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The Green Bullet: The rise, fall and resurrection of Alejandro Valverde and Spanish cycling’s corruption
by Matt RendellNew from award-winning author Matt Rendell, an examination of the phenomenal success of Alejandro Valverde and the moral decay at the heart of Spanish cycling.'A study of a dominant force, a true gentleman racer despite his shadowy past' Dan MartinAlejandro Valverde - the 'Green Bullet' - was an international symbol of Spanish cycling for a quarter of a century before his retirement in 2022. Hard-working and supremely talented, he won the Vuelta a España and stood on the podium of the Giro d'Italia and the Tour de France. World champion in 2018, he was also the world's number-one-ranked rider four times. A man of indisputable charisma, he was also a convicted doping cheat.When the Spanish police investigation, Operación Puerto, uncovered a vast international blood doping ring, Valverde denied all involvement. The revelations unearthed by Operación Puerto threatened to force cycling off the road.Valverde's long career was a high wire walk between the venal interests that surround elite sport in Spain. In a nation beset by corruption, political incompetence and social division, Valverde's talent aided the public image of unscrupulous political and economic institutions.Even today, Valverde maintains his reticence. The Green Bullet breaks the silence.
Olympic Gangster: The Legend of José Beyaert - Cycling Champion, Fortune Hunter and Outlaw
by Matt RendellRestlessly vital and possessed of great physical strength, José Beyaert lived many lives. During the Second World War, he boxed and trafficked arms for the Resistance on his bicycle. After it, he became an international cyclist. In 1948, a mile from the end of the Olympic road race around Windsor Park, he broke away alone to take the gold medal and started an adventure that would last the rest of his life. A Tour de France rider in the sport's golden age, José was invited to open a new velodrome in Colombia, South America. He travelled, intending to stay a month. Instead, driven by his thirst for adventure, he stayed for fifty years, becoming by turns athlete, coach, businessman, emerald-trader, logger, smuggler, perhaps even hired killer. Matt Rendell, who knew José Beyaert and met many of his family, friends and associates, tells the fascinating story of an almost-forgotten sporting hero who, incapable of living by other people's rules, lived his many lives on his own terms.
A Significant Other: Riding the Centenary tour de France with Lance Armstrong
by Matt RendellAn inside view into cycling's most prestigious event and the people who have helped Lance Armstrong win an unprecedented six timesLance Armstrong's place in the cycling history books is assured. Winner of the Tour de France a record-breaking six times, he is regarded as one of the greatest individual talents the sport has ever seen. Perhaps his most compelling victory was in 2003 when he won the coveted Centenary race. However, without the team of brilliant athletes assembled to support him - the domestiques - victory in the Tour would have been impossible.Not only do these superbly trained athletes ride alongside the team leader, supplying water and equipment, but they also create a moving stream of energy that is vital for competitive success. In 2003, Lance Armstrong's domestique, Victor Hugo Peña, actually took over the yellow jersey and stepped into history. A Significant Other is the story of that race but also of these unsung heros of the sport.
Tank Action: An Armoured Troop Commander's War 1944–45
by Captain David Render Stuart TootalA gripping account of the Second World War, from the perspective of a young tank commander.In 1944, David Render was a nineteen-year-old second lieutenant fresh from Sandhurst when he was sent to France. Joining the Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry five days after the D-Day landings, the combat-hardened men he was sent to command did not expect him to last long. However, in the following weeks of ferocious fighting in which more than 90 per cent of his fellow tank commanders became casualties, his ability to emerge unscathed from countless combat engagements earned him the nickname of the 'Inevitable Mr Render'.In Tank Action Render tells his remarkable story, spanning every major episode of the last year of the Second World War from the invasion of Normandy to the fall of Germany. Ultimately it is a story of survival, comradeship and the ability to stand up and be counted as a leader in combat.
