Whitney Straight Racing Driver, War Hero, Industrialist - The Authorised Biography

Born in New York with a silver spoon in his mouth, he would earn his living in the board rooms of some of Britain's greatest companies. He dropped out of Cambridge to become an outstanding racing driver and run a team of Maseratis across Europe and Africa. A qualified pilot at 17, he revolutionized aircraft design for the enthusiast, and his extraordinary war saw him rise from Pilot Officer to Air Commodore. He survived the invasion of Norway, a crash-landing in occupied France and a year as a PoW to emerge with an MC, DFC and US Legion of Merit. Rejecting Churchill's proposal of a career in politics, he became CEO of BOAC, transforming it into a national airline to be proud of. At Rolls-Royce, he railed against a company dominated by engineers who made poor businessmen and played a founding role in the separate paths of the aero and auto businesses still seen today. An incurable romantic, he could never imagine being married to anyone other than his wife, yet he had numerous mistresses.