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The Mike Duff Story: Make Haste, Slowly


Michelle Ann Duff


I sat on a sun-drenched shelf of concrete. Before me lay a black macadam road, dark in contrast to the dominant green of the lush Ardennes Forest of southern Belgium. It was July 2, 1961. Wine and food flowed in abundance around me. The excitement grew. I was part of this festivity, yet divorced from it for I belonged to the entertainment the people had come to see. It was a strange feeling, as if destiny had placed me here this time and this day. I felt a tenuous urgency, both pressing and demanding, for in less than two hours I too would take my place on the grid for the start of my first European Grand Prix.

I've only read the first chapter of this book, and already I'm hooked. In 1964, Mike Duff became the first North American (and only Canadian) to win a motorcycle championship grand prix. Twenty years later, Mike made the decision to become female, and over the next few years continued the journey which would make him Michelle. Make Haste is primarily about Mike's racing history, I hear -- more as I read more.

Buy it from Ms. Duff's website