THE GOD OF DRIVING: How I Overcame My Fear and Put Myself in the Driver's Seat (with the Help of a Good and Mysterious Man)

Collins, a style journalist, society page regular and phobic nondriver, charts her road to automotive freedom in an entertaining look at a skill many people take for granted. But this is less the story of a fashion diva transforming herself into a gear head, trading limos and taxis for Ducatis and Vipers (or even for the driving school's '92 Acura, which she eventually purchases), than the tale of the awkward, tender, complicated friendship that blossoms between Collins and her instructor, Attila, a Turkish-born enigma with a preternatural talent for teaching driving. Their bond forms quickly, as Attila, a former inventor, textile designer, masseur and night club owner, impresses Collins with his calm confidence and soothes her fears about being behind the wheel. Soon she's correcting his English and he's doling out pieces of his unique worldview. As Collins becomes more confident, she and Attila are given incredible vehicles to drive and race tracks on which to practice (a lesson in what being a special correspondent to Vanity Fair will get you). In between jaunts and lessons, they happily psychoanalyze each other. Though it's sometimes a bit stiff, this is a sweet story of an education in both driving and life. Agent, Suzanne Gluck. (Sept.)