When Manchester City’s owners appointed Roberto Mancini in late 2009, the message was clear: this was the man who would overtake the Blues’ illustrious neighbours and restore the club to the pinnacle of English football.
The former Italy playmaker swiftly repaid their faith, following up an FA Cup triumph in his first full season with the Premier League title – won in the most heartstopping fashion imaginable – to continue a success story that had taken him from early stardom in Bologna to back-to-back league titles as Inter Milan manager.
Now, renowned Italian sports writer Luca Caioli gives the full inside story of Mancini’s rollercoaster life in football – from his early days as a firebrand centre forward, through glory days with Sampdoria and Lazio, to his emergence as a charismatic, if controversial, pitch-side leader.
Featuring insights from those who know him best – including family members, former teammates and managers, as well as an exclusive interview with Mancini himself, it provides a unique and revealing portrait of the man behind the Blue revolution.
No driver has ever made such an instant impact on the sport of F1 racing as Lewis Hamilton. The first black grand prix driver, his astonishing level of success in his rookie season together with his swash-buckling, attacking style has created a sensation. It has also been a central factor in the most exciting and controversial season of F1 in living memory as Hamilton was involved in a three-way fight for the world crown. Industrial espionage, claims of team favouritism and some stunning on-track action have peppered Hamilton's first season in the sport's top category. Here is the in-depth story of this phenomenon – from his upbringing on a Stevenage council estate to the day he first sat in a kart as a seven-year-old to his sensational challenge on the world title. Friends, colleagues, team-mates, rivals, chaperones and engineers who have worked with him here give some remarkable insights into Lewis the man and the driver, as well as into the close but complex relationship with father Anthony, the man who has largely steered his career. In the process, we see how F1 success has changed this young man's life in a very short space of time.
No driver has ever made such an instant impact on the sport of F1 racing as Lewis Hamilton. The first black grand prix driver, his astonishing level of success in his rookie season together with his swash-buckling, attacking style has created a sensation. It has also been a central factor in the most exciting and controversial season of F1 in living memory as Hamilton was involved in a three-way fight for the world crown. Industrial espionage, claims of team favouritism and some stunning on-track action have peppered Hamilton's first season in the sport's top category.Here is the in-depth story of this phenomenon – from his upbringing on a Stevenage council estate to the day he first sat in a kart as a seven-year-old to his sensational challenge on the world title. Friends, colleagues, team-mates, rivals, chaperones and engineers who have worked with him here give some remarkable insights into Lewis the man and the driver, as well as into the close but complex relationship with father Anthony, the man who has largely steered his career. In the process, we see how F1 success has changed this young man's life in a very short space of time.
Published to coincide with start of the hotly-anticipated 2008 season, this book is a widely acclaimed and hugely successful hardback published at the climax of the 2007 World Championship. It has considerable brand new material added to the paperback edition. Veteran F1 journalist Mark Hughes unearths the true foundations that have enabled a personable and down-to-earth 22-year-old from a sleepy village in Hertfordshire to achieve the most successful start to a career the sport has ever seen.This book helps you discover how it all began, from the day Hamilton's father bought a hyperactive six-year-old a go-kart, to the British, European and World karting titles that followed. You can learn how at a motorsport awards ceremony in 1995, a plucky 10-year-old Hamilton asked Ron Dennis (the principal of McLaren F1 Racing) of the opportunity to race for his team in the future and how in 1998, at 13-years-old, McLaren duly signed him in a long-term agreement that made him the youngest driver in history with an F1 contract.Hughes takes us through the intervening years, right up to the explosive 2007 Formula one season when he became not only the first black driver ever to race an F1 car, but the first driver of any colour to stand on the podium at the end of their first nine races. As Sir Jackie Stewart said, 'Lewis is a man of the people and the people will love him for it.' Brand new material in this paperback edition includes: interviews with former F1 drivers who proffer their opinion on his qualities, where he needs to make improvements, where he stacks-up against the greats, and what his ultimate potential is; an insider view of testing during close season; and, a preview of the 2008 season and a detailed run-down of his prospects against the new team line-ups, including his new team-mate at McLaren.
This is the thrilling, warts-engine-oil-and-all autobiography of the only racing driver Ayrton Senna ever feared – the 200mph flawed genius of Tommy Byrne.
It tells the surreal tale of a poverty-stricken Dundalk kid's rise to become the only racing driver the great Ayrton Senna ever feared – and how it all went wrong from there. For a brief moment Tommy Byrne was arguably the world's greatest driver, the motor racing equivalent of George Best and Muhammad Ali rolled into one – A racer, a thief, a raconteur.This is the story of his improbable escape, his rapid rise and his spectacular and bizarre fall from grace. Peppered with dark humour and a cast of ridiculous characters, it is the antithesis of a fairytale – and it's all true.
