Author:Miles Jupp
** Shortlisted for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award **
Fanatical about cricket since he was a boy, Miles Jupp would do anything to see his heroes play. But perhaps deciding to bluff his way into the press corps during England's Test series in India wasn't his best idea.
By claiming to be the cricket correspondent for BBC Scotland and getting a job with the (Welsh) Western Mail, Miles lands the press pass that will surely be the ticket to his dreams. Soon, he finds himself in cricket heaven - drinking with David Gower and Beefy, sharing bar room banter with Nasser Hussain and swapping diarrhoea stories with the Test Match Special team.
But struggling in the heat under the burden of his own fibs, reality soon catches up with Miles as he bumbles from one disaster to the next. A joyous, charming, yet cautionary tale, Fibber in the Heat is for anyone who's ever dreamt about doing nothing but watching cricket all day long.
Crisply funny... Jupp is a genteel treat
—— Guardian'[I]t's a tale of slavish fandom, the highs and lows of which are illustrated with dexterity... It's not only cricket fans and journalists who'll appreciate this yarn - it's a tale for lovers in the wider sense, and of the boundaries they'll cross
—— IndependentJupp is intelligent, charismatic and one of the most established raconteurs around
—— Time OutHis tribute to the simple pleasures of fandom is a touching one
—— GuardianA very funny book about a very silly plan
—— Jonathan AgnewIf the book spontaneously combusted in your hands, you wouldn't be a bit surprised.
—— Private EyeConnors was the real thing: a genuine rebel; he was very good at tennis because he was very good at getting angry. Now he's angry about people not understanding his anger. This doesn't make for an easy read, but it does make for a good one.
—— The SpectatorAn examination of a legendary American pugnaciousness... no one ever made winning look quite the rutting alpha-male necessity that Connors made it appear.
—— ObserverThe Outsider, a rather overdue autobiography by Jimmy Connors, reads like the American played: full of testosterone and attitude. As a study of the making of an alpha male it is fascinating. Even if [Connors] didn't deal with his successes very well - succumbing to the trappings of fame all too easily - boy, did he work for them. No doubt there have been more gifted players, but no one has won as many tour victories and none, surely, have given themselves so totally to the animal spirit of competition.
—— The TimesClear as flying chalk: The Outsider takes in a volley of vignettes.
—— Independent on SundayAn ace.
—— Daily MailA gutsy streetfighter on court, the brash US tennis star covers rivals, romances and revelations with unsurprising candour, but also a welcome dash of humour.
—— Sport magazineEssential reading... With characteristic humour Connors sets the record straight on the tennis circuit on and off the court.
—— Daily ExpressThis book does a great job of revealing some of the less well known stories from le Tour: well written, entertaining, and informative
—— Richard Peploe , RoadThis book is an entertaining account taking in everyone from stage winners and former yellow jerseys who couldn’t hang on, to a breakaway leader who stopped for a bottle of wine and then took a wrong turn, to a doper whose drug cocktail backfired
—— Bike RadarWe know the winners of the Tour de France, but Lanterne Rouge tells the forgotten, often inspirational and occasionally absurd stories of the last-placed rider
—— Miss Dinky