>>READER ANALYSIS
Just occasionally an
autobiography comes
along that you end up
reading like a can't-put-
down thriller novel, and
Malcolm! – The Autobi-
ography is exactly that.
The first-person story of
legendary American off-
road enduro and desert
racing star Malcolm
Smith, as told to former
editor of Motorcyclist
magazine Mitch Boehm,
begins with his wartime
upbringing in British
Columbia which ended
when his parents moved
to California, and tells the
story of his subsequent
rise through the ranks of
off-road riders to become
a living legend in compe-
tition, and a motorcycle
magnate in business.
Malcolm Smith was
born in 1941 as the
only child of Alexander
Smith, a Scottish-born
prospector who'd struck
gold in advance of the
Klondike Gold Rush in
Canada's Yukon Territory,
then followed that up by
discovering the oil fields
of Alaska's Arctic Slope,
and staking them for the
US Navy. Taking advan-
tage of the family's dual
US/Canadian citizenship,
the Smith family headed
south to California when
Malcolm was just five
years old, but his par-
ents got divorced and he
wound up living with his
mother in San Bernardi-
no. There, he acquired
a Lambretta scooter,
which proved to be the
entry ticket to a career
on two wheels that really
took off in 1956 when he
swapped the Lambretta
for a 1949 500cc Match-
less, and started racing it
in what were then known
as TT/Scrambles events,
taking victory in his third
such race.
Notwithstanding a seri-
P100
Malcolm! – e Autobiography
B Y M A L C O L M S M I T H W I T H M I T C H B O E H M
BOOK
REVIEW
ous leg injury at the age
of 18 after he collided in
midair with a friend he'd
gone to look for out in the
desert, Smith recovered
to obtain an AMA Pro
licence and start racing
regularly at Ascot Speed-
way in Los Angeles and
San Diego's El Cajon
Speedway, where he be-
came future AMA Grand
National Champion.
Gene Romero's biggest
rival—Smith would win at
one meeting, Romero at
the next. But the lack of
actual riding time at such
events led him to quit
dirt oval racing in favor
of concentrating full time
on Desert racing and TT/
Scrambles, where after
making his two-stroke de-
but with a 250 Greeves,
he duly switched to
Husqvarnas, to begin a
LIST PRICE: $49.95
WEBSITE: www.malcolmsmith.com, www.themalcolmbook.com
RATING:
Malcolm! – e Autobiography is, just that, a 400-page,
11x11-inch hardback autobiography by off-road leg-
end Malcolm Smith and co-writer Mitch Boehm.
BY ALAN CATHCART
