Steve Matchett has 8 audiobooks on Listento.it, narrated by 1 narrator, with an average listener rating of 4.8★ across 16 ratings. The most-rated is The Mechanic's Tale.
The Mechanic's Tale
Summary
Formula One Grand Prix mechanic Steve Matchett takes the listener on a compelling journey through his life in the pit-lane, from his beginnings as a young apprentice through his time at Ferrari and BMW to his later success with Benetton. He gives eye-witness views of the great drivers, including Michael Schumacher, Nigel Mansell, Alain Prost, and Ayrton Senna. He also talks of key Benetton personalities and explains how the team was transformed into a strong, competitive organization, winning three World Championships.
©1999 Steve Matchett (P)2018 Tantor
These Desired Things
Summary
These Desired Things is a stimulating, philosophical offering; a tour de force in creative writing. Praised in review as "imagery and literature at its finest", defining this book's genre seems largely superfluous - for its immersive, lyrical text is part fiction, part memoir, part autobiography. The chapters are presented as a collection of 11 short stories: all of them varying in their individual plots, their settings and their style, yet all of them remain essential elements of the whole; for running through each is a series of subtle, uniting threads. Matchett's own narration of these captivating stories releases a whole other level of intimacy: The listener feels truly bonded to the author's emotions. Matchett's lilting tones once again prove perfect for this collection of his own short stories - and, undoubtedly, the diversity of these 11 chapters (and the inimitable style of the storytelling) is sure to introduce a whole new audience to Matchett's beguiling writing. That said, the author has included stories that will instantly appeal to those listeners already familiar with his earlier books - those with a knowledge of Formula 1 motor racing. And, most likely, these same passionate listeners will be moved to tears on reaching the closing lines of the book's truly breathtaking penultimate chapter: "Breaking Bread with Ayrton Senna."
©2017 Steve Matchett (P)2019 Steve Matchett
Life in the Fast Lane
Summary
Over the past two decades, Life in the Fast Lane has grown to become a true staple of Formula 1 literature. In essence a monthly diary of a Benetton grand prix mechanic, this essential book gives a behind-the-scenes account of daily life in the trenches of F1 during the tragic and turbulent 1994 season.
The author's unique point-of-view makes this book indispensable listening for any serious motor racing enthusiast. But Life in the Fast Lane is much more than an intelligently written, informative diary of this highly exclusive multimillion-dollar world. Its remarkable insider setting, its exceptional subject matter, its unfolding tension, its ease of narration - all of these thrilling ingredients - have been wonderfully blended, mixed together to be truly captivating. From January through to December, the enthralled listener is simply compelled to follow the author's stunning racing year from start to finish.
Written and narrated by popular author and Formula 1 television personality, Steve Matchett, Life in the Fast Lane is Matchett's first book (three more soon followed), and its immediate success proved the catalyst to take him from a life in the pit lanes of F1 to a new life in America. For the past 20 years, he has been a broadcaster with FOX and NBC television, and now is an eloquent narrator of his own audiobooks. However, he was unknown outside of his highly clandestine industry. He was a Formula 1 race mechanic, a member of the Benetton grand prix team working alongside celebrities like Flavio Briatore, Michael Schumacher, and Ross Brawn. His fast-paced story of the frantic, unending backstage activity to become the fastest and best in the world gives a fascinating, unparalleled insight into Formula 1 during some of its darkest and most difficult days.
©1995 Steve Matchett (P)2018 Steve Matchett
The Chariot Makers: The Definitive Text
Summary
Along with three fellow motor racing enthusiasts, Steve Matchett - Formula 1 world champion mechanic; accomplished television broadcaster; and best-selling author - is trapped overnight in New York: a fogbound JFK airport. With no sign of the weather improving, talk between the stranded passengers inevitably turns to Formula 1. During the course of their cloistered night, with conversation fueled by regular trips to the departure lounge bar, our protagonists draw on Matchett's encyclopedic knowledge of grand prix engineering, his easy familiarity with F1 paddock life, to piece together the perfect dream-team Formula 1 race car. By use of his enviable signature talent, his ability to explain complex issues using straightforward, uncomplicated language, Steve Matchett shows us how the various F1 teams have arrived at their current state-of-the-art designs - lays out exactly how a championship winning grand prix car is assembled. Originally published by Orion (of London) in 2004, The Chariot Makers is Steve Matchett's third book. Along with Life in the Fast Lane, and The Mechanic's Tale, this compelling, insightful story - its warm text reading as a novel - forms the final installment of the author's entertaining, timeless, and highly acclaimed Formula 1 trilogy.
©2004, 2018 Steve Matchett (P)2018 Steve Matchett
Fragments from France: The Live Performance Edition
Summary
Steve Matchett's thought-provoking short story - Fragments from France - has proved one of the author's most popular pieces of memoir writing. This atmospheric tale was first published in his highly acclaimed collection of short stories, These Desired Things. This new audiobook sees "fragments" elevated in status - this truly essential story of First World War survival now narrated as a compelling "live performance edition" with the text delivered in three distinct acts: the listener immersed in a theater-style reading of the work, as though sitting in the packed orchestra stalls of a live show. Through his masterful use of differing English dialects and accents, Steve Matchett's uncanny ability to bring his characters to life, seemingly so effortlessly, is a joy to behold. The story itself is set amid the author's tranquil childhood when, one snowy day, back in the early 1970s, Mr. Goodman, a former infantryman, decides to share his Great War experiences with the young boy - this the first time he has talked with anyone of his horrific military experiences in the vile, gas-filled trenches of the first world war. The stark truth of the realities of that ghastly conflict are harrowing in the extreme - and that one snowy day spent listening to an old man's wartime memories would change the entire course of the author's adult life. This collectors' audiobook also includes an exclusive interview with the author - a wonderfully warm, revealing Q&A session in which Steve Matchett discusses, among other things, the backstory behind his book's title. This forthright Q&A also sees Matchett give more insight into the book's central character, the remarkable Mr. Goodman; and the author also talks of his fascination with the events of the Great War itself. All things considered this "live performance edition" audiobook is a recording to enjoy over and over again - a volume to be kept forever safe, its lessons shared with future generations. Lest we forget.