The Lion's Pride: Theodore Roosevelt and His Family in Peace and War
by Edward J. RenehanIn The Lion's Pride, Edward J. Renehan, Jr. vividly portrays the grand idealism, heroic bravery, and reckless abandon that Theodore Roosevelt both embodied and bequeathed to his children and the tragic fulfillment of that legacy on the battlefields of World War I. Drawing upon a wealth of previously unavailable materials, including letters and unpublished memoirs, The Lion's Pride takes us inside what is surely the most extraordinary family ever to occupy the White House. Theodore Roosevelt believed deeply that those who had been blessed with wealth, influence, and education were duty bound to lead, even--perhaps especially--if it meant risking their lives to preserve the ideals of democratic civilization. Teddy put his principles, and his life, to the test in the Spanish American war, and raised his children to believe they could do no less. When America finally entered the "European conflict" in 1917, all four of his sons eagerly enlisted and used their influence not to avoid the front lines but to get there as quickly as possible. Their heroism in France and the Middle East matched their father's at San Juan Hill. All performed with selfless--some said heedless--courage: Two of the boys, Archie and Ted, Jr., were seriously wounded, and Quentin, the youngest, was killed in a dogfight with seven German planes. Thus, the war that Teddy had lobbied for so furiously brought home a grief that broke his heart. He was buried a few months after his youngest child. Filled with the voices of the entire Roosevelt family, The Lion's Pride gives us the most intimate and moving portrait ever published of the fierce bond between Teddy Roosevelt and his remarkable children.
The Lion's Pride: Theodore Roosevelt and His Family in Peace and War
by Edward J. RenehanIn The Lion's Pride, Edward J. Renehan, Jr. vividly portrays the grand idealism, heroic bravery, and reckless abandon that Theodore Roosevelt both embodied and bequeathed to his children and the tragic fulfillment of that legacy on the battlefields of World War I. Drawing upon a wealth of previously unavailable materials, including letters and unpublished memoirs, The Lion's Pride takes us inside what is surely the most extraordinary family ever to occupy the White House. Theodore Roosevelt believed deeply that those who had been blessed with wealth, influence, and education were duty bound to lead, even--perhaps especially--if it meant risking their lives to preserve the ideals of democratic civilization. Teddy put his principles, and his life, to the test in the Spanish American war, and raised his children to believe they could do no less. When America finally entered the "European conflict" in 1917, all four of his sons eagerly enlisted and used their influence not to avoid the front lines but to get there as quickly as possible. Their heroism in France and the Middle East matched their father's at San Juan Hill. All performed with selfless--some said heedless--courage: Two of the boys, Archie and Ted, Jr., were seriously wounded, and Quentin, the youngest, was killed in a dogfight with seven German planes. Thus, the war that Teddy had lobbied for so furiously brought home a grief that broke his heart. He was buried a few months after his youngest child. Filled with the voices of the entire Roosevelt family, The Lion's Pride gives us the most intimate and moving portrait ever published of the fierce bond between Teddy Roosevelt and his remarkable children.
Commodore: The Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt
by Edward J. Renehan Jr.Armed with a trove of previously unreleased archives, Edward J. Renehan Jr. offers a compelling portrait of Cornelius Vanderbilt, who built large shipping and rail enterprises into cornerstones of the American economy, and amassed one of the greatest fortunes the world has ever known. This is the definitive biography of a man whose influence on American business was unsurpassed in his day-or any other.
Dark Genius of Wall Street: The Misunderstood Life of Jay Gould, King of the Robber Barons
by Edward J. Renehan Jr.Though reviled for more than a century as Wall Street's greatest villain, Jay Gould was in fact its most original creative genius. Gould was the robber baron's robber baron, the most astute financial and business strategist of his time and also the most widely hated. In Dark Genius of Wall Street, acclaimed biographer Edward J. Renehan, Jr., combines lively anecdotes with the rich social tapestry of the Gilded Age to paint the portrait of the most talented financial buccaneer of his generation-- and one of the inventors of modern business.
