Danica- -Crossing the Line by Danica Patrick

Danica--Crossing the Line has a suggested retail price of about $24. It is an autobiography of Danica Patrick, a 23 year-old female auto racer who is the first woman to have been named the IRL Rookie of the year and the Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year. I read Danica--Crossing the Line in about 1-1/2 hours. It is just over 200 pages long, with large print and nice spacing between the lines.

This is a story of Danica Patrick's need for speed at an early age, her father's "dedication," and her progress up the ranks from go-karts to Indy race cars.

The purpose of the book, according to Danica Patrick, is stated over and over again. If you really want something and you work hard at it you can succeed. She says that this book is her way of giving back. If someone out there is inspired by her message, it was a good book.

It wasn't really the message that I got from the book. Danica wrote the book to promote Danica Patrick. She's attractive and successful. Danica tells us in the book that she is doing for auto racing what other talented modern women did who excel in sports where men are dominant. Yes, I'm certain it created additional challenges competing against boys, and later men, and garnering their respect at the tracks.

Danica spends much time in the book telling us how aggressive and (pardon the pun) driven she is. That's exactly the feeling I came away with. Not much more. I got no warmth, no personality. Not rich, just spoiled.

I actually resented two themes in the book. First, that a 23 year-old, married for less than one year, delivers marital advice. Second, that a high school drop-out, who nearly ruined her career due to drinking, gives advice to teens. The advice? Be careful what you, do because bad choices can ruin your life. Is that what happened to Danica? No. She apologized and went on with her career. No consequences. Great message.