - Hill, Villeneuve, and particularly Coulthard. Michael, though, does little to help himself. What might be a fairly standard racing incident - one where, for example, most fans would be happy to divide the blame 50/50 between the drivers and leave it at that - often escalates into something much, much bigger if Schumacher is involved, and it usually has a lot to do with the way he conducts himself with the media immediately after the event. Schumacher is far from being the first driver to have difficulty accepting blame or responsibility - Senna was notorious for it, and even some of the more 'mild-mannered' drivers like Hill had their moments. Again though, where Schumacher is concerned, things take on a completely degree of significance. It's an interesting situation for the observer, a huge problem for Schumacher, and the subject of a book by ITV reporter James Allen. 'Driven to Extremes' is an updated version of last year's 'Quest for Redemption', which was reviewed by Atlas F1 some time ago. Given that this new edition is essentially the earlier book with three extra chapters added, I'll try to avoid repeating myself. Much of what was written in the 'Quest for Redemption' review still stands, so if you're considering buying this then it might be worth visiting the earlier critique. Essentially, Allen is setting out to strip away the many layers that make up the popular image of Michael Schumacher to create some impression of what the man is really like. The story is primarily set against Schumacher's battle to rebuild his reputation in the wake of the outcry that exploded following his collision with Villeneuve at Jerez. The author is one of the more perceptive and astute members of the press corps, and these qualities serve him well in what cannot have been an easy task. Schumacher is one of the few elements of modern Formula One for which there are no fence-sitters; everybody has an opinion, and usually a strong one at that. Those involved with the sport usually also have some kind of agenda where the German is concerned, be it a desire to protect him, a desire to poach him, or a desire to defeat him. Allen does an admirable job of wading through all this, and the result is one of the most fair and even-handed driver books in ages. There is a banner across the back cover proclaiming that the book has been 'Revised and Updated'. Unfortunately, this seems to be a bit of a half-truth. The scope has certainly been extended - where 'Quest for Redemption' ended with Schumacher shaking hands with newly-crowned World Champion after the 1998 Japanese Grand Prix, this book continues on to document the bizarre 1999 season, in which events conspired to create a situation where Schumacher found himself spending the last couple of races trying to help his teammate win the title. There hasn't been a whole lot of revision of the material from the original book though, and the overall sense of cohesion suffers as a result. I was also disappointed with the poor quality of many of the photographs. This was something I remember mentioning in the earlier review, and this time around it seems to have actually become worse. If you're shelling out full price for a book, you should expect images that don't look like they were reproduced on a ten-year-old colour photocopier in need of a service. Small gripes aside, this is still a very cool book, and possibly one of the only books that will be written about Schumacher that could potentially appeal to all racing fans irrespective of whether they actually like the German. If you've been eyeing the earlier version of the book and deciding whether to buy it, the saying that 'good things come to those who wait' certainly applies here. Not only has the book picked up and extra forty or so pages, but also the new paperback edition is less than half the RRP of the original. If you haven't read this book yet, then I'd recommend it without hesitation. Those who already have 'Quest for Redemption' are probably wondering whether it's worth picking up the new version. It's a tough call, but on balance I'd say probably not. The extra material is interesting, but doesn't really say too much that hasn't already been said elsewhere. To give you a taste of it though, here is an excerpt describing the aftermath of Malaysia: "Ross Brawn summed up the way Ferrari felt about Schumacher's comeback. 'I think that the commitment he made to the team in Malaysia showed his true nature. Unfortunately he is often misunderstood and there are a lot of sceptics who said, 'Oh he won't do anything for them, he'll do his own thing'. They don't understand the guy. He was a true team player and he did what was asked of him by the team. Michael is a great guy and everyone in the team loves him. It's the same with Benetton. You ask anyone who was there with him what he's like and no-one has a bad word to say about him because they know the real Michael Schumacher. Unfortunately; he has a different persona to the outside world sometimes." (p.274).

Mark Glendenning	© 2000 Kaizar.Com, Incorporated.
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