Keeper Of Dreams: One Man's Controversial Story of Life in the English Premiership
by Ronald RengRonald Reng traces German footballer Lars Leese’s stratospheric rise from computer software salesman to Premiership goalie, and his equally alarming descentPlucked from obscurity and playing in one of the most important leagues in the world, Leese experienced in real life what thousands of boys - and men - can only dream of: stepping out of the crowd and onto a Premiership pitch. At the age of 28, German goalkeeper Lars Leese was catapulted from a minor league football field somewhere near Cologne to a small industrial town in the north of England. Something of a culture shock, certainly, but nothing compared to finding himself in goal for Barnsley playing the mighty Liverpool at Anfield in front of over 45,000 spectators. Reng’s narrative is an indispensable antidote to the traditional footballing biography and a unique - and at times shocking - outsider's view of English life. Not since you last read the back pages of the News of the World will you have seen such an accurate picture of life as a Premiership footballer.‘Eye-opening exposé of life at an English club’ Independent
A Life Too Short: The Tragedy of Robert Enke
by Ronald RengWINNER OF THE WILLIAM HILL SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR WINNER OF THE BRITISH SPORTS BOOK AWARDS FOOTBALL BOOK OF THE YEAR Why does an international footballer with the world at his feet decide to take his own life? On 10 November 2009 the German national goalkeeper, Robert Enke, stepped in front of a passing train. He was thirty-two years old and a devoted husband and father. Enke had played for a string of Europe's top clubs, including Barcelona and Jose Mourinho's Benfica and was destined to become his country's first choice in goal for years to come. But beneath the veneer of success, Enke battled with crippling depression. Award-winning writer Ronald Reng pieces together the puzzle of his friend's life, shedding valuable light on the crushing pressures endured by professional sportsmen and on life at the top clubs. At its heart, Enke's tragedy is a universal story of a man struggling against his demons.‘It should be on every British football fan's reading list’ Metro
You Are The Best Thing Since Sliced Bread
by Samantha Renke'A powerful book on how to live boldly and love your fabulous self' Fearne CottonWe are made to think that what makes us human - our flaws, failures, and heartaches - are things to keep hush-hush. Being unapologetically imperfect is seen as something we should be embarrassed by. But what I've learned is that we all experience the same insecurities. We just aren't talking about it. Well, I'm here to break the silence.For starters, I have way too many nipple hairs. I prefer the company of my pets to other people. And repeatedly I question Am I normal? I was born with brittle bone condition and so far, I've broken my bones 200 times. But most of the hurdles I face don't come from my disability, they come from things we all experience.In this book, I will share the lessons I have learned and why you should embrace your uniqueness as what makes you fabulous. We spend a lot of time living by others' expectations and it's only when you stop, that you start saying yes to life. Irrespective of who you are and the obstacles you might face, you can do whatever you want. Be free and unapologetically you.
Einstein on Einstein: Autobiographical and Scientific Reflections
by Jürgen Renn Hanoch GutfreundNew perspectives on the iconic physicist's scientific and philosophical formationAt the end of World War II, Albert Einstein was invited to write his intellectual autobiography for the Library of Living Philosophers. The resulting book was his uniquely personal Autobiographical Notes, a classic work in the history of science that explains the development of his ideas with unmatched warmth and clarity. Hanoch Gutfreund and Jürgen Renn introduce Einstein's scientific reflections to today's readers, tracing his intellectual formation from childhood to old age and offering a compelling portrait of the making of a philosopher-scientist.Einstein on Einstein features the full English text of Autobiographical Notes along with incisive essays that place Einstein's reflections in the context of the different stages of his scientific life. Gutfreund and Renn draw on Einstein's writings, personal correspondence, and critical writings by Einstein's contemporaries to provide new perspectives on his greatest discoveries. Also included are Einstein's responses to his critics, which shed additional light on his scientific and philosophical worldview. Gutfreund and Renn quote extensively from Einstein's initial, unpublished attempts to formulate his response, and also look at another brief autobiographical text by Einstein, written a few weeks before his death, which is published here for the first time in English.Complete with evocative drawings by artist Laurent Taudin, Einstein on Einstein illuminates the iconic physicist's journey to general relativity while situating his revolutionary ideas alongside other astonishing scientific breakthroughs of the twentieth century.
