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I don’t read as many books as I used to. It seems there are fewer and fewer hours in each day. It used to be that my best book-reading time was bedtime. But I now find my iPad has become my bedtime source for reading, and hardback books have gone by the wayside. I have two IndyCar-related books on my bedside table that were new releases when I bought them; Indy Split and Al Unser, Jr: A Checkered Past. They are now over two years old. It’s probably been that long since I’ve read any book. That all changed last month, and it was very refreshing.

About six weeks ago, I got a call from a 317 area code. Knowing that is Indianapolis, I figured I had better answer it. The voice said “George, my name is Mark Montieth” I immediately knew who that was, because I remembered the One on One interviews he did about fifteen years ago that were available for download on 1070 The Fan. I have four of them on my phone – Bobby Unser, Robin Miller, Tom Carnegie and Donald Davidson. They are excellent podcasts to listen to.

He sounded shocked that I knew who he was, but he said that Kevin Lee had given him my name and number. He proceeded to tell me of a book project he had been working on that had finally come to fruition and Kevin (sounds like I’m name-dropping, doesn’t it?) knew that I would be very interested in it.

The story around this project is almost as interesting as the book itself. Montieth asked me if I was familiar with Angelo Angelopolous. I was not, but it turns out that Angelopoulos was a famed sportswriter and feature writer for The Indianapolis News, the afternoon paper that has gone the way of most afternoon papers. Apparently, Angelopolous was revered in Indiana for his writing and his dynamic personality. During World War II, he flew missions over the nuclear bombing sites in Japan. He, along with many in his unit, was diagnosed with leukemia about ten years later. He passed away in 1962.

During his time with The News, he was one of the only reporters that driver Bill Vukovich came to trust. Angelopolous socialized with Bill and Esther Vukovich on many occasions – something that Bill Vukovich was not known for at all. Bill Vukovich was a very complex man, and let very few individuals really get to know him. But apparently Angelopolous was one of the few that was allowed into his inner circle.

After Vukovich was fatally injured, while leading the 1955 Indianapolis 500; Angelopolous started writing a book about him. He had a deal with a publishing company, and he typed out a manuscript on a manual typewriter. The book was never published for unknown reasons. The typed manuscript had scratch-throughs and hand-written notes all over it. Angelopolous passed away and the manuscript sat in a box at the bottom of the closet for decades.

Peter Kirles owns Kirles Jewelry in Indianapolis. He is the nephew of Angelopolous, and he came across the manuscript a few years ago. Donald Davidson looked at it and thought it was way too much work to sift through all of the notes to produce a book. Others looked at it as well, and passed on the project.

Montieth took it on and went about trying to edit the book. As his prologue says, he made very few edits to the manuscript. Vukovich used very colorful language, but decorum in the 50s frowned on putting such words in print. Angelopolous scratched through them, but Montieth put them back in to illustrate the passion that Vukovich displayed. He also updated a few terms to today’s standards, such as how we refer to women’s names today. Dorcas Thompson was the wife of Lawrence Thompson. They were owners of the home where Bill and Esther Vukovich stayed during each Month of May. The original manuscript always referred to her as Mrs. Lawrence Thompson, or Mrs. Thompson. Montieth made the correct decision (in my opinion) to refer to her by her own name throughout the book.

The writing of this book is outstanding. Instead of a biography, it reads like a well-crafted novel. Even though I obviously knew the ending, this was a book I could not put down. Some racing biographies are chocked full of facts, but they can be a little dry. A few come to mind that were an absolute struggle to finish. That is not the case with this book. It flows as you read it. It is a very easy and enjoyable book to read.

The book gives insight on how Bill’s rough childhood, that included his father’s death by suicide, helped shape his personality and work-ethic. It shows his quiet stoic side that the public saw, but how he was a caring and nurturing father to his two children, Marlene and Billy, Jr. He never caroused like many other drivers, and was a devoted husband to Esther, whom he deeply loved.

The banter he shared with his master mechanics, Jim Travers and Frank Koon, was priceless. It reminds me of how I interact with my closest friends. The more Vukovich liked and trusted you, the more barbs he would throw your way. If he didn’t know you or didn’t like you, he was polite, but quiet.

I have always been fascinated with Bill Vukovich. Everything I had read up to this point, told me about Bill Vukovich, the driver. This book told me about Bill Vukovich, the man. Very few people ever got to know Vukovich, but I came away from this book feeling like I had at least gotten a glimpse of the man.

Does “the book” have a title? Yes, and it is the original working title that the manuscript carried: Bill Vukovich: The Man Who Wouldn’t Lift. Montieth decided to keep the working title as an homage to the man who wrote the manuscript – Angelo Angelopolous.

The manuscript ended fairly abruptly after Vukovich was fatally injured during the 1955 race. Fortunately, Montieth ties up any loose ends the reader might have with a fairly extensive epilogue. It too, was very well written – and I learned quite a lot that I never knew while reading it, but I won’t spoil it for you.

Over the years, I have been sent a lot of racing books by authors hoping I would give their book a good review. If I like it, I will do just that. If I don’t like it, I simply don’t mention it. I figure if I develop a reputation for trashing books that authors send me, they’ll stop sending them. But I won’t lie and say I liked something when I didn’t. I just won’t review it all.

Obviously, I really liked this book. In fact, I would include it along with my all-time favorite racing books; Gentlemen, Start Your Engines by Wilbur Shaw, Along for the Ride by Dorie Sweikert (widow of Bob), Beast by Jade Gurss and Black Noon by Art Garner. Cracking into that group speaks volumes for what I think of this book. Mark Montieth did an excellent job editing the original manuscript, which started with his wife painstakingly typing it into a computer word for word.

Bill Vukovich: The Man Who Wouldn’t Lift was released on April 1, and is available on Amazon for $26.95. I highly recommend it. It is a must for any fan of the Indianapolis 500, especially anyone that has an appreciation for the history of the great event.

George Phillips

This entry was posted on May 2, 2024 at 4:03 am and is filed under Indianapolis 500. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.