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by Carolyn Benson (Editor), Craig Fjarlie (Editor), Craig Smith (Editor)
There is an old adage that says, "Truth is stranger than fiction." This is the way it was told in the fascinating stories about the famous Sammamish Slough Race. Your Author covers a boat racing era from the 1920s to the 1970s. His personal knowledge, being born into a racing family, has given him insight that few people still living have. In the Pacific Northwest, the area where the Slough Race took place, significant changes occurred that had a long-term effect on outboard racing of that period. He leads you through the years that made boat racing a competition as exciting as major-league sports are today. The contest started from various locations on Lake Washington, ran across the lake and proceeded into a narrow-crooked river that wound through several small towns. It took a brief stop at one of the resorts on the upper connecting lake-Lake Sammamish. The competitors restarted their race boats after stopping and headed back downstream to the starting point, finishing their long grueling marathon. You will learn about some of the local history along the path of the racecourse, which is fascinating in itself. Many alterations were made to the terrain-history was rewritten as a result. The River took some vicious twists and turns, which was the exciting attraction for thousands of spectators. It nearly killed some of the drivers. You are treated to hundreds of wonderful photographs while reading about some of the wild events that happened along the way of this "Crookedest Race in the World."
Author Biography
Jim Benson was born into a Seattle boat-racing family and successfully raced outboards and limited inboard hydroplanes. He has a special affection for the bygone event known as "The Sammamish Slough Race." Benson is a retired medical device engineer (holder of 15 patents) who lives in Southwest Arizona with wife Carolyn and two Havanese-Shih Tzu puppies, Sissy and Chickie.
