Formula One is more than just drivers and cars: it's also the mechanics, the media and the creative minds that bridge between the sport and its fans. Atlas F1 pays tribute to some of those professionals, as Bookworm Critique Mark Glendenning writes about the best motorsports authors

Ron Dennis is famous for having once said: "We make history, you (the media) just write about it." In many respects of course, he's quite correct. But the comment also serves to illustrate how easily the importance of the wordsmiths can be overlooked.

The drivers and teams go out and make the magic happen, but once it is all said and done, it falls to the writer to capture the moment and preserve it for posterity. Photographs play a part - and in certain situations, are indispensable - but it is always words to which one turns first when searching for an account of a race, a driver, a team or a season. This is particularly true when addressing earlier eras, as one or two books may well represent the only readily available information about a particular subject. In situations such as those, the responsibility borne by the author can be heavy indeed. It's a role well deserving of 'unsung hero' status!

Think of great F1 writers, and the first name that invariably springs to mind is that of Denis Jenkinson. We won't be looking at Jenks much here though, partly because his books were by far overshadowed by his journalistic contributions to magazines, but more because Doug Nye is writing extensively about him elsewhere in this edition of Atlas F1. So who, then, is the greatest of the unsung heroes amongst Formula One's clan of authors? The answer is … that there is no clear answer. (You knew that was coming, didn't you?). We're restricted, for one thing, in being limited to material that was written in English. I'm aware of several worthy books that were published in French, German or Italian but never found their way into translation, and there is also, apparently, an excellent Senna book that was written in Dutch. No doubt there are many other similar stories.

We're also restricted by my own limitations - I can only comment upon what I myself have read. Nearly four years of writing book reviews (on top of my earlier recreational reading) has granted me the opportunity to explore a lot of what is out there, but there are still gaps. Chris Nixon's 'Mon Ami, Mate', for example, is considered by many to be one of the great motorsport biographies, and it is to my great disappointment that I have not yet managed to get my hands upon a copy. So rather than select one author to carry the flag for all the others, I'm going to nominate a few that made a particular impression upon me.

The present is as good a spot to start as any. The overwhelming majority of the names behind books about modern Grand Prix racing belong to British journalists who follow the F1 circus around the world on behalf of a daily newspaper and pump out a new title every year or so to supplement their income. The quality of their output, not surprisingly, is rather hit-and-miss. One person who stands out from the crowd in this regard is Richard Williams, who is among the most intelligent and astute observers of F1 that you'll find anywhere.

Unlike some of his 'two crap books per year' contemporaries, Williams lives by the rule of throwing few punches, but making every punch count. 'Racers', an account of the 1996 season, remains probably the best reflection upon the current era of F1 that I have seen. Similarly, among the raft of Senna books that swamped bookstores and credit card bills worldwide in the wake of the Brazilian's accident, Williams's 'The Death Of Ayrton Senna' remains unsurpassed.

Where others went for tearful sentimentality and hero-worship frequently bolstered by a selective (and in a couple of cases, revisionist) rendering of the champion's career, Williams went down another path. The result was a well-researched and thought-provoking insight into Senna's life, what he meant to both F1 and Brazil, and the most detailed, comprehensive reconstruction of the circumstances surrounding his death that you'll find in print anywhere. From there, Williams turned his attention to the Old Man, and the result - 'Enzo Ferrari: A Life' - is a first-class representation of a life that can not always be clearly pinned down.

Another consistent goal-kicker is Maurice Hamilton, who has just returned to the bookshelves with his new Ken Tyrrell biography. Tyrrell was never especially keen on the idea of becoming the subject for the book, yet despite never having had the opportunity to meet the man in person, I suspect that he would have approved of what Hamilton has produced. Equally, for others who missed the chance to meet Ken, this book conveys a sense of what he must have been like. Hamilton earlier struck gold with his biography of Frank Williams a few years ago, and also with 'Against The Odds: Jordan's Drive to Win'. An account of the Buzzin' Hornet's 1998 season, this remains among the very best current team biographies to have come out over the past few years. I have every reason to expect that Hamilton's book about the birth of the Stewart team is also worthy of remark, but unfortunately I have not yet managed to obtain a copy!

While some F1 writers reflect upon the modern characters and present condition of the sport, there is also an army devoted to preserving the past. Of those, one who has been particularly busy in recent years is Karl Ludvigsen. For the past few years, Ludvigsen has been busy producing a series of biographies that explore the lives of some of racing's greatest heroes, and in doing so has found that rare middle ground between popular appeal and scholarly substance. As well as bringing new details and images to light, the relative affordability and easy availability of Ludvigsen's books also help introduce a new audience to the history of Grand Prix racing - and that can only be a good thing.

And while we're at it, we should make some mention of motor racing fiction. There's a school of thought that believes that there's already enough make-believe in racing and there's no reason to go to the effort of coming up with more. Based on the standard of some of the fiction that has arrived at Atlas F1 Towers in the past, you'd have to say that they have a point. But fiction writers perhaps receive less credit than those of any other genre in racing, and there most certainly has been some wheat amongst the chaff.

Richard Nisely's 'The Ragged Edge' was a particularly well-grounded and enjoyable tale, but the standout racing fiction writer of the past few years has to be Burt 'BS' Levy. His series of novels that began with 'The Last Open Road', continued with 'Montezuma's Ferrari', and most recently struck with 'The Fabulous Trashwagon' are fast-paced, action-packed, solidly researched, and help convey some feel for the world of 1950s Sports Car racing in the US to those of us who missed it.

While we're dishing out accolades, we should perhaps also tip our hats to the guys who make it all happen once the manuscript has been prepared - the publishers. You don't have to look far to find a tale of woe from a would-be author who can't convince anybody to turn his reams of typed papers into a book. While some of these texts probably don't deserve to see the light of day, there are plenty of others that do, but are not considered 'economically viable' by those in the publishing houses who count the beans. This in part accounts for the same-ness of many of the titles that hit the shelves - I would guess it is somewhat easier to get a mediocre book about Schumacher published than a fantastic one about Tony Brooks. It's not that people aren't writing these books, it's that they can't find a way for them to see the light of day. With that in mind, the publishers that do get behind motorsport writers deserve 'unsung hero' status of the highest order.

As with any piece like this, is has ended up being more exclusive than inclusive, and without batting an eyelid I can name many other writers who occupy a vital place in the realm of the motorsport book - Doug Nye and Mike Lawrence are two obvious standouts. Heroes all … can you imagine a world without them?