Hold on tight, the tale of Tommy Byrne is quite a ride – from fending for himself as the runt of a big Catholic litter in the '60s, running the gauntlet of the sectarian violence in the '70s, troubling Ayrton Senna and making it to F1 in the '80s, resorting to drugs in the aftermath and driving for a deluded billionaire madman and then gun-toting Mexicans in the '90s. It's raw, passionate, and – with Byrne's ability to tell it like it is – not for the faint-hearted.
This is the thrilling, warts-engine-oil-and-all autobiography of the only racing driver Ayrton Senna ever feared – the 200mph flawed genius of Tommy Byrne.
It tells the surreal tale of a poverty-stricken Dundalk kid's rise to become the only racing driver the great Ayrton Senna ever feared – and how it all went wrong from there. For a brief moment Tommy Byrne was arguably the world's greatest driver, the motor racing equivalent of George Best and Muhammad Ali rolled into one – A racer, a thief, a raconteur.This is the story of his improbable escape, his rapid rise and his spectacular and bizarre fall from grace. Peppered with dark humour and a cast of ridiculous characters, it is the antithesis of a fairytale – and it's all true.
Hold on tight, the tale of Tommy Byrne is quite a ride – from fending for himself as the runt of a big Catholic litter in the '60s, running the gauntlet of the sectarian violence in the '70s, troubling Ayrton Senna and making it to F1 in the '80s, resorting to drugs in the aftermath and driving for a deluded billionaire madman and then gun-toting Mexicans in the '90s. It's raw, passionate, and – with Byrne's ability to tell it like it is – not for the faint-hearted.
This is the thrilling, warts-engine-oil-and-all autobiography of the only racing driver Ayrton Senna ever feared – the 200mph flawed genius of Tommy Byrne.
It tells the surreal tale of a poverty-stricken Dundalk kid's rise to become the only racing driver the great Ayrton Senna ever feared – and how it all went wrong from there. For a brief moment Tommy Byrne was arguably the world's greatest driver, the motor racing equivalent of George Best and Muhammad Ali rolled into one – A racer, a thief, a raconteur.This is the story of his improbable escape, his rapid rise and his spectacular and bizarre fall from grace. Peppered with dark humour and a cast of ridiculous characters, it is the antithesis of a fairytale – and it's all true.
Hold on tight, the tale of Tommy Byrne is quite a ride – from fending for himself as the runt of a big Catholic litter in the '60s, running the gauntlet of the sectarian violence in the '70s, troubling Ayrton Senna and making it to F1 in the '80s, resorting to drugs in the aftermath and driving for a deluded billionaire madman and then gun-toting Mexicans in the '90s. It's raw, passionate, and – with Byrne's ability to tell it like it is – not for the faint-hearted.
When Manchester City’s owners appointed Roberto Mancini in late 2009, the message was clear: this was the man who would overtake the Blues’ illustrious neighbours and restore the club to the pinnacle of English football.
The former Italy playmaker swiftly repaid their faith, following up an FA Cup triumph in his first full season with the Premier League title – won in the most heartstopping fashion imaginable – to continue a success story that had taken him from early stardom in Bologna to back-to-back league titles as Inter Milan manager.
Now, renowned Italian sports writer Luca Caioli gives the full inside story of Mancini’s rollercoaster life in football – from his early days as a firebrand centre forward, through glory days with Sampdoria and Lazio, to his emergence as a charismatic, if controversial, pitch-side leader.
Featuring insights from those who know him best – including family members, former teammates and managers, as well as an exclusive interview with Mancini himself, it provides a unique and revealing portrait of the man behind the Blue revolution.
When Manchester City’s owners appointed Roberto Mancini in late 2009, the message was clear: this was the man who would overtake the Blues’ illustrious neighbours and restore the club to the pinnacle of English football.
The former Italy playmaker swiftly repaid their faith, following up an FA Cup triumph in his first full season with the Premier League title – won in the most heartstopping fashion imaginable – to continue a success story that had taken him from early stardom in Bologna to back-to-back league titles as Inter Milan manager.
Now, renowned Italian sports writer Luca Caioli gives the full inside story of Mancini’s rollercoaster life in football – from his early days as a firebrand centre forward, through glory days with Sampdoria and Lazio, to his emergence as a charismatic, if controversial, pitch-side leader.
Featuring insights from those who know him best – including family members, former teammates and managers, as well as an exclusive interview with Mancini himself, it provides a unique and revealing portrait of the man behind the Blue revolution.
