Author:Nick Hornby
Pray is bestselling author Nick Hornby's extraordinary account of an astonishing season
'That is why there is NOTHING better than sport' Kevin Pietersen
The 2011-12 Premier League season finished on an afternoon so extraordinary that it prompted Kevin Pietersen's tweet. Yet this was just the climax of an incredible season. By May fans of most clubs had been enthralled, appalled, depressed, elated, shocked and enraged. Along the way football had somehow managed to encompass politics, high finance, the law and matters of life and death.
Beginning with the weekend of 28 August when the Man Utd demolition of Arsenal 8-2 and the Man City demolition of Spurs 5-1 showed what was to come, he concentrates on a number of games whose significance went beyond the immediate result: the October games with alleged rascist incidents, the fairy-tale return of Thierry Henry, the collapse of Fabrice Muamba, the Carling Cup Final where Liverpool's victory only served to point up the club's problems, the unusual (but increasingly more common) 4-4 draw between Man Utd and Everton...
It was a season of tumultuous incident and enormous entertainment, a season more glorious than most. Read all about it, and relive it, here, from the award-winning author of the football classic Fever Pitch.
Men don't come much tougher than daredevil climber and adventurer, Bear Grylls
—— SunA very enjoyable catalogue of our era
—— Glyn Leach , Boxing MonthlyAn eye-opener
—— arrse.co.ukA beautifully written, vivid portrait not just of Merckx, but also his era and his 'victims'
—— ScotsmanWell written and well researched
—— Cycling WorldThe transformation of Merckx the man into Merckx the deity on two wheels. A superb piece of modern history.
—— Outdoor FitnessInIntriguing insight into one of professional cycling's greatest rivalries...an engrossing story
—— Bike RadarBoth men invite Moore into their homes: a privilege that clearly took some badger-like tenacity to secure. But it was worth the effort as Moore gains fresh insight into the rivalry
—— Scott Dougal , East Anglian Daily TimesThe stars are, inevitably, Hinault and LeMond themselves, both with their own memories of what did and did not happen. But they're almost outshone by three of the supporting cast... How true was Hinauolt to his word in 1986? Was he just stirring it up or did he actually try to give the French what they wanted from him, a sixth Tour victory? Well that's the story Richard Moore tells in Slaying The Badger. And some stories you really do have to read for yourselves
—— Podiumcafe.comThe tale of the spectator Lemond-Hinault rivalry over the roads of the 'greatest ever' Tour de France in 1986 is hardly unknown for most cycling fan - and yet Moore magnificently offers a fresh perspective, bringing alive this supreme tussle by resorting to some vintage toilet humour... His book is a gripping read
—— UK.eurosport.yahoo.com/blog/blazin-saddles[Moore] entertainingly unravels the complexities of the relationships within the peloton
—— Richard Williams , GuardianOne of Bike Radar’s favourite books of the past 12 months
—— Bike RadarMoore unearths a dazzling array of detail through interviews and anecdotes, telling a tale that holds suspense even for those who know the ultimate outcome of this epic battle. As racing books go, Moore’s book just might be “the greatest ever"
—— Kent Petersen , Outside MagazineThe measure of a great book is a great start.Richard Moore’s introductory anecdote in Slaying the Badger set a new standard in cycling literature
—— Cycle Sport