This is a paperback reprint - back due to popular demand. It includes analysis of his greatest races and the changing technology of his bikes. It is an in-depth, richly illustrated biography of one of motorcycling's best-loved characters. Fourth in a series intended to cover the careers of the world's greatest motorcycle racing champions, "Bob McIntyre - The Flying Scot" tells the story of the man who never actually won a world championship - but certainly deserved to. In many ways he was the two-wheel equivalent of car racing driver Stirling Moss, who is seen as one of the greats in his sport although he never won an official world title. Well over four decades since his untimely death, following an accident that occurred while racing his 500cc Manx Norton at Oulton Park, Cheshire in August 1962, Bob McIntyre's memory lives on. An annual Bob McIntyre Memorial race meeting held at East Fortune attracts racing enthusiasts from as far afield as Australia. Not only was 'Bob Mac' a brilliantly gifted rider and self-taught mechanic, he was also a man of the people, someone who would always help a fellow competitor or take the time to sign an autograph or chat to a fan. He was also honest, loyal and modest; his word was his bond. Unlike the three riders already covered in this series, John Surtees, Mike Hailwood and Giacomo Agostini, Bob Mac was very much a self-made man; someone who started from the very bottom and reached the very top in his chosen profession. He was the first man to lap the Isle of Man TT circuit, the most fearsome in the world, at over 100 mph; and this was just one of his great achievements. This in-depth account of his career focusses on the bikes and the races but also provides an insight in Bob's life away from the track. Lavishly illustrated with many previously unpublished photographs, it is a must-read for any motorcycling fan.

'Sunny' Jim Young is reckoned by some Celtic historians to be the greatest Celt of them all, winning nine League Championships (three as captain) and six Scottish Cups. Amazingly, he was only capped once for Scotland, and his tragic death aged only forty plunged the whole of Scottish football into sadness. This book profiles the life and career of a Parkhead legend.

The long-awaited memoir from international football ambassador, former co-owner of Arsenal FC and legend of the game: David Dein. There's no doubt that Dein has been one of the most significant and influential figures in British football for over three decades - operating at club and international level. He was a prime mover in the creation of the Premier League, hugely influential within the England set-up and, of course, was the mastermind - along with Arsene Wenger - in creating the glory days of Arsenal Football Club, leading the team for almost a quarter of a century. Connected to the most senior figures across the global game as a friend, rival, advisor, and collaborator, Dein has been central to major turning points in the game. Calling the Shots is part memoir, part inspirational meditation on leadership, teamwork and how to invest in people. It tracks the full story of David's remarkable life and career to date, recounting never-before-told stories from the inside, intriguing characters met along the way, and discussing the past, present and future of football. An entertaining and motivational read for football and non-football fans alike, Calling the Shots is a dynamic masterclass in how to succeed in business and life.

When Peter Minto first discovered the name of F N S Creek, he began to unravel a forgotten legend of British football. He soon found that there was far more to this man than it seemed...When the First World War broke out, F N S Creek found himself battling in the squalid trenches of Flanders and soon transferred into the Royal Flying Corps performing dangerous aerial reconnaissance and bombing missions behind enemy lines, eventually earning a military cross for his contributions. Despite the short life expectancy of aircrew, Creek returned to England to study at Trinity College, Cambridge, and there he first discovered his talent for football. F N S Creek quickly grew to celebrity status with his spectacular scoring ability, earning caps for England and later going on to coach the Olympic team for sixteen years. Throughout his career he revolutionised the coaching of football throughout the nation whilst also becoming a successful cricketer, writer, journalist and broadcaster. In this extensively-researched biography of a forgotten legend of English football, Peter Minto presents the remarkable life of F N S Creek.

In the late 1950's John Surtees was the dominate rider in top-level British and European motorcycle racing. A precocious talent, he began riding competitively on Vincents in the early 1950's, then REGs and NSUs and Nortons A precocious talent, he began riding competitively on Vincents in the early 1950's, then REGs and NSUs and Nortons. The technical side of Surtees's career - the bikes he rode and his considerable skills as a mechanic and engineer - is covered in detail. The book gives a fascinating insight into the intense motivation that often gave Surtees the edge over his rivals and laid the foundation for the success that followed. In many ways Surtees is the precursor of later generations of fiercely dedicated, perfectionist riders like Kenny Roberts Snr and Mick Doohan, and the time is right for a reassessment of his contribution to the sport.

