Whitney Straight: Racing Driver, War Hero, Industrialist (The History Press, 2025) is my second book, about a man who made his own way in life. Born into one of New York’s grandest families, Whitney became a naturalised Brit, and 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 revolutionised aircraft design for the enthusiast, and his extraordinary efforts in the Second World 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.
After the war, Straight rejected Churchill’s proposal of a career in politics and instead 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 that are still seen today.
An incurable romantic, he could never imagine being married to anyone other than his wife, yet he had numerous relationships.
Throughout the project, I enjoyed the support of Whitney’s family, who gave me unfettered access to his diaries and photograph albums. I also scoured archives on both sides of the Atlantic and left no stone unturned in pursuit of the full story of one of the twentieth century’s greatest mavericks. I enjoyed working closely with The History Press on the book and Kindle versions, and with Blackstone Publishing on the audio book, which was superbly narrated by Simon Vance. I could not be prouder of the results, and of the reviews.
British Airways Speedbird Heritage Centre Digest, December 2025
Kenny turns on its head the accepted 1940s/50s wisdom about BOAC and relates how the RB211 brought down Rolls-Royce. He also discusses the role Straight played in the creation of the separate R-R aero and auto businesses still seen today.
Classic & Sports Car, December 2025, Book of the Month
From Battle of Britain action to escaping a PoW camp, Straight’s life would make a movie, as biographer Paul Kenny relates in this impressive book. Thanks to Straight’s daughters, the family archive gives this authorised story key depth … For anyone interested in pre-war motorsport and aviation history, both wartime and civilian, this important biography is a must-read.
Mick Walsh, International Editor Speedreaders.org, December 2025
The man who had started his war as a Pilot Officer ended it as an Air Commodore, mixing with the dramatis personae we’ve all heard of. Straight met everyone from FDR, Marshal Tito and Churchill to Ian Fleming, Airey Neave and Soviet spy Guy Burgess. There’s plenty of tales of dogfights and derring-do, but also many insights into the vast complexity of making a nation’s war machinery work, and who better than the man already en route to becoming a master of industry before the war had even begun? … This book is Whitney Straight’s legacy, and it deserves every praise.
John Aston, The Automobile, December 2025
Paul spent more than a decade researching this book, which has a much wider appeal than just a short motor racing biography, and the depth of his research is evident in the finished product. As well as the fascinating chapters on Straight’s war, during which he remarkably won both the both the MC and the DFC, as well as the US Legion of Merit, the book gives a somewhat intriguing insight into what might be politely described as politically-driven chaos in the development of the British civil aviation industry in the late 1940s. This is a fine tribute to a remarkable man and is great value, too.
Simon Moore, Classic Cars, January 2026
It’s a thrilling, engrossing tale of derring-do in multiple forms … the racing exploits are there, with tales of dicing with Seaman and Nuvolari, and colourful accounts of tackling Le Mans in the Thirties. But more poignantly, this is a story of the saving and rebuilding of Britain, of war, industry and aviation.
Damian Smith. Motor Sport, January 2026. Book of the Month
Written with deep care and attention to forensic detail, this is a remarkable story of a remarkable man – for whom the definition ‘racing driver’ does little justice.