Einstein on Einstein: Autobiographical and Scientific Reflections
by Jürgen Renn Hanoch GutfreundNew perspectives on the iconic physicist's scientific and philosophical formationAt the end of World War II, Albert Einstein was invited to write his intellectual autobiography for the Library of Living Philosophers. The resulting book was his uniquely personal Autobiographical Notes, a classic work in the history of science that explains the development of his ideas with unmatched warmth and clarity. Hanoch Gutfreund and Jürgen Renn introduce Einstein's scientific reflections to today's readers, tracing his intellectual formation from childhood to old age and offering a compelling portrait of the making of a philosopher-scientist.Einstein on Einstein features the full English text of Autobiographical Notes along with incisive essays that place Einstein's reflections in the context of the different stages of his scientific life. Gutfreund and Renn draw on Einstein's writings, personal correspondence, and critical writings by Einstein's contemporaries to provide new perspectives on his greatest discoveries. Also included are Einstein's responses to his critics, which shed additional light on his scientific and philosophical worldview. Gutfreund and Renn quote extensively from Einstein's initial, unpublished attempts to formulate his response, and also look at another brief autobiographical text by Einstein, written a few weeks before his death, which is published here for the first time in English.Complete with evocative drawings by artist Laurent Taudin, Einstein on Einstein illuminates the iconic physicist's journey to general relativity while situating his revolutionary ideas alongside other astonishing scientific breakthroughs of the twentieth century.
Freud And Psychoanalysis: Everything You Need To Know About Id, Ego, Super-Ego and More (A\pocket Essentials Guide Ser.)
by Nick RennisonSigmund Freud was one of the giants of 20th century thought. His ideas have been hugely influential not only in psychology but in all the social sciences and the arts. Even those who have never read a word of his writings are familiar with his concepts of the id, the ego, the Oedipus complex and the workings of the unconscious mind.This looks at Freud's life from his birth in the small Moravian town of Freiburg in 1856 to his death in Hampstead in 1939. Each of Freud's major works is summarised and his central ideas explored. Controversies over his methods and practices are examined. Did he, as some critics have alleged, turn his back on evidence of genuine child abuse in 1890s Vienna and prefer instead to ascribe it to fantasy and wish fulfilment? What were the reasons behind his terrible quarrel with Carl Gustav Jung? Does his 'talking cure' of psychoanalysis actually work? The essential information about Freud's enormously productive life and career is all here.
Peter Mark Roget: The Man Who Became The Thesaurus - A Biography (Pocket Essential Ser.)
by Nick RennisonEvery day thousands of people worldwide consult Roget's Thesaurus. How many stop to consider why that endlessly useful reference book is so called? Of those who know that it owes its name to the man who first devised it, how many know anything more about him? Yet Peter Mark Roget was one of the most remarkable men of the nineteenth century and he achieved much in his long life. He did not even begin the great work of classification which bears his name until he was 70. Before that, the polymathic Roget had already made his own contributions to knowledge in a dozen different fields from optics and anatomy to mathematics and education. He would probably have been surprised that his posthumous reputation rests on his thesaurus. No doubt he would have expected that it would be his involvement in the foundation of the University of London that would be his lasting legacy. Or his books on magnetism, galvanism and physiology. Or his scientific papers on persistence of vision, with their later impact on the development of motion pictures. Or his association with major thinkers such as the computer pioneer Charles Babbage and the philosopher Jeremy Bentham. The range of his interests was astonishing and, for sixty years, he was at the centre of the intellectual revolution of his times. Nick Rennison's biography reveals the full story of Roget's involvement with the great issues and the great personalities of the nineteenth century and recounts the forgotten life behind one of the most famous of all reference books.