"Son of My Father" explores the changing relationship between father, son and their beloved football club - Derby County. Along with the changing faces of managers and players: the fads, news and music of the eighties and nineties are brought to life. To the backdrop of driving through clouds to Oldham, to driving rain in Bristol, "Son of My Father" explores the changing relationship between father, son and their football club. From the eyes of a hero-worshipping four-year-old, through to a relationship of mutual admiration and shared understanding, via the angst and traumatic misunderstandings of an adolescent, Matches from Leyton to Liverpool punctuate a story about growing up at the end of the second millennium. The novel includes the family life as well as the football and what it was like supporting Derby County in a house occupied by a brother whose allegiance stood steadfast towards rivals Nottingham Forest. It also covers the friendships that were made at school, just because we supported the same team. Along with the changing faces of managers and players: the fads, news and music of the eighties and nineties are brought to life, as well as the dawning of the new millennium where overnight we all realised that despite the Y2K Bug promising computer meltdown, 1 January 2000 was just the same as 31 December 1999. "Son of My Father" charts the relationship between the author, his Dad and Derby County Football Club, from their first visit together to the Baseball Ground in November 1979 and through two and a half decades spent watching their team.

Dave's story began at his local club Manchester City. His move to Molinuex, following four and a half years at Maine Road, was finalised on Boxing Day 1964.And it is from there that his story truly begins. He was a key figure in the squad, and ever present in the number 11 shirt when promotion was gained in 1967. He played in two major finals for Wolves, receiving a runners'-up medal in the UEFA Cup Final defeat by Tottenham Hotspur in 1972. He eventually left Molineux for Blackburn Rovers in 1976, but he will always be regarded as one of the finest wingers to play for Wolves and fondly remembered for the class and skill he displayed during the 1960s and 70s. Dave Wagstaffe's autobiography is told with humour and wit and gives the reader a fascinating glimpse into his unique story.

‘I swim for every chance to get wasted ― after every meet, every weekend, every travel trip. This is what I look forward to and what I tell no one: the burn of it down my throat, to my soul curled up in my lungs, the sharpest pain all over it ― it seizes and stretches, becoming alive again, and is the only thing that makes sense.’

At fifteen, Casey Legler is already one of the fastest swimmers in the world. She is also an alcoholic, isolated from her family, and incapable of forming lasting connections with those around her.

Driven to compete at the highest levels, sent far away from home to train with the best coaches and teams, she finds herself increasingly alone and alienated, living a life of cheap hotels and chlorine-worn skin, anonymous sexual encounters and escalating drug use. Even at what should be a moment of triumph ― competing at age nineteen in the 1996 Olympics ― she is an outsider looking in, procuring drugs for Olympians she hardly knows, and losing her race after setting a new world record in the qualifying heats.

After submitting to years of numbing training in France and the United States, Casey can see no way out of the sinister loneliness that has swelled and festered inside her. Yet wondrously, when it is almost too late, she discovers a small light within herself, and senses a point of calm within the whirlwind of her life.

In searing, evocative, visceral prose, Casey gives language to loneliness in this startling story of survival, defiance, and of the embers that still burn when everything else in us goes dark.

Described as ""the Greatest Batsman in the Country"" by sports writers of his era, Dennis ""Big Dan"" Brouthers compiled a .342 batting average, tying with Babe Ruth for ninth place all-time, and slugged 205 triples, eighth all time, in 16 major league seasons. He won five batting and on-base percentage titles, and seven slugging titles, and was the first player to win batting and slugging crowns in successive years. Although he ranked fourth among nineteenth-century home run hitters, many fair balls he hit into the stands or over the fence were counted only as doubles or triples due to local ground rules. Brouthers was extremely difficult to strike out--in 1889, for example, he did so just six times in 565 plate appearances. He was the first player to be walked intentionally on a regular basis. This comprehensive biography of Dan Brouthers examines his life and career from his youth as an apprentice in a print and dye factory to his final years as an attendant at the Polo Grounds. It corrects numerous errors that have crept into earlier accounts of his life, and clarifies his position as one of the greatest hitters ever to play the game.

