What Readers Say about "Flat Out!  The Rollie Free Story"

 Jay Leno:  "Rollie Free is one of the greatest motorcyclists of all time. If you’ve ever seen that famous photograph of the guy in the bathing suit, flat out, going across the salt flats, that was Rollie Free. If you like the days when the men were men, and the women were glad of it, Rollie Free is your guy. It’s a great book. It’s a great read, even if you’re not a motorcyclist, if you just like interesting automotive people, it’s a great story. I can’t recommend this book highly enough!"

Robert Watson, former Editor MPH (international journal of the Vincent Owner’s Club):  "Flat Out! The Rollie Free Story goes far beyond that famous picture published in Life magazine, far beyond the image, and brings us the man himself…. Much of the material is based on Rollie’s own words, recorded…more than 25 years ago. We get to know the man from early childhood through his remarkable life, with both his words and pictures, and always the motorcycles. The pictures alone are worth the price of the book."

Major William L. Powell III, Killeen, TX:  "Got my book today and I cannot describe how pleased I am; this is an excellent work on a man I knew was a hero, but didn’t really know how much or why. The passage on the last page alone was worth the cost of the book and explains more about the lives of those like us than I thought could be put into words…. Again, congratulations on a splendid book and many thanks."

Rick Schunk, former Editor, The Antique Motorcycle:  “The CD alone is worth the price of the book!”

Marty Dickerson, former Vincent record setter:  "I can't put the book down.  I start to look at something and something in the text catches my eye and I end up reading the whole bit of that segment. Well done!"

Hugo Wilson, Editor, Classic Bike:  "To coin a cliché, 'I couldn't put it down'.  What a great book! I read it cover to cover on consecutive evenings, while gently supping beer. A great story, and the character of the man, and the depth of the research that you have undertaken really shine through.  I love the starting premise, that the bathing suit picture is the most famous motorcycle picture ever taken."

Ed Youngblood, former President, American Motorcyclist Association: “….Typical of Hatfield’s scholarship, it [the book] is thoroughly researched and impeccably accurate.  However, it employs a style that I do not recall seeing in any other book about motorcycle history.  Hatfield ended up with so much primary material about Free that the text almost seems to flow in Free’s own words, or those of his close friends and associates. In addition to the recorded interview, Hatfield used notes from Free’s own diary as well as letters by Free and those who knew him. Rather than spin out a historical narrative in his own words, Hatfield acted more like Free’s editor, providing the context in which Free, with the help of his contemporaries, can tell his own story. Through this technique, the personality as well as the history of Rollie Free comes through, vividly."

Larry Barnes, North Lawrence, OH:  "Last week I had the pleasure of reading “Flat Out” and I must say it is a brilliant piece of work…. I found myself longing to have known Rollie Free, yet thrilled to have experienced just a few of the emotions and feelings he had while competing on motorcycles…and in life!  Your ability to portray a man who you only met once (over twenty years ago) is amazing.  I don’t know how you “brought him back to life” so well, but you succeeded.  I often found myself wondering “How old is he now?” because your story is so full of the incredible…and day-to-day…events that he lived.  You made him real, Jerry."

Bill Hoddinott, contributor, Bonneville Racing News:  "The book is loaded with period photographs of the 1948 and 1950 bikes never before published, enabling you to study the smallest details of the machines…. printed on high quality paper, so that the photographs and illustrations reproduce sharply…. Author Jerry Hatfield has done something unprecedented with this book… by enclosing in the inside back cover of each copy a CD of his actual interview with Rollie Free in 1980, just a short time before the latter’s death. This goes a long way to helping the reader to study this extraordinary man….."

Sid Biberman, author, Vincents With Big Sid:  "Have been really enjoying the Flat Out! book. She is knit together like a fine suit, not easy to do considering the gathering together of widely sourced material. You mastered the subject. Any motorcyclist who thinks he or she knows the story behind the most famous picture in the sport will be pleasantly surprised to learn how little they actually knew and how much more they now know after reading your captivating account. Damn impressive work! And don’t drop it on your toes! You have done Free proud."

Nick Jeffery, General Librarian, Brough-Superior Club:  "A wonderful labour-of-love book, beautifully produced and into which a vast amount of research has gone, not least in tracking down some superb atmospheric photographs.  Anyway, why is a review of Jerry Hatfield’s story of Rollie’s life featuring in the Newsletter?  The short answer is that Rollie, as a keen follower of speed attempts, actually witnessed at close hand Noel Pope’s 1949 George Brough/Teddy Comerford-supported attempt on the World’s Fastest at Bonneville.  This was on the ex-Baragwanath blown Brough, equipped with a streamlined shell commissioned from Blackburn Aircraft Ltd.  Jerry actually devotes more pages, and many more pictures that were taken by Rollie, to this unsuccessful attempt than Pope does in his own book: and the story is fascinating to read."

Ward Moss, New Fairfield, CT:  "Simply put, I will wear the pages out if I live long enough to read it as many times as it takes to inhale all the joy and pleasure residing between the covers. Thank you for it!"

Rod Mullins, Colleyville, TX:  "I finished your latest book last night and it was "Flat Out!" wonderful. The way you were able to meld the tremendous personalities and technologies of the day into a seamless story was amazing. Well done SIR!!"

Paul d’Orleans, San Francisco, CA:  “… it has to rank as one of my all-time favorite motorcycle books…. very well researched…. delves into the heart of the man immortalized in the most famous motorcycle picture of all, Rollie Free stretched out flat on his Vincent…at 150 mph…. The book is stuffed with fascinating photos of a well documented life. I found Free’s decades as a racer, tuner, and dealer of Indians as interesting as his most famous interlude with the Vincent – there was so much more to the man than that photograph, and whether you ever gave it a thought, you will be glad to know who he was when you read this book."

Patrick Delli, France:  "Thanks a lot for the research and the beautiful iconography!"

Anthony Cappadonna:  "Having just completed your wonderful book, I felt compelled to write and thank you for what must have been an incredible effort to portray the life and times of one of my heroes. Prior to now, I knew very little of Rollie Free, just the basic facts of his infamous bathing suit runs. Your efforts and attention to detail have cemented him as a hero in my mind, and given me a newfound level of respect and awe for the man who did not know fear. Your book stirred such powerful emotions, I could not help but shed tears as I read about Rollie's final years. The world may never see another person with the resolve and determination of Rollie Free. I cannot thank you enough."