History Book Festival talk with author Neil Bascomb set July 23

Bestselling author Neal Bascomb will join a live online spirited discussion of his newest book, “Faster: How a Jewish Driver, an American Heiress, and a Legendary Car Beat Hitler’s Best,” presented by the History Book Festival, at 5 p.m., Thursday, July 23.

“Faster” takes readers back to the European racing world of the 1930s. As Nazi Germany launched its campaign of racial terror and pushed the world toward war, a challenge to Hitler’s dominance at the iconic Grand Prix auto circuit was mounted by three unlikely collaborators: Rene Dreyfus, a former top driver who had been all but banned from racing because he was Jewish; Charles Weiffenbach, head of the struggling automaker Delahaye; and Lucy Schell, racing enthusiast and daughter of an American multimillionaire. Their remarkable success was a feat akin to African American runner Jesse Owens’ triumph at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin.

Bascomb’s previous books include “The Winter Fortress,” “Hunting Eichmann,” “The Perfect Mile,” “Higher,” “The Nazi Hunters” and “Red Mutiny.” He lives in Philadelphia.

This Zoom event is free but registration is required. For more information or to register, go to www.historybookfestival.org and click on 2020 Events.

The 2020 Virtual History Book Festival is presented in cooperation with the Lewes Public Library and sponsored by Delaware Humanities and the Lee Ann Wilkinson Group.

Copies of “Faster” with signed archival bookplates are available from the festival’s official bookseller, Browseabout Books in Rehoboth Beach, as well as at Biblion in Lewes. The festival encourages readers to support local independent bookstores. Copies also may be borrowed from the Lewes Public Library.