This is the autobiography of one of Ireland's greatest ever full-backs - Dave Langan. Brought to England by the legendary Brain Clough, Langan made his name as one of the best young full-backs in Britain. With brutal honesty, Dave Langan tells of his battles on and off the field, as well as his international career with Ireland. Dave Langan, regarded by many as one of Ireland's greatest full-backs, was also a mainstay of the famous Oxford United team that made history in 1986 when they won the Milk Cup. Managed by Maurice Evans, Langan and his teammates, including fellow Irish legends Ray Houghton and John Aldridge, were part of the side which beat QPR 3-0 in the final. Brought to England by the legendary Brian Clough, Langan made his name as one of the best young full-backs in Britain with Derby, before making a then record breaking transfer to Birmingham. With a brutal honesty reminiscent of his playing days Dave Langan tells of his battles on and off the field, as well as his international career with Ireland.

Johnny 'Budgie' Byrne played for Crystal Palace, Fulham and England, as well as several clubs in South Africa, but he is most associated with West Ham, where he delighted the fans as he made goals, scored goals and put in fearless tackles. In the heady days of the 1960s he was on a par with the greats: Bobby Moore, Geoff Hurst, Martin Peters and Johnny Sissons. But Budgie was left out of the squad for the 1962 World Cup in Chile, so in some ways he never completely fulfilled his enormous potential. It was during Johnny Byrne's time at West Ham that the club really built its reputation for quality football. Loved by the fans, hated by the opposition, he is widely thought to be one of the finest players ever to have pulled on a claret and blue West Ham shirt. In this fascinating new biography Brian Belton tells the story of Budgie's life and career, focussing on the football and resisting the temptation to cast Johnny as a 'loveable rogue' in the manner that others have written about such famous subjects as Alex Higgins and George Best.There was much more to Budgie than his life off the pitch, and this is a book about a football hero who played like a demon and was adored by the fans.

Almost as soon as Gazza burst on to the scene at Newcastle United, the young Geordie was the centre of attention: Vinnie Jones's notorious ball-handling showed the lengths people would go to try to stop him. Then, with England on the verge of possibly reaching the World Cup final in 1990, came Gazza's tears - the moment that brought a whole new audience to the sport and helped set the football boom of the 1990s on its way. But then came a career-threatening injury, mental health problems, self-confessed alcoholism and family disputes, as life in the full glare of the media spotlight became too much. Now, at the end of his top-flight playing career, Gazza is ready to confront his demons. The result is quite simply the most remarkable footballing story you'll ever read: what it's like being Paul Gascoigne, in his own words.

A no-holds-barred story of what it takes to reach the top, and stay there, in the world's most dangerous sport - three day eventing. At the age of forty-seven Mary King won a Team Bronze at the Beijing Olympics. In the two 'Cavaliers' - 'Call Again Cavalier' and 'Imperial Cavalier' - she has two of the very best event horses in the world. Mary King's success in the world of eventing (now officially classed as the most dangerous sport in the world) has been hard won. She does not come from a privileged background - her father a verger and a long-term invalid so money was very tight. Her first pony was the ancient 'cast off' from the local vicar's children - and success with this pony gave her an iron will to succeed. And succeeded she has. To support herself in the early days she had a variety of unglamorous jobs (this included butcher delivery rounds and cleaning out toilets in the local campsite). Her talent was apparent from very early on and she first competed at Badminton in 1985, had her first win there on King William in 1992 and her second on Star Appeal in 2000. Just when everything seemed to be going well she suffered a terrible fall in 2001 and broke her neck but she was back competing at the very top level the following year. Fully updated for the paperback with the 2010 season, including Team GB's gold medal-winning performance at the World Equestrian Games, this is a fascinating account from inside the world's most dangerous sport.

This is the paperback re-print of the bestselling 2009 edition. It is a true 'rags to riches' football story of a miner's son who fulfilled his dream to play for his country. It is a book with a message - rewards are earned from hard work and determination. It includes foreword written by Jimmy Greaves and contributions from Sir Bobby Charlton. "The Gerry Hitchens Story" follows the life of a young miner who was plucked from the mineshaft to find himself playing football in the Italian League a few years later. It is surely something that dreams were made of, a real 'rags-to-riches' story; however, this is exactly what happened to one such talented, working-class lad from a small Shropshire mining village in the late 1950s. Gerry Hitchens was an uncomplicated footballer with obvious natural ability and virtues. It is fair to say there have been more skillful players than Hitchens, but footballers do not always require skill and flair to succeed at the very top - sometimes hard work and determination are equally important qualities, along with the will to learn and improve. Gerry had a bit extra to offer - the instinct to sniff out half chances and to score goals in abundance at any level. Containing a foreword by Jimmy Greaves and contributions from Sir Bobby Charton, Jimmy Armfield OBE, Gigi Riva, Louis Suarez and world-renowned football writer and journalist Brian Glanville, "The Gerry Hitchens Story" is a fitting tribute to a great footballer who was 'born to play'.