Alec Issigonis is the creator of some of the most celebrated car designs of the 20th century. Gillian Bardsley tells the personal story of this complex and truly gifted man.
Alec Issigonis is the creator of some of the most celebrated car designs of the 20th century. Gillian Bardsley tells the personal story of this complex and truly gifted man.
This is the story of a boy who dreamt of rock stardom but grew up to be a football God. Fernando Torres is revered by players, coaches and managers, adored in his homeland and idolised by 42 million Liverpool fans across the world. From his birth in Madrid's working-class Fuenlabrada district to his incredible 33-goal first season at Liverpool and his winning goal in the final of Euro 2008, renowned sports journalist Luca Caioli goes behind the scenes of Torres' life to find out what makes the new hero of Anfield tick – as well as kick. Using often exclusive material from interviews with Rafael Benitez, Vicente Del Bosque, Andres Iniesta, Kenny Dalglish, Fabio Capello and Torres himself, Caioli paints a dazzling personal portrait of one of the world's most exciting young footballers.
Francis Bacon – a leading figure in the history of science – never made a major discovery, provided a lasting explanation of any physical phenomena or revealed any hidden laws of nature. How then can he rank as he does alongside Newton? Bacon was the first major thinker to describe how science should be done, and to explain why. Scientific knowledge should not be gathered for its own sake but for practical benefit to mankind. And Bacon promoted experimentation, coming to outline and define the rigorous procedures of the 'scientific method' that today from the very bedrock of modern scientific progress. John Henry gives a dramatic account of the background to Bacon's innovations and the sometimes unconventional sources for his ideas. Why was he was so concerned to revolutionize the attitude to scientific knowledge – and why do his ideas for reform still resonate today?
A comprehensive and enjoyable new biography of the man who created Tintin. Georges Remi, better known as Herge, is widely regarded as the greatest twentieth-century master of the European bande dessinee. His Tintin books have sold well over 200 million copies worldwide. Drawing from private archives, exclusive interviews and thousands of hours of research, RaphaA”l Taylor both tells the story of the man’s life – which spanned the greater part of the twentieth century – and searches for the inspiration behind his work. Taylor explores Herge the man, covering his youth, his controversial life in Nazi-occupied Brussels during the Second World War, his depressive crises, the break-up of his first marriage and the manner in which his later life became a ‘practice of philosophy’. And for each Tintin story Taylor provides succinct descriptions of the secrets of Herge’s workshop, with a special focus on Tintin in TibetA” – Herge’s most personal Tintin story. For fans, Taylor’s painstakingly researched biography will bring many new insights; for those who know less about Herge, this is a beautifully written, sympathetic portrait of a fascinating writer and artist whose work has enchanted millions.
This is the thrilling, warts-engine-oil-and-all autobiography of the only racing driver Ayrton Senna ever feared – the 200mph flawed genius of Tommy Byrne.
It tells the surreal tale of a poverty-stricken Dundalk kid’s rise to become the only racing driver the great Ayrton Senna ever feared – and how it all went wrong from there. For a brief moment Tommy Byrne was arguably the world’s greatest driver, the motor racing equivalent of George Best and Muhammad Ali rolled into one – A racer, a thief, a raconteur.This is the story of his improbable escape, his rapid rise and his spectacular and bizarre fall from grace. Peppered with dark humour and a cast of ridiculous characters, it is the antithesis of a fairytale – and it’s all true.
Hold on tight, the tale of Tommy Byrne is quite a ride – from fending for himself as the runt of a big Catholic litter in the ’60s, running the gauntlet of the sectarian violence in the ’70s, troubling Ayrton Senna and making it to F1 in the ’80s, resorting to drugs in the aftermath and driving for a deluded billionaire madman and then gun-toting Mexicans in the ’90s. It’s raw, passionate, and – with Byrne’s ability to tell it like it is – not for the faint-hearted.
This book features quirky, enjoyable and entirely true instances of science going wrong, right and in totally unexpected directions from 600 BC onwards … Just how did the scientific discoveries that have changed our world come about? Surendra Verma investigates the eureka moments, the serendipities and the plain errors that have peppered science’s last 2,000 years. The result is a wonderfully readable insight into the mysteries of human scientific endeavour. From the sixth century BC and Pythagoras’ claims that the world was round, to the modern discovery of penicillin, Surendra Verma trawls through history in search of the more human side of science. Who discovered anaesthesia at a party? How did a sewage farm odour reducer benefit medicine? Why did the Cold War prevent the West understanding heart disease? Verma’s account of philosophers, physicians, scientists and Nobel Prize winners is a highly informative and brilliantly light-hearted account of how often Lady Luck can play a part in the scientific process.
