Synopses & Reviews
Gentleman, entrepreneur, and excellent racing driver, this is the fascinating story of John (Jack) Sears or Gentleman Jack as he was popularly known. As sir John states in the foreword “Jack was the gentleman that I should have been. He had the grace, while I only had the title. I often told him that he should have had it rather than I, but he wasn’t buying. Although he started racing several years before I did, our careers took a parallel path for much of the way, and this gave me the privilege of getting to know him really well. That he was an outstanding driver is obvious, and you will have had this reaffirmed by the time you have read this book” This incredibly detailed biography not only tells of Jack’s amazing motoring career from his perspective but of the whole Sears dynasty. The businesses, the friends, the highs and the lows. Packed with facts straight from the man himself and illustrated with over 150 unique photos this is a must have piece of motoring history.
Review
"A chronological account of Sears' 15-year span as a a racing driver, based on research by the author, input from the man himself and interviews with his associates and competitors." â?? Lotus Club InternationalClassic and Sports Car, May 2008UK magazineFrom driving his father's 1914 Sunbeam TT in VSCC events in the early '50s to a monstrous shunt while testing a Lotus 40 at Silverstone, Jack Sears' career specialized in sports and saloon cars. A popular racer who starred in some of the most spectacular British races during the '50s and '60s, 'Gentleman Jack' is long overdue a biography. Scottish historian Gauld has done a fine job of tapping into the dapper Norfolk farmer's sharp memory and amazing photo archive. As well as Sears' vivid recollections of epic contests â?? such as his Cortina battle with great friend Sir John Whitmore at Silverstone in '65, the winning debut of the Ford Galaxie, again at Silverstone, and his legendary Cobra charge at Brands after a black-flag incident â?? Gauld also interviews rivals and team-mates to enhance the story. Sears doesn't skip the big offs, including his career-ending exit at Abbey in the Lotus. An added bonus is a chapter on the fabulous historic car collection started by Sears' father, Stanley. There's also a comprehensive appendix on every event the ace competed in. Our only criticism is the heavy-handed design by Veloce. The crude Photoshop treatment seems needless because the photo selection is marvelous, while the plugs for the publisher's website throughout the book are unworthy of this fine driver.Octane, May 2008UK magazine"Jack was the gentleman that I should have been. He had the grace, white I only had the title." So begins Sir John Whitmore's foreword to this official and very entertaining biography of Jack Sears, which covers not only Jack's varied racing career - A105 saloon to Jaguar Mk2 3.8 to Ford Galaxie, and much more - but also the Sears dynasty: father Stanley and son David. A great book, but we wish the publisher had spent a bit more on the repro', which is unrelentingly grey.
Review
Motor Sport, May 2008UK magazineLook up any race report from the 1950s or '60s and the name J Sears will likely be there. Saloons, sports cars or vintage, Sears raced it, and often won. Ken Gregory asked him to join the Yeoman Credit team, but he decided single-seaters were a risk too far. That sums him up: racing was a passion, but his real business was farming. However, as this entertaining book makes clear, his good manners concealed a grit that made him a tough racer. As well as quotes from Sears and his peers the book bulges with photos, many personal, plus results tables, but chiefly some lovely tales from a vanished era.Jaguar magazine, Edition 135, May 2008Bi-monthly Australian magazineFor the first time we review two books by the same author - our European correspondent, Graham Gauld who is a proud Scot with a very long history in the sport. Typically of Graham's depth of first hand knowledge and his passion for the sport and writing, both books are entirely different. One is a biography outlining the long career of Jack Sears, while the other is an amazing book detailing the long history of motor racing in Scotland and includes all of the cars, the circuits and the people. Of course, you can purchase both because it is incredibly difficult to put either down, but you may have a preference for one or the other - you decide, because we have read both and they are highly cherished. 'Gentleman Jack' shows you how to do it in motor racing - be very good at what you do, love it deeply - and come from a very wealthy family! With a foreword by Sir John Whitmore, famous amongst other things for racing Ford Galaxies, it outlines his family history in the shoe retailing business and farming, before outlining the build-up of his long and successful career. Most of the photographs are supplied by Jack Sears and so make this book all the more interesting and 'real'. He indulged in club motorsport initially, international rallying in the '50s, then raced cars for Tommy Sopwith's team (Equipe Endeavour) with Mk2 Jaguars, Aston Martins and E-Types. The characters of the time are dotted throughout the book including Salvadori, Coombs, Hill, Cooper, Chapman, Bob Jane, Jim Clark and so on. The cars too are charismatic, and look for works-Lotus Cortinas, Ferrari 330LMBs, the Willment Galaxies and AC Coupes Ferrari GTO etc. Son David, who raced Jaguars for TWR, gets a chapter, as does the family collection of vintage cars. Read in there about a 1904 Mercedes, 1905 Rolls-Royce, TT Sunbeam, supercharged Bentley, the Birkin Bentley - and on it goes! A great read and highly recommended.Classic Ford, May 2008UK magazineProbably best known in classic Ford circles for throwing Galaxies and Cortinas around Europe's racetracks back in the '60s, 'Gentleman' Jack Sears competed in pretty much everything, and was even involved in the organization of the original London-to-Sydney marathon. The book covers his entire career and is packed with great black-and-white photos.
