Check Out Colin Edwards: The Texas Tornado for $19.53

There is a long tradition of Americans winning international motorcycle racing championships: Kenny Roberts (Jr. & Sr.), Freddie Spencer, Eddie Lawson, Wayne Rainey, Kevin Schwantz, Fred Merkel, Doug Polen, Scott Russell, John Kocinski. The latest to do so is Colin Edwards, “The Texas Tornado.” This biography of the two-time World Superbike champion takes you from his birth in 1974, through his first motorcycle as a child, to his Superbike Championships for Honda, and ends with his signing with Aprilia for the 2003 MotoGP season. The discussion of his Aprilia signing is most important as it sets straight the story of how he left Honda and almost went to Ducatti. Also, included in the book are great color action photos of Colin throughout his career, many from the Edwards family archives.

Writer Bertie Simmonds had the complete cooperation of Colin and his family when writing this book, so you find out just what went through the rider’s mind at various points in his career. This shows itself best in the chapters about his championship titles (controversy followed World Superbikes throughout 2000, while 2002 came down to the final lap of the final race) and the machinations that went on after the 2002 season to secure a MotoGP ride for 2003. You get to see some of the “real” Colin Edwards who, while crisscrossing the globe with a single-minded determination to win motorcycle championships, is just a down-home East Texas guy who married his high school sweetheart and still lives in his hometown of Conroe. Also, he is a man so well respected by his peers that Troy Bayliss, the 2001 World Superbike champion and the man that fought handlebar-to-handlebar with Colin in 2002, wrote the book’s introduction.

This is a thoroughly enjoyable book that should be read by not only Colin’s fans but by motorcycle racing fans in general. After all, you’re going to want to know all you can about the man who, now that he is back with Honda in 2004, will be making life tough on Rossi, Biaggi, and the rest of the MotoGP circus.

Colin Edwards: The Texas Tornado Overview

At the last round of the 2002 World Superbike Championship, American rider Colin Edwards overhauled season-long title favorite Troy Bayliss in two of the most exciting motorcycle races ever held. This authorized biography of the straight-talking, no-nonsense Texan chronicles the highs and lows of a colorful career played out during the glory years of World Superbike. Here is a unique insight into the sometimes controversial world of the double superbike champion, who for 2003 embarks on his toughest challenge yet ñ joining the MotoGP class with Aprilia.