©2019 Steve Matchett (P)2019 Steve Matchett
Always Ferrari: The Live Performance Edition
Summary
This special "live performance edition" of Steve Matchett's highly acclaimed story, Always Ferrari - a work first published under the Italian title of Sempre Ferrari, in his book of short stories, These Desired Things - is an audio recording sure to delight. The text of the story is delivered as a live performance, with the story divided into three distinct acts, this allowing for timed pauses between the listening of the stanzas. The story itself is a deeply touching tale: Steve Matchett sitting back in a moment of calm reflection, the erstwhile grand prix mechanic, current Formula 1 author and broadcaster recalling some of his many visits to Maranello; those special dinners with friends and former colleagues who have lived and worked in this truly magical place. As with all of Steve Matchett's audiobooks, the author himself performs the work, and does so in fine style too. This theatre style recording will immerse you into the atmosphere of an imagined auditorium setting, with the listener becoming part of the audience. Complete with a post-event Q&A session, with the author fielding questions on the history of the black prancing horse, this audiobook makes the perfect gift for any enthusiast of the legendary Ferrari marque, and for all fans of Steve Matchett's insightful, compelling, beautifully atmospheric writing and narration. An audiobook to enjoy over and over again.
©2019 Steve Matchett (P)2019 Steve Matchett
Breaking Bread with Ayrton Senna
Summary
Steve Matchett's thought-provoking short story - Breaking Bread with Ayrton Senna - has proved one of the author's most popular pieces of writing - atmospheric, haunting, tender, and poignant, all in equal measure. Set in Brazil, this truly compelling tale of the author's final day as a Formula 1 race mechanic, and how he decides to spend that day - visiting the Morumbi cemetery where Ayrton Senna rests, there spending precious reflective time recalling emotional past events - was first published in his highly acclaimed collection of short stories, These Desired Things. This live performance edition sees Breaking Bread elevated in status - now awarded its own unique recording. Narrated by the author, this live performance edition is presented as a theatre-style reading of the work - the story itself divided into three distinct parts or "acts" - endowing the powerful, imagery-rich narrative with a pleasing sense of performance. This collectors' volume audiobook also includes an exclusive interview with the author - a wonderfully warm, revealing Q-&-A session in which Steve Matchett talks, with unguarded revealing insight, of his many years within the clandestine world of Formula 1 grand prix motor racing, and of his personal memories and recollections of competing alongside Ayrton Senna for grand prix glory - Matchett building race cars for his Benetton drivers; Senna working with McLaren and Williams. With this valuable additional content, Breaking Bread with Ayrton Senna is the perfect short-story audiobook for any enthusiast of Matchett's masterful writings - and of his equally masterful audio narrations. The end result is a recorded volume sure to please fans of Ayrton Senna and Formula 1 racing alike - an audiobook to cherish forever.
©2018 Steve Matchett (P)2019 Steve Matchett
Three Men in a Boat: The 130th Birthday Celebration
Summary
When acclaimed writer, television broadcaster, and gifted audiobook narrator, Steve Matchett, was asked to name his three favorite authors, he swiftly volunteered the names of Ernest Hemingway, George Orwell, and Jerome K. Jerome. The last of these may not be as widely known, but this only highlights the immense value Matchett places on Jerome’s work. Best known for his comic masterpiece of 1889, Three Men in a Boat, Jerome's captivating tale of an unhurried boat trip along old England’s river Thames, with its charming mix of adventures and misadventures, has long stood the test of time. More than a century after its initial publication, Jerome’s witty, often pithy observations on the quirkiness of daily life remain both relevant, poignant, and genuinely laugh-out-loud funny. In this wonderfully attractive special edition: Three Men in a Boat: The 130th Birthday Celebration, Steve Matchett presents us with a warm, heartfelt tribute to this enchanting, evergreen story.
Matchett's own comforting tones, his captivating English accent prove a truly inspired choice for narrator of this perfectly performed audiobook edition - his beguiling range of British accents and dialects used for the story's ever changing cast of minor characters is most appealing. In terms of its additional content, The 130th Birthday Celebration special edition is introduced with a touching foreword written by Steve Matchett, himself, in which he discusses exactly why he is so enamored with Jerome's sweetly gentle tale of yesteryear. Moreover, each chapter of this compelling, unfolding story comes complete with Matchett's own series of annotated musings: these personal "notes from the riverbank" concluding each of the books nineteen chapters.
The end result of all of this, Steve Matchett's genuine labor of love is a truly beautiful volume; a fresh and elegantly presented audiobook edition of this timeless classic; one sure to win a whole new audience - a recording to enjoy over and over again.
©2018 Steve Matchett (P)2019 Steve Matchett