Review
Speedscene, June 2008The magazine of the Hillclimb and Sprint associationBorn into a wealthy family with interests in both the shoe trade and in farming, 'Gentleman' Jack Sears - the name acquired not only through his general demeanour but by his always well-kempt appearance - started motor sport in 1948, competing in rallies, driving tests and speed trials with the Brighton and Hove Motor Club in a Morgan given to him by his father Stanley. He raced saloons and sports cars from the early fifties and became the first ever British Saloon Car Champion in 1958, at the wheel of an Austin A105. His exploits in Jaguars, Lotus Cortinas and the massive Ford Galaxie were legendary in the sixties, when one of his most famous - not to say controversial - wins came at the wheel of John Willment's Shelby Cobra at the 1964 British Grand Prix support race at Brands Hatch. Sears also achieved a degree of notoriety (and, somewhat unfairly, the partial blame for Barbara Castle's blanket 70mph speed limit on British roads) when he and Peter Bolton clocked over 180mph while testing the AC Cobra Coupe on a deserted stretch of the M1 at 5.00am! A serious accident while testing the notorious Lotus 40 at Silverstone curtailed Sears' racing career in 1965 and he returned to farming, but remained involved with motor sport as a key member of the London-Sydney Marathon organizing team. The book concludes with a chapter on his son David, who moved from racing himself into a successful career in motorsport management, and with a car-by-car review of his father's famous Stanley Sears collection.With contributions from many of Sears' contemporaries in racing, a foreword by his long-time sparring partner John Whitmore and an excellent collection of rare photos, Graham Gauld's book documents the career of this versatile driver well, if a little impersonally, so that the reader feels he would like to know a little more about Jack Sears the man. However, the author's telling observation at the end of the book sums up pretty well not only his subject but, sadly, much of the sport in general: 'Unfortunately, there is no room in motor racing today for the gentlemanly way of racing that Jack Sears epitomized.'Cars for the Connoisseur, May 2008UK magazineThose 'connoisseurs' going back to 2003 will need no introduction to Jack, whose reminiscences were covered from June to November inclusive, and likewise to Graham Gauld, whose 'Riviera Rambles' will also be familiar. With more than 150 pages at his disposal Graham has been able to go into rather more detail and the opening chapter on the Sears Dynasty leads on to his early racing, culminating in his being the inaugural British Saloon Car Champion in 1958 with the Austin 105. (Goodwood Festival fans might be interested to learn that Jack will be storming up the hill in July at the wheel of the same Ford Galaxie with which he won the Championship in 1963). His introduction to Ferrari, the Cortina and Cobra periods and his involvement in the London-Sydney Marathon are all covered plus a chapter on the career of his son David. Finally is an appendix on the cars collected by his illustrious father Stanley. Packed with facts and details from Jack's meticulous memory, this is the record of an outstanding driver and 'gentleman'.
Review
Classic Cars, September 2008UK magazineCirc: 49,000The biography of racing entrepreneur and driver Jack Sears is the story of an archetypal English driver piloting the best of British saloon and sports cars through the Sixties: the Lotus Cortina, Jaguar's Mk2 and E-type, and the Austin-Healey 3000. You'll also see AC Cobras, Ford Galaxies and the Ferrari 250 GTO, all photographed in their heyday in flat-out action around British racing circuits. There are plenty of quotes and stories from the man himself in a concise history of his racing career.Classic Cars, September 2008UK magazineCirc: 49,000The biography of racing entrepreneur and driver Jack Sears is the story of an archetypal English driver piloting the best of British saloon and sports cars through the Sixties: the Lotus Cortina, Jaguar's Mk2 and E-type, and the Austin-Healey 3000. You'll also see AC Cobras, Ford Galaxies and the Ferrari 250 GTO, all photographed in their heyday in flat-out action around British racing circuits. There are plenty of quotes and stories from the man himself in a concise history of his racing career.
