There’s only one Brit at the top of F1

At last, the book that every motor sport fan and wannabe millionaires want to see has been written. Bernie Ecclestone came from nothing to become Mr Formula One and amassed a fortune along the way. His fully authorised biography, entitled simply Bernie, will be published by Ebury Press in the autumn of 2007.

Acclaimed author and personal friend, Susan Watkins, has had Ecclestone's full support and cooperation from the outset and has spoken with his family, friends, colleagues and adversaries to create a full and revealing biography. "It must be the truth, I have nothing to hide," says Ecclestone, a notoriously shy and private man – and honest it is, revealing the true struggle behind his fortune, the background to his relationships with politics and what reality, if any, there is to his detractor’s accusations.

Ecclestone's journey to power is one of the most extraordinary stories of recent times. It is a study of how a charismatic man who would never take no for an answer and had a fascination with money and fast cars, became one of the UK’s richest and most controversial businessmen. Bernie tells how, as a child, Ecclestone got up at five in the morning to deliver newspapers on two separate routes, then collected cakes to re-sell at a profit in the school playground. He would later apply the same principle to second-hand motorbikes and cars before channelling all his skills, passion and energy into motor racing – transforming an amateur sport into a glamorous, spectacular global billion-dollar industry. Now he entertains kings and keeps prime ministers waiting.

At last, the truth behind the life and business of Bernie Ecclestone will be revealed. Bernie is a book that will go straight to pole position.

Author, Susan Watkins is a writer and historical biographer. Her close friendship with Bernie has precipitated this major new biography. She has known Bernie for over twenty years, and is married to Professor Sid Watkins, Formula One's chief doctor and medical advisor.

Bernie
Susan Watkins

Publication: 4th October 2007, Price: £18.99
ISBN: 9780091894511, Format: Hardback