Sherlock Holmes: The Biography
by Nick Rennison Nick RennsionIngenious, charming, informative and full of delight. - The TimesSherlock Holmes: The Unauthorized Biography blends what we already know of the great sleuth's career with carefully documented social history to answer the questions admirers have long puzzled over. Nick Rennison reveals for the first time Holmes's influence on the political events of late-nineteenth-century England and his connections to the British criminal underworld. It also brings to light his close friendships with key figures of the day, including Oscar Wilde and Sigmund Freud; and exposes the truth about his cocaine use.
Black Watch: Liberating Europe and catching Himmler - my extraordinary WW2 with the Highland Division
by Dr. Tom RenoufAs a 19-year old Black Watch conscript Tom Renouf's war began with some of the most vicious fighting of the conflict - against Himmler's fanatical 'Hitler Youth' SS Division. It ended with the capture of Himmler himself and Tom taking a trophy he still treasures - the Gestapo commander's watch.Seriously wounded and later decorated with a Military Medal for gallantry, Tom Renouf witnessed the death and maiming of countless of his teenage comrades and saw the survivors transformed into grizzled veterans. Tom Renouf draws on his own personal experiences - as well as his unique archive of interviews with veterans amassed over twenty years as secretary of the 51st Highland Division Veterans' Association - to paint a vivid picture of the Battle of Normandy, the liberation of Holland, the Battle of the Bulge and many more memorable WW2 events.
All For A Few Perfect Waves: The Audacious Life and Legend of Rebel Surfer Miki Dora
by David RensinThere will never be another surfer like Miki 'Da Cat' Dora. For twenty years the dashing and enigmatic dark prince of California surfing dominated the Malibu waves and his peers' imaginations, blazing a trail that would inspire generations to come. But when the sport exploded into the mainstream and surfing changed for ever, Dora's paradise was lost.Outraged at gridlocked swells and a scene that had grown ever more commodified, Dora eventually fled Malibu, seeking empty waves - and anonymity - beyond America. He'd also run afoul of the law, and he led the authorities on a seven-year chase around the globe. Yet, Dora would never give up searching for the spirit of the Malibu he'd lost. Wherever he made his home - New Zealand, South Africa, France - he personified the rebel heart of surfing and became a legend in his own time.This brilliant biography, based on interviews with more than three hundred people who knew Dora, finally uncovers the truth about surfing's most seductive and complicated icon.
Families of Adults with Autism: Stories and Advice for the Next Generation (PDF)
by Anne Van Rensselaer Gerda Mccarthy Jane Botsford Johnson Stephen M. EdelsonFamilies of Adults with Autism is a collection of real-life stories of people on the autism spectrum growing up, as told by their parents and siblings. The individual accounts explore the challenges that families of people with autism have faced, and the techniques they have used to improve the quality of their children's lives, from mega-doses of vitamins and dietary changes to intensive interaction. The contributors also relate how they have worked with their children or siblings to help them to function at their highest possible level, be it showing an awareness of their environment, holding down a full-time job in a local store, competing in the Special Olympics, or achieving international recognition as an artist. This book will offer practical and heartwarming advice to families who are affected by autism spectrum disorders, and provide insights for professionals working with people with ASDs.
Stiff Upper Lip: Secrets, Crimes and the Schooling of a Ruling Class
by Alex Renton'A brave and necessary book' GUARDIAN'Shocking, gripping and sobering' SUNDAY TELEGRAPHNo other society sends its young boys and girls away to school to prepare them for a role in the ruling class.Beating, bullying, fagging, cold baths, vile food and paedophile teachers are just some of the features of this elite education, and, while some children loved boarding school, others now admit to suffering life-altering psychological damage. Stiff Upper Lip exposes the hypocrisy, cronyism and conspiracy that are key to understanding the scandals over abuse and neglect in institutions all over the world.Award-winning investigative journalist Alex Renton went to three traditional boarding schools. Drawing on those experiences, and the vivid testimony of hundreds of former pupils, he has put together a compelling history, important to anyone wondering what shaped the people who run Britain in the twenty-first century.