Review
Australian Classic Cars, August 2008
Australian magazine
Circ: unknown
Anyone interested in British motor sport and in particular the BMC Competition Department of the 1960s will instantly recognize the name of Jack Sears. Sears came from a motoring family and his father Stanley was a great collector. Sears made his first foray into racing in a ubiquitous MGTC, followed by a 1914 Sunbeam TT. He entered international rallying and quickly caught the eye of BMC Competition Dept boss Marcus Chambers. Sears was soon driving the Austin-Healey 3000 and other BMC cars in such diverse events as the Liege-Rome-Liege Rally, Sebring and Le Mans before moving on to Ferraris as part of the Maranello Concessionaires’ team. Next came a stint with the Ford Works team driving Lotus Cortinas, AC Cobras and Ford Galaxies, in the last of which he was almost unbeatable. Illustrated with hundreds of black and white photos from the Sears’ collection, the book provides genuine insight into motor sport during this period.
It's our book of the month!
Review extract from a two-page Jack Sears article from the Eastern Daily Press, Norfolk, November 2008
UK newspaper
'Gentleman Jack' was how he was known during his racing career, and the moniker serves as a fitting title for his [Jack Sears] official biography. Authored by motoring journalist Graham Gauld, the book is a compelling drive through Jack’s fascinating life and times, and includes an evocative array of 150 pictures from his personal archive. A chapter in 'Gentleman Jack' about David’s career touches on how much motor racing has changed in a generation, leaving little room for the 'gentlemanly way' Jack epitomized. It’s something the elder Sears regrets. “There was a lot of camaraderie between the drivers,” he says. “We used to mix much more easily. Today the drivers tend to hide themselves away – and Formula One is by far the worst. I think that’s a shame.”
The Prancing Horse, #168, 2008
Newsletter for the Ferrari Club of America
Written in Graham Gauld's easy-going, story telling writing style, 'Gentleman Jack – The Official Biography of Jack Sears', chronicles the story of a farmer from Norfolk, England, who raced saloons, sports and GT and vintage cars in the 1950s and 1960s. Gauld says, "... it must be remembered that Jack Sears was never a fully professional racing driver but a farmer who competed in motor racing.' He was known for his pleasant and 8 courteous disposition, but when he got in a race car, he displayed aggression and spirit. Racer and friend Sir John Whitmore said, "Jack was the gentleman I should have been. He had the grace, while I only had the title.' I admit Veloce's occasional ads filling white space in the text were irritating and detracting as were the photos that were graphically altered, and the page numbers are difficult to read. The presentation detracts but the words and photos do not and it remained an enjoyable read. Gauld deftly combines personal interviews with Sears himself and many of Sears' peers, such as John Coombs, Bob Jane, Peter Riley, Jackie Stewart, Tommy Sopwith, Henry Taylor and Sir John Whitmore. This personal touch brings the facts in the book to life. Combined with the photographs from the archives of the Sears family, Gauld tells the story of a typical gentleman racer from the 1950s and 1960s – a vanishing breed indeed! It's a good read in the Graham Gauld style and a worthy addition to the library of any motor racing aficionado providing a few more pieces to the puzzle that is Ferrari history.
Review
Motor Sport, May 2008
UK magazine
Look up any race report from the 1950s or '60s and the name J Sears will likely be there. Saloons, sports cars or vintage, Sears raced it, and often won. Ken Gregory asked him to join the Yeoman Credit team, but he decided single-seaters were a risk too far. That sums him up: racing was a passion, but his real business was farming. However, as this entertaining book makes clear, his good manners concealed a grit that made him a tough racer. As well as quotes from Sears and his peers the book bulges with photos, many personal, plus results tables, but chiefly some lovely tales from a vanished era.
