Author:Ellis Bacon,Lionel Birnie
Professional cycling is a rich, dynamic and often controversial sport that lends itself to great writing. Some of the most famous and illustrious races were founded by newspapermen and The Cycling Anthology continues this tradition by bringing together the best in the business.
Volume Five is an eclectic mix of stories old and new:
As World War One is commemorated acros the globe, Brendan Gallagher looks at cycling's war heroes and the role the bicycle played in WWI.
Jeremy Whittle goes in search of panache - why you don't always have to be a winner to be a winner in the public's eyes.
Francois Thomazeau examines how the Tour de France became the international event it is today.
The 2014 Tour de France is relived in the form of poetry, by Ellis Bacon.
Lionel Birnie tells the story behind the Linda McCartney cycling team, the great British team that could have been.
Joey McLoughlin was a shining star of the British cycling scene in the 1980s and '90s - Andy McGrath finds out what happened to him.
Edward Pickering returns to one of cycling's great Pyrenean climbs - Superbagneres.
As Matt Beaudin finds out, the Tour de France is a treat for the senses - albeit a loud one.
Matt McGeehan sends a postcard from the 2014 World Track Championships in Colombia.
And Daniel Friebe introduces us to Jean Francois Naquet-Radiguet: Tour de France pioneer.
Almost timeless… The book [will be] just as relevant and readable in years to come… A worthy addition to this well-proven series of eclectic and well-written stories
—— Cycling WorldInsightful and easily-digested collection of cycling stories covering a wide range of topics
—— Mike Stead , RoadInspiring and moving
—— Daily TelegraphSensational
—— Rugby WorldAchingly honest
—— GuardianIn a year when some of the highest-profile sporting memoirs have been marked by self-serving narcissism, this is a story of substance
—— Daily TelegraphA must read... It is breathtaking
—— MailThis compelling and exhaustively researched biography resurrects the story of a uniquely fascinating man...The authoritative biography of Johnson for sure, but also one of the best boxing books in recent memory.
—— Booklist'probably the finest book on the uniquely talented and horribly hounded black heavyweight champion from the early years of the 20th century...Johnson was a remarkable man... Little has changed, believe it or not'.
—— Observer'Great subject, great book....Ward shows us how the great black heavyweight champion overcame a poor education to mix successfully with the glitterati of Europe and America'.
—— The Daily Ireland'Geoffrey C Ward offers a detailed and telling portrait of Johnson's life and times'.
—— Alan Chadwick , Metro'compelling biography...Johnson's life was a chaotic tableaux of women, fights and fast cars...Ward depicts all this in gripping prose...Hats off to Ward for getting as close to the ghost as anyone will'.
—— Alex Wade , TimesWard has produced a meticulous, well-researched biography of a maverick, a fascinating figure who held on to sport’s most coveted world crown for seven years. Compulsive stuff
—— Peter Sharkey , PostSuperb… full of great insight
—— Alan ShearerHamilton through the stories and backstories of others broadens his horizons to explain the phenomenon that was Best and the world that destroyed him. Offering up new material and new perspective, Hamilton, as one reviewer would opined, mastered biography.
—— Irish ExaminerDickinson is tender to the memory of the Essex lad who, for a breathtaking instant, was glorious
—— Ain Finlayson and Kate Saunders , Saga MagazineMatt's work is the most impressive West Ham book of the year, a genuine and sincere attempt to get to the root of the man. It is an excellent, thought-provoking book
—— Knees Up Mother BrownA compelling and complete account
—— SportIn The Man in Full, acclaimed football writer Matt Dickinson traces the journey of this Essex boy, peeling away the layers of legend and looking at Moore’s life from all sides – in triumph, in failure, in full
—— Bert Wright , NudgeOutstanding... this excellent biography comes very close to describing the real Bobby Moore
—— Post