The movie Ford vs. Ferrari introduced the wider world to a pivotal, but yet hidden figure in automotive history. Ken Miles, a man who made his name racing sports cars, from MGs to Porsches, to Sunbeam Alpines, to Cobras, to GT350s, to Ford GT40s—the man was a genius behind the wheel of a car and many of his exploits during his time at Shelby American were captured by the lens of Dave Friedman, Shelby Americans resident photographer.

Freidman had, in his files, never released pictures of Miles, and yet he held them back for decades believing that the world was not ready to see them. He didn’t want them to be unnoticed, he wanted a moment for when the world was ready to learn more about the amazing British ex-pat who left such a mark on the automotive world. Thanks to the movie that introduced the world to Miles, Friedman believes that long-awaited time is now.

In his new book entitled “Ken Miles: The Shelby American Years”, he chronicles Miles in his photographs, and in those illustrations, he paints the picture of his late friend. Showing sides of Miles that only someone so intimate with the team could have seen.

He celebrated the release of the book with a book signing event at OVC (Original Venice Crew)’s facility at the Shelby International’s location in Gardena, CA. In attendance were members of Shelby’s original employees, from Shelby part-time janitor John Morton to Charlie Agapiou along with many others, and the man of honor, representing his father was Ken Mile’s son, Peter.

If you want to learn more about Ken Miles, you will struggle to find any closer source than Freidman’s new book. It’s an intimate look at a man who we now all rightly admire.