This book covers Joan Newton Cuneo's life and her role (from 1905 to 1915) as the premier female racer in the United States and spokeswoman for women drivers and good roads. Beginning with her family history and marriage to Andrew Cuneo, it traces their life in New York society, the birth of their children, and Joan's growing interest in automobile touring and racing and partnership with Louis Disbrow, her racing mechanic. The book covers Joan's experiences in three Glidden Tours, including her notes on the experience, her first races, and her rivals. It also looks at the growth and change of automobile culture and the battle for control of racing between the AAA, ACA, and the AAMA, which ends in the banishing of women racers shortly after Joan's greatest racing victories at New Orleans (in 1909). The book then follows Joan's attempts to continue racing, the end of her marriage, her move to the Upper Peninsula, and her remarriage and death. The book also includes a chapter on her female rivals in racing and touring.

The most definitive and personal answer ever written to the question, "What is Arnold Palmer really like?" A warm, often humorous, look at one of the most popular figures in modern sports.

The dramatic claim that Cullis's Wolves team were 'champions of the world' after beating Honved in 1954 sparked the creation of the European Cup tournament. That, in itself, would guarantee his place in soccer history. There is much more, however, to the story of Stan Cullis. He emerged from a bleak childhood to be appointed captain of Wolves in the week of his 20th birthday, and at the age of 22 he became the youngest skipper of the England national side. Cullis was a great player; Ferenc Puskas, the great Hungarian, described him as 'the most classical centre-half of his time'. Cullis became an even greater manager, thanks in part to 'long-ball' tactics that provoked endless controversy. His reputation was worldwide. When Wolves brutally sacked him in 1964 the first offer of a new job came from Italian club Juventus. He turned it down. Stan Cullis fully merited the unique title he loved to live up to; he was the Iron Manager.

Gil Merrick, also known as 'Mr Birmingham City', gave his life and soul to Brimingham City serving it as both a player and a manager before the club broke his heart with the manner of his dismissal. This biography looks at how Merrick's time at the club coincided with many of the best days (and nights) in its history; promotions, an FA Cup Final appearance, European success, domestic success, the introduction of European coaching methods and debuts of many great young players. Birmingham City Football Club is acknowledged as 'a sleeping giant', the trouble is that this so-called giant has never awoken since its formation in 1875. Over 130 years of professional football in the heart of the industrial Midlands has produced only one major trophy - The League Cup in 1963 - alongside a million heartaches and disappointments for its fans. Faced with an underachieving football club, Bluenoses have had to look to their heroes to justify their blind faith and continued enthusiasm - Gil Merrick is the greatest hero of all! Gil is held in high esteem because he loved the club as much as the supporters, even though his father was a Villa fan. He gave his life and soul to Birmingham City serving it as both a player and a manager before the club broke his heart with the manner of his dismissal. Loyalty could have been Gil's middle name. Known as 'Mr Birmingham City', his time at the club coincided with many of the best days (and nights) in its history; promotions, an FA Cup Final appearance, European success, domestic success, the introduction of European coaching methods and debuts of many great young players. Who knows how Gil would have fared in today's game where money rules and international players become celebrities. I have little doubt that he would have remained level-headed and taken the trappings of success in his stride, but would he have remained with one club for 25 years? Whatever happens in the future to 'The Blues', whether they ultimately regain Premier League status and conquer Europe, there will never be another club servant to match my hero - Gil Merrick.

Jimmy McMenemy played for Celtic for almost twenty years at a time when Celtic were at the top of Scottish and world football. He remains without doubt one of the great characters of early 20th century Scottish football, and his story deserves to be told. Jimmy McMenemy was one of Celtic and Scotland's truly great players. He played for Celtic for almost twenty years at a time when Celtic were at the top of Scottish and world football, and he was the man that made it all happen for them, generally agreed to be the star of the team that won six League Championships in a row from 1905 until 1910. He also played his part in quite a few triumphs for Scotland, notably against England in 1910 and 1914. Arguably his contribution to the Celtic cause as a player was matched by his contribution in the late 1930s as the trainer of the great Celtic side who won the all-British Empire Exhibition Trophy of 1937.