Those Wild Wyndhams: Three Sisters At The Heart Of Power
by Claudia RentonWinner of the Slightly Foxed Best First Biography Prize 2014 A rich historical biography of ‘those wild Wyndhams’ – three cultured aristocratic sisters born into great privilege in late Victorian Britain.
Horatio Bottomley and the Far Right Before Fascism (Routledge Studies in Fascism and the Far Right)
by David RentonHoratio Bottomley and the Far Right Before Fascism examines Bottomley’s life and politics, and what made him one of the great figures of Edwardian life. During the first World War, his magazine John Bull sold two million copies a week. Bottomley addressed huge crowds urging them to wage a way of extermination against ordinary Germans. The first chairman of the Financial Times, the inspiration for Toad in The Wind in the Willows, Bottomley was also a major figure in post-1918 politics, urging Conservative voters to dump their leaders and try something new. This carefully researched biography, the first new life of Bottomley for 50 years, shows how he began on the centre-left of Edwardian politics and then moved to the margins, becoming a leading figure on the Edwardian far right, and pre-empting the non-fascist far right of our own days. This book will appeal to scholars and students with interests in political history, fascism and the far right.
Horatio Bottomley and the Far Right Before Fascism (Routledge Studies in Fascism and the Far Right)
by David RentonHoratio Bottomley and the Far Right Before Fascism examines Bottomley’s life and politics, and what made him one of the great figures of Edwardian life. During the first World War, his magazine John Bull sold two million copies a week. Bottomley addressed huge crowds urging them to wage a way of extermination against ordinary Germans. The first chairman of the Financial Times, the inspiration for Toad in The Wind in the Willows, Bottomley was also a major figure in post-1918 politics, urging Conservative voters to dump their leaders and try something new. This carefully researched biography, the first new life of Bottomley for 50 years, shows how he began on the centre-left of Edwardian politics and then moved to the margins, becoming a leading figure on the Edwardian far right, and pre-empting the non-fascist far right of our own days. This book will appeal to scholars and students with interests in political history, fascism and the far right.
Sidney Pollard: A Life in History
by David RentonSidney Pollard was a pioneering Labour historian who influenced the great luminaries in the field, E.P. Thompson and Eric Hobsbawm. Almost single-handedly he pioneered the study of economic management in history and the understanding of the economic processes by which regions are formed. His last work involved seminal research on the regional effect of the Industrial Revolution. As a labour historian his contribution to the study of the marginalised in society was original and vital. His history was intimately connected with his personal life - from escape to Britain from Nazi-occupied Vienna to his work not only in Britain but in the USA, Israel and apartheid South Africa. Sidney Pollard's life and work is important for historians of labour and a major contribution to historiography.
Tony Blair: Prime Minister
by John RentoulLast updated in 2001, John Rentoul's acclaimed Tony Blair: Prime Minister returns with an extensive new assessment of Blair's premiership after '9/11' - from the Iraq war and relations with Gordon Brown to his departure from Downing Street and political afterlife. 'Well written, thoroughly researched and informed by the balanced and subtle insights of a skilled journalist... Especially good on the influences that have shaped Mr Blair.' Economist'Utterly scrupulous in presenting the [] information... [W]hen Rentoul occasionally presents his own judgements, they can rarely be faulted.' Peter Oborne, Sunday Express'Written with care, thought... and a fine understanding of political nuances.' Ben Pimlott'An extraordinary achievement, flashing with a peculiarly devastating form of sympathy.' Craig Brown, Mail on Sunday'With further updates, this biography will almost certainly become the definitive one.' Rachel Sylvester, Daily Telegraph