JENSON BUTTON:
MY LIFE ON THE FORMULA ONE ROLLERCOASTER.

By Jenson Button & David Tremayne; Published by Bantam Press.

After two years in Formula One, the time is apparently ripe for Jenson Button to tell his life story. If you think you've sniffed out a whiff of cynicism here then I apologise, but simultaneously concede that you are absolutely right.

Biographies fall into two distinct groups. It's tempting to label them 'good' and 'bad', but for the sake of diplomacy I'll opt instead for 'those seeking to make a genuine contribution to the broader pool of motor racing knowledge', and 'those seeking to maximise the subject's high profile and make a wad of cash large enough to stuff a king-size mattress'.

No prizes for guessing that this is one of the latter. Jenson Button has put in a few performances that underline his undoubted natural talent, but he is far away from having achieved anything worth writing an entire book about. Indeed, the one angle that could perhaps be of interest – an insight into his dramatic change in fortunes from his first season to his second – is largely glossed over.

This is to be expected. I don't know how many of you have the opportunity to read Formula One (or any other motorsport) press relseases, but stylistically they don't vary too much from books like this one. This is PR, pure and simple. If anything, Jenson's book is taking the marketing aspect to new heights.

The dust jacket, for example, carries logos for Jenson's merchandising brand as well as another sponsor. And when you first open the book you find, facing the title page, information for those wishing to join JB's Official Fan Club. The idea, in other words, is for you to have the book – and the t-shirt to prove it.

This book seems to have had several working titles during its production, and two versions still survive – the jacket reads 'My Life on the Formula One Rollercoaster'; Amazon.co.uk calls it 'My Turbulent Life in Formula One.' Neither, frankly, inspired me with any great urge to read the book, but by the same token, I presumed (or maybe just hoped) that things could only get better.

The surprise is that it did. Now, don't get me wrong. 'My Life ...' is far from rivalling, say, Gerald Donaldson's books about James Hunt and Gilles Villeneuve or Chris Nixon's better works at the sharper end of the racing bio world, but as fluff pieces go it is not too bad.

Having the right people on board helps. David Tremayne, who 'co-wrote' the book with Jenson, is one of England's better racing writers and is responsible for the excellent 'Science of Safety' and 'Science of Speed' titles that were reviewed here last year. While the content never strays beyond the superficial for fear that we might actually learn something about Jenson, it avoids descending to the truly awful depths that have been apparent elsewhere.

Anybody interested in Button's rise through the junior formulae will probably enjoy the early part of this book. For my part, having followed Jenson's early years rather casually, it was probably the highlight of the whole thing. OK, well maybe it was a tie between that and his account of actually being offered an F1 drive by Sir Frank Williams.

There were a few golden opportunities for Tremayne (sorry, Button) to really reveal something about Jenson's character that, disappointingly, were sidestepped. At one point, Button talks about a meeting with Ron Dennis, where it was suggested that Jenson would do well to dispense with his management team. Button declined, and used the incident to illustrate his great sense of loyalty. The fact that he actually did sack his old managers at the end of last season, then, raises some obvious questions.

It should come as no great shock that they are left unanswered. In fact, the entire episode is summed up in one sentence: "Reluctantly, I also had to take some hard decisions about my future, and at the end of 2001 I made revisions to my management structure." (p.241).

There is a proliferation of quotes from various people close to Jenson highlighted throughout the book, most of which, naturally, present Button in the greatest possible light. Jenson himself makes mention of his slight discomfort about the famous quote from the kart track owner, who said "Who are the three best karters I ever saw? Not three, two. Ayrton Senna and Jenson Button," but that still doesn't stop it appearing a couple of times in the main body of the text in addition to being emblazoned across the back cover.

Similarly, Jenson's father gets more than his share of airtime. Certainly, he played a pivotal role in Jenson's early years, and continues to do so now that he is involved in his son's management. But fathers – and sporting fathers in particular – have a special reputation for dividing the world into 'MY BOY/GIRL! MY AMAZING, TALENTED, (fabulously wealthy) BOY/GIRL!' and 'all those other pretenders.' Suffice to say that Button Snr devotes little effort toward controlling his partiality. That's all well and good – hell, I'd be proud too – but it's probably a bit much to expect people to pay for the privilege of reading it.

There's little point recommending this book one way or the other. If you're a Jenson fan you'll no doubt enjoy it. It's very readable, Button comes across as a likeable character who loves his job, and you'll learn a whole bunch of biographical stuff about your man that you probably never knew before. But if you're not amongst the ranks of Button-worshippers, then there is equally no reason whatsoever to bother seeking out a copy.