Classic & Sports Car, May 2008
UK magazine
From driving his father's 1914 Sunbeam TT in VSCC events in the early '50s to a monstrous shunt while testing a Lotus 40 at Silverstone, Jack Sears' career specialized in sports and saloon cars. A popular racer who starred in some of the most spectacular British races during the '50s and '60s, 'Gentleman Jack' is long overdue a biography. Scottish historian Gauld has done a fine job of tapping into the dapper Norfolk farmer's sharp memory and amazing photo archive. As well as Sears' vivid recollections of epic contests – such as his Cortina battle with great friend Sir John Whitmore at Silverstone in '65, the winning debut of the Ford Galaxie, again at Silverstone, and his legendary Cobra charge at Brands after a black-flag incident – Gauld also interviews rivals and team-mates to enhance the story. Sears doesn't skip the big offs, including his career-ending exit at Abbey in the Lotus. An added bonus is a chapter on the fabulous historic car collection started by Sears' father, Stanley. There's also a comprehensive appendix on every event the ace competed in. Our only criticism is the heavy-handed design by Veloce. The crude Photoshop treatment seems needless because the photo selection is marvelous, while the plugs for the publisher's website throughout the book are unworthy of this fine driver.
Octane, May 2008
UK magazine
"Jack was the gentleman that I should have been. He had the grace, white I only had the title." So begins Sir John Whitmore's foreword to this official and very entertaining biography of Jack Sears, which covers not only Jack's varied racing career - A105 saloon to Jaguar Mk2 3.8 to Ford Galaxie, and much more - but also the Sears dynasty: father Stanley and son David. A great book, but we wish the publisher had spent a bit more on the repro', which is unrelentingly grey.
Motor Sport, May 2008
UK magazine
Look up any race report from the 1950s or '60s and the name J Sears will likely be there. Saloons, sports cars or vintage, Sears raced it, and often won. Ken Gregory asked him to join the Yeoman Credit team, but he decided single-seaters were a risk too far. That sums him up: racing was a passion, but his real business was farming. However, as this entertaining book makes clear, his good manners concealed a grit that made him a tough racer. As well as quotes from Sears and his peers the book bulges with photos, many personal, plus results tables, but chiefly some lovely tales from a vanished era.
Jaguar magazine, Edition 135, May 2008
Bi-monthly Australian magazine
For the first time we review two books by the same author - our European correspondent, Graham Gauld who is a proud Scot with a very long history in the sport. Typically of Graham's depth of first hand knowledge and his passion for the sport and writing, both books are entirely different. One is a biography outlining the long career of Jack Sears, while the other is an amazing book detailing the long history of motor racing in Scotland and includes all of the cars, the circuits and the people. Of course, you can purchase both because it is incredibly difficult to put either down, but you may have a preference for one or the other - you decide, because we have read both and they are highly cherished. 'Gentleman Jack' shows you how to do it in motor racing - be very good at what you do, love it deeply - and come from a very wealthy family! With a foreword by Sir John Whitmore, famous amongst other things for racing Ford Galaxies, it outlines his family history in the shoe retailing business and farming, before outlining the build-up of his long and successful career. Most of the photographs are supplied by Jack Sears and so make this book all the more interesting and 'real'. He indulged in club motorsport initially, international rallying in the '50s, then raced cars for Tommy Sopwith's team (Equipe Endeavour) with Mk2 Jaguars, Aston Martins and E-Types. The characters of the time are dotted throughout the book including Salvadori, Coombs, Hill, Cooper, Chapman, Bob Jane, Jim Clark and so on. The cars too are charismatic, and look for works-Lotus Cortinas, Ferrari 330LMBs, the Willment Galaxies and AC Coupes Ferrari GTO etc. Son David, who raced Jaguars for TWR, gets a chapter, as does the family collection of vintage cars. Read in there about a 1904 Mercedes, 1905 Rolls-Royce, TT Sunbeam, supercharged Bentley, the Birkin Bentley - and on it goes! A great read and highly recommended.
Classic Ford, May 2008
UK magazine
Probably best known in classic Ford circles for throwing Galaxies and Cortinas around Europe's racetracks back in the '60s, 'Gentleman' Jack Sears competed in pretty much everything, and was even involved in the organization of the original London-to-Sydney marathon. The book covers his entire career and is packed with great black-and-white photos.
