Although the author goes slightly off-message once in a while with extraneous detail, it’s very easy to read. If you like period motorcycle racing, you’ll get the sense of what Grand Prix racing was like and how dangerous it was during this time period—infused with a perception of the social and political unrest that was happening behind the Iron Curtain. Recommended. Oxley's book is a thrilling history of one of the most important moments in motorcycle racing. Lucidly written, the book recounts the events that shaped Kaaden, the two-stroke engine, and Degner, and went on to change the world. Oxley explains both the function and the developments which Kaaden brought to bear on the two-stroke engine in a clear and easy to understand way, and explains just why this was such a big deal. Degner won the 1962 50 cc championship on a Suzuki that bore a distinct resemblance to an MZ. The following year, Hugh Anderson won on a Suzuki 125, and another Japanese brand was away to the races. One of the first great power-speed combos, he finished in the top 10 in his league in HRs seven times and in the top six in steals eight times. At the time, there were rumors that he’d gotten out with a complete set of drawings or even a disassembled motor in his luggage. That needn’t have been the case; Degner was not just a wrist, he was a trained engineer who had played an important development role at MZ. The contents of his helmet were damaging enough to the communist cause.

About a decade ago, Oxley published "Stealing Speed." That book was a minutely researched account of Grand Prix racing’s own Cold War spy story: the defection of East German racing star Ernst Degner, and Degner’s theft of the industrial secrets that allowed Suzuki to finally field a really competitive two-stroke racing motorcycle. This is the story of MZ rider Ernst Degner who defected to the West at the height of his battle for the 1961 world championship and sold MZ’s winning two-stroke engine secrets to Suzuki, while his wife and children were drugged and smuggled through the newly built Berlin Wall. Godspeed increased significantly, so much so that he could lift and dangle a grown man well above his head with one hand. Superhuman durability: The how’s and especially the why’s of Degner’s scandalous behaviour, just as he and MZ (the factory he raced for) were on the verge of Grand Prix glory, makes for a truly fascinating tale.Godspeed has a massive capacity to deceive people. He proved this when he deceived everyone at STAR labs, including Barry Allen, by acting as Flash’s partner. Speed force knowledge: The user can steal the motion or momentum from objects or people to reduce their speed and potentially stop them. This ability also allows the user to enhance their own movements by compounding the stolen kinetic energy with their own. Then, in 1961, with Degner on the brink of a world championship, the East German defected while competing at the Swedish Grand Prix. When Godspeed keeps a clone for an extended period, he experiences pain and recombines with his clone by the speed force.

He experiences even more pain when he steals the speed of another speedster. This pain is more significant than that experienced when he clones as he almost died at his first attempt of stealing speed. Zoom’s Powers Time altering ability: Ernst Degner awaiting the start of the 250 race at the 1958 East German Grand Prix. Look at the size of the crowd at Sachsenring. Photo provided by Mat Oxley. However, this wasn’t the case for Godspeed, as he possessed enhanced senses by the speed force, which enabled him to perceive the world faster. Phasing:Here in the United States, we sometimes assign the term "graphic novel" to any high-concept comic book. Oxley and Papazoglakis’ new "Stealing Speed" is much more than a comic book with a hard cover. Oxley neatly summarizes all the key points of the factual, historical account as the excellent journalist he is. He impressed me even more with the imaginative writing needed to put the "novel" in "graphic novel."

Degner's pursuit of wealth and freedom did not bring him happiness, though. Despite realizing his dream of becoming world champion in 1962, Degner was badly burned in a race accident at Suzuka. He eventually died of heart failure at the age of 52, after a lifelong struggle with morphine addiction, acquired in the aftermath of that accident.. For other speedsters, traveling at the speed of sound could make them miss actual events as they run. The book finishes with an epilogue, which is both a factual account of the further history of the two stroke and the current state of developments, and an emotional appeal for a return of the engine. The once noisy, smelly engines have changed over the past 20 years to become cleaner and more efficient than the four-stroke engine. Much of that development has been driven by the leisure boating industry, which has had to comply with incredibly stringent emissions regulations, and with the advent of direct injection two strokes, the engine looks set to make a return. Coincidentally, KTM recently announced that they believed that the future could be two stroke, as its simplicity and power-to-weight ratio made it vastly more attractive than the four strokes. Also, please note that due to huge increase in airmail costs to USA, Australia, NZ etc I have added economy options, which cost much less but take longer - 6-7 weeks instead of 2-3 weeks.

I thought, ‘There should be a film about this’,” he told me. “And if there’s going to be a film, then first there has to be a book. It has everything going for it. I tell people, ‘It’s James Bond, on bikes!’” One reason Mat Oxley is good about writing about racing is he knows what he's talking about. Here he is launching a Honda 250 off Ballaugh Bridge in the 1985 Production TT. He went on to win that race. Photo provided by Mat Oxley. It is impossible to overstate the engineering impact of Kaaden’s work. In 1954, MZ engines produced about 100 bhp per liter. By 1961, they produced 200 bhp per liter. Recently, Mat republished his work as a graphic novel, illustrated by Christian Papazoglakis. Despite the artist’s Greek surname, he’s actually Belgian. So, he grew up in the land of Tintin; a country where graphic novels are treated as a serious form of literature and art.

Godspeed, with real names August Heart, was a member of the Central City Police department and a friend of Barry Allen. His superpower abilities include his exceptional speed, superhuman stamina, superhuman agility, superhuman reflexes, amongst others.He also possesses specific abilities like deception, investigation, hand-to-hand combat, and interrogation. August, like all other Speedsters, can recover from injuries much faster than the average human. Dimensional travel: