A searching and at times harrowing re-appraisal of the life of Evel Knievel, the seventies American icon and the greatest daredevil motorcyclist that ever lived. Now fully updated in paperback with the story of the last few years of his life and his death in 2007. Stuart Barker's definitive biography captures the super-star status that Knievel held and also examines the marketing phenomenon of a man who once boasted he 'made $60 million and blew $63 million'. Born in the town of Butte, Montana in 1938, Robert Craig Knievel was an outstanding athlete, ski jumper and ice hockey player at school. His early jobs included working in the copper mines and driving a bus as well as a stint in the US Army, but he always subsidised his income through crime ('I could crack a safe with one hand tied behind my back quicker than you could eat a hamburger with two.') He used bikes to escape from the police and eventually hit upon the idea of jumping them after seeing a stunt driver jump cars at a state fair. His first jump took place over two mountain lions and a box of rattlesnakes, and he soon developed his act into the 'Evel Knievel Motorcycle Daredevils' before embarking on a solo career. Knievel suffered 37 breaks and fractures during his daredevil career. In 1967 he spent 29 days in a coma after an attempt to jump over the fountains outside Caesar's Palace casino in Las Vegas. While recovering, he decided to make his goal to jump the Grand Canyon, an attempt he was forced to abort by the US Government; and later was paid $1 million for jumping over 13 double-decker buses at Wembley Stadium. Now, a quarter of a century after he last stepped off a motorcycle, he has been reborn as the originator of Xtreme sports. This, alongside his love of gambling, women and drinking, ensure his legend will live forever. Life of Evel is the story of a truly extreme personality.

One week in June. One small island. 40,000 annual visitors. Raw speed. Numerous annual deaths. The Isle of Man TT motorcycle road race. Five minutes to go. The claxon sounds, harsh as an air raid siren. Television crews attempt last-minute interviews with riders. The thousand yard-stares give it away: they're really not listening now. Four minutes to go. The grandstand is packed. Some racers tell their mechanics, 'I'll see you later for a pint' - just to make themselves believe they will. Three minutes to go. For the first man on the road, hidden dangers exist. He will have no-one to follow. And he is the hare that the greyhounds will be chasing. Two minutes to go. By the end of the first lap, riders will be howling past faster than a bullet from the barrel of a gun. A full 160pmh. And that's not even the fastest part of the course. One minute to go. The atmosphere is palpably tense. It's like no other sporting event on earth. Formula 1 drivers can crash spectacularly and just walk away. Everyone knows that's not the case here. Five seconds. The starter raises the chequered flag, ready to snap down. No more time for nerves, for doubts. The race has started. How it will end, no-one knows. The TT has begun. In Ragged Edge, Stuart Barker will write the definitive story of this unique event, from the tarmac up. The history, the atmosphere, the heroes, tragedies and legends. And most importantly: our fascination with this seductive yet perilous test of skill and daring. This is the unvarnished, raw truth behind the world's most dangerous sporting event - in the words of those who ride it.

The unvarnished, raw truth behind the world's most dangerous sporting event - in the words of those who ride it. One week in June. One small island. 40,000 annual visitors. Raw speed. Numerous annual deaths. The Isle of Man TT motorcycle road race. Five minutes to go. The claxon sounds, harsh as an air raid siren. Television crews attempt last-minute interviews with riders. The thousand yard-stares give it away: they're really not listening now. Four minutes to go. The grandstand is packed. Some racers tell their mechanics, 'I'll see you later for a pint' - just to make themselves believe they will. Three minutes to go. For the first man on the road, hidden dangers exist. He will have no-one to follow. And he is the hare that the greyhounds will be chasing. Two minutes to go. By the end of the first lap, riders will be howling past faster than a bullet from the barrel of a gun. A full 160pmh. And that's not even the fastest part of the course. One minute to go. The atmosphere is palpably tense. It's like no other sporting event on earth. Formula 1 drivers can crash spectacularly and just walk away. Everyone knows that's not the case here. Five seconds. The starter raises the checkered flag, ready to snap down. No more time for nerves, for doubts. The race has started. How it will end, no-one knows. The TT has begun. In Ragged Edge, Stuart Barker will write the definitive story of this unique event, from the tarmac up. The history, the atmosphere, the heroes, tragedies and legends. And most importantly: our fascination with this seductive yet perilous test of skill and daring. This is the unvarnished, raw truth behind the world's most dangerous sporting event - in the words of those who ride it.

