The "Snake vs. Mongoose" racing feud had been making headlines long before they got their Funny Cars, but it wasn't until they made a deal with Mattel that drag racing became the multimillion-dollar business that it is today.

Happily co-opted by Mattel, the rivalry described in Snake vs. Mongoose was nonetheless real.

Author Tom Madigan tells the story from the beginning, when engine builder Ed Donovan, with a nod to The Jungle Book, dubbed his driver "The Mongoose"—the one creature who could strike faster than a Snake.

The book chronicles the bad press, the toe-to-toe standoffs, and some of the best races in drag racing history. And within that story, Madigan captures the transformation of drag racing from the gritty, gut-driven sport of the 60s into the full-fledged money-making machine of our day. Hardbound, 160 pages, 9.25" x 10.875"