The America's Cup: The History of Sailing's Greatest Competition in the Twentieth Century
As a skipper, Conner won the most coveted of all sailing trophies three times. He was also the first American ever to lose it. The prevailing winds of his sport have consistently blown such that if Conner could just direct as much hot air into his sails as he does into his complaints and protests he would probably never lose a race.Conner's trademark impetuousness is on display throughoutThe America's Cup, but so is his substantial grasp of sailing history, technology, and strategy. He's a gregarious storyteller, adept at lowering the boom on boathouse intrigue, particularly when he comes out the better for it. If the portions ofCupthat deal with his own career--and given his longevity, they are substantial--tend to sound like a series of advertisements and excuses for himself, that's always been the direction he's tacked. Conner may whine, but he's not boring, and neither isCup: he refuses to drown his animosity toward Ted Turner, winner of the 1977 race, and Alan Bond, the Australian renegade by whom Conner was outsailed and outmaneuvered in 1983. Conner's personality, for better or worse, steers his book, just as, for better or worse, it's steered his ships in competition.--Jeff Silverman