With a foreword by Carl Fogarty 'A worthy and fitting tribute to the King of the Roads' - Irish News Joey Dunlop's story is one of towering triumphs and desperate tragedies in almost equal measure. Born poor - dirt poor - with no running water, no electricity, he was the definition of the everyman hero, in what must be considered one of the world's most extreme sports - motorcycle road racing. He remains the most loved and most successful road racer of all time. Joey Dunlop won the hearts and minds of millions during his thirty-one-year career, culminating in the year 2000 at the Isle of Man TT when, grey-haired and bespectacled, he cemented his reputation as the greatest TT rider in history by regaining the F1 crown for the first time in twelve years. But in road racing, tragedy is never very far away. Joey lost his life in an accident in July of 2000. It was just weeks after his final TT victory. More than 60,000 people attended Joey's funeral. Over twenty years on, the sport has never truly recovered. Every motorcycling lover knows the legend of Joey Dunlop but now, for the first time, they can get to know the man himself. This definitive new biography is by turns hilarious, triumphant and tragic; it is Dunlop's story as it has never been told before - by those who were part of it.

'AN EXCEPTIONAL READ' - Motor Cycle News 'STUART BARKER IS TO WRITING WHAT VALENTINO ROSSI IS TO RIDING [...] A MUST-READ FOR ALL BIKE NUTS' - DAILY MIRROR 'At high speed everything becomes more difficult and more beautiful. When you're racing at 180mph, the semi-bends become bends, the little holes become big holes, everything becomes extreme and bigger. And then it becomes beautiful.' Valentino Rossi is an icon: the most successful and most loved motorcycle racer of all time, he has transcended MotoGP to become a symbol of courage, risk and daring. To race for twenty-three years at the very highest level of the world's most dangerous sport is unprecedented. But then, there has never been a motorcycle racer like Valentino Rossi. He is a modern-day gladiator, a man who still risks his life every time he throws a leg over a motorcycle. Yet for all his two-wheel talents, it is Rossi's endearing character that has seen him transcend the sport. For Rossi, every race is a home race. He turns MotoGP grandstands across the world a sea of yellow - his traditional lucky colour. In more than two decades of Grand Prix racing, he has seen it all. The deaths of rivals and friends, the glory of unprecedented success, serious injuries, fabulous wealth, the greatest battles ever seen on two wheels, the infamous on and off-track clashes with his fiercest rivals . . . Using exclusive new interviews with those who have been part of Rossi's story from start to finish, critically-acclaimed and bestselling motorsport author Stuart Barker has produced the most in-depth book ever written about the Italian superstar - a tale of speed, love and loss, told in full for the very first time, in all its adrenalin-charged, high-octane glory.

The definitive life story of the seventies world 500cc motorcycle champion Barry Sheene - the Brit whose death-defying crashes and playboy lifestyle made him the most famous bike racer on the planet. Written by the only journalist to have ridden on the roads with him, and featuring interviews with closest friends, team mates and former rivals. Born in London's East End in 1950, Sheene was introduced to motor sport at the age of five, with his father Frank building him his first ever motorbike. His story traces his humble beginnings as a maverick opposed to every educational influence, through an apprenticeship as a part-time rider and full-time mechanic, to a works team racer, with a host of diversions in pursuit of the opposite sex. It charts his success between 1975 and 1982, a golden period during which Sheene won more international 500cc and 750cc Grand Prix titles than anyone, including the world 500cc title in 1976 and 1977. This despite the horrendous carnage from a series of near-fatal crashes from which Sheene miraculously survived and overcame, against all odds. Outside the sport, Sheene discovered an acting talent, appearing in the ITV show Just Amazing and in numerous TV commercials, making him a household name. On his retirement, he found fulfilment (and a friendlier climate for his battered body) in Brisbane as an expert motor sport commentator and an accomplished businessman. After being diagnosed with cancer in 2002 he shunned conventional treatments, preferring natural remedies, but died early in 2003. This is the complete portrait of perhaps the greatest circuit racer of them all.

Niall has come a long way from Denny where he would regularly get into trouble for racing round the streets, as well as in and out of the local chip shops, to impress the girls.

As an amateur it was recognized he had an abundance of talent, especially after winning his first race at Knockhill, but he also had a wild side and looks back on a time when chasing girls and getting drunk were as important as winning races.

After moving up through the amateur ranks and securing his first factory 500cc rides on a Suzuki, Niall notched up a host of 500cc GP podium finishes before moving to Superbikes. He proved unbeatable between 1996 and 1998 when he claimed a hat-trick of British Superbike titles. On each occasion he beat big-name team-mates such as Jamie Whitham, Chris Walker and Steve Hislop.

This fascinating look into the British GP and Superbike scene through the eyes of one of its legends, has now been fully updated with Mackenzie?s latest adventures in his career off the track in 2003.