Speedscene, June 2008
The magazine of the Hillclimb and Sprint association
Born into a wealthy family with interests in both the shoe trade and in farming, 'Gentleman' Jack Sears - the name acquired not only through his general demeanour but by his always well-kempt appearance - started motor sport in 1948, competing in rallies, driving tests and speed trials with the Brighton and Hove Motor Club in a Morgan given to him by his father Stanley. He raced saloons and sports cars from the early fifties and became the first ever British Saloon Car Champion in 1958, at the wheel of an Austin A105. His exploits in Jaguars, Lotus Cortinas and the massive Ford Galaxie were legendary in the sixties, when one of his most famous - not to say controversial - wins came at the wheel of John Willment's Shelby Cobra at the 1964 British Grand Prix support race at Brands Hatch. Sears also achieved a degree of notoriety (and, somewhat unfairly, the partial blame for Barbara Castle's blanket 70mph speed limit on British roads) when he and Peter Bolton clocked over 180mph while testing the AC Cobra Coupe on a deserted stretch of the M1 at 5.00am! A serious accident while testing the notorious Lotus 40 at Silverstone curtailed Sears' racing career in 1965 and he returned to farming, but remained involved with motor sport as a key member of the London-Sydney Marathon organizing team. The book concludes with a chapter on his son David, who moved from racing himself into a successful career in motorsport management, and with a car-by-car review of his father's famous Stanley Sears collection.With contributions from many of Sears' contemporaries in racing, a foreword by his long-time sparring partner John Whitmore and an excellent collection of rare photos, Graham Gauld's book documents the career of this versatile driver well, if a little impersonally, so that the reader feels he would like to know a little more about Jack Sears the man. However, the author's telling observation at the end of the book sums up pretty well not only his subject but, sadly, much of the sport in general: 'Unfortunately, there is no room in motor racing today for the gentlemanly way of racing that Jack Sears epitomized.'
Cars for the Connoisseur, May 2008
UK magazine
Those 'connoisseurs' going back to 2003 will need no introduction to Jack, whose reminiscences were covered from June to November inclusive, and likewise to Graham Gauld, whose 'Riviera Rambles' will also be familiar. With more than 150 pages at his disposal Graham has been able to go into rather more detail and the opening chapter on the Sears Dynasty leads on to his early racing, culminating in his being the inaugural British Saloon Car Champion in 1958 with the Austin 105. (Goodwood Festival fans might be interested to learn that Jack will be storming up the hill in July at the wheel of the same Ford Galaxie with which he won the Championship in 1963). His introduction to Ferrari, the Cortina and Cobra periods and his involvement in the London-Sydney Marathon are all covered plus a chapter on the career of his son David. Finally is an appendix on the cars collected by his illustrious father Stanley. Packed with facts and details from Jack's meticulous memory, this is the record of an outstanding driver and 'gentleman'.
Startline magazine, April 2008
UK magazine
Gentleman, entrepreneur, and excellent racing driver, this is the fascinating story of John 'Jack' Sears, or 'Gentleman Jack' as he was popularly known. As Sir John Whitmore states in the foreword: "Jack was the gentleman that I should have been. He had the grace, while I only had the title. I often told him that he should have had it rather than I, but he wasn't buying. Although he started racing several years before I did, our careers took a parallel path for much of the way, and this gave me the privilege of getting to know him realIy well. That he was an outstanding driver is obvious, and you will have had this reaffirmed by the time you have read this book." Packed with facts and detail direct from the man himself, and illustrated with over 150 unique photos, this is a must-have piece of motoring history.
About the Author
Graham Gauld has been a motoring journalist since the age of 17 and has edited a number of magazines as well as being a regular contributor to motoring magazines all over the world. For the past fifteen years he has concentrated on motor racing history. Away from writing he spent eleven years on the RAC Race Committee and five years on the FIA Historic Commission and organized motor racing in Scotland for a number of years.Born in Edinburgh, Graham Gauld has been a motoring writer for over fifty years. He was Editor of the Scottish weekly motoring magazine, Motor World and later Editor of Historic Racing and Historic Motor Racing magazines. A regular contributor to motoring magazines all over the world he has a black and white and color photographic library dating back to 1953.Rated as the number one Business coach by the Independent Newspaper and as having had the most impact on the coaching profession by the UK Association of Coaching, Sir John Whitmore is a pre-eminent thinker in leadership and organizational change. He was a motor racing champion in his 20's before retiring to run a large agribusiness, a product design company and a Ford Main Dealership.