Winners and Losers in the Ultimate Risk Business

Fighting Chance

Derick Allsop has been a sportswriter for more than 30 years. He has covered many major sporting events , including World Cup championships, the Open and Formula One World Championships. Among his previous books are Reliving the Dream, Kicking in the Wind, Formula One Uncovered and The Real McRae.

Few sports polarise public opinion as boxing does. Some contend that it is repugnant and barbaric, for others a legitimate, regulated contest of skill, strength and willpower. What cannot be denied is that the fight game has produced some of sport's greatest icons. Many more are content to make a decent living or at least supplement their income by stepping into the ring. 
 
Fighting Chance gets up close with those involved in everyday British boxing. It goes behind the scenes at shows and into gyms to meet champions such as Ricky Hatton, starry-eyed young men dreaming of world titles, hard-nosed pros surviving another pay day and veteran trainers who have seen it all and sometimes wish they hadn't. Many of them say this brutal trade has saved them from a life of crime and drugs, and given them an opportunity to find self-esteem. All recognise the possible cost - Paul Ingles, for example, almost lost his life in the ring - but maintain it is a risk worth taking. 
 
Martin Jolley attempted suicide in his darkest hour but survived and sought a kind of refuge as a journeyman boxer, taking fights at short notice and then returning to his day job as a printer. Michael Jennings' brother was killed by an addiction to drugs and he is convinced the sport has spared him the same tragic fate. Others, however, are always tormented by their demons. Michael Gomez, once held on a murder charge, was hailed as a future world champion until he went off the rails, plunging his private life into turmoil and leaving his career on the brink. Brian Hughes, one of the best-known and most successful trainers in the country, admits his love of boxing has been eroded by the 'stinking' side of the business. 
 
Often shocking, sometimes humorous, always gripping, Fighting Chance is an odyssey through a world few will have encountered. It gives a candid insight and many of its compelling characters.

The Autobiography of the Peoples Champion

The Real McRae

The updated paperback of the best selling life story of World Rally Champion Colin McRae

Derick Allsop (Author) Derick Allsop has been a sportswriter for more than 30 years. He has covered many major sporting events , including World Cup championships, the Open and Formula One World Championships. Among his previous books are Reliving the Dream, Kicking in the Wind, Formula One Uncovered and The Real McRae. Colin McRae (Author) Colin McRae was born in Lanarkshire, Scotland in 1968. He won the British Rally Championship for the first time in 1991, became World Champion in 1997 and Safari Rally Champion in 1999. Derick Alsopp has joined forces with his friend Colin McRae to document this incredible sporting story. Derick is the country's foremost motorsport journalist and has written books with many iconic figures in the past.

Colin McRae is a legendary name in rally driving. He was born in 1968, the son of Rally King Jimmy McRae. This is the full, personal story of the sport's greatest talent, and highest paid driver (-3million a year). It has been a dramatic and dangerous climb to the pinnacle of success and his fearless driving style and fierce determination have turned him into a hero of the sport. And it was this charisma, and his inimitable driving style, that led Playstation to call their bestselling driving game Colin McRae Rally. This is a gripping and passionate life story that takes us from his close family upbringing, through his early success with Subaru, through to his wins with Ford, the much hyped competition with Richard Burns and his current incredible lifestyle. It's all in here - the skill, the speed, the danger, the friendships, the rivalries and the adrenalin - The Real McRae: The Autobiography.

Derick Allsop

Tells the tale of United's route to glory with affection and candour, washed down with a nip of controversy

Allsop perfectly captures the mood of the 1968 side

The Triumph and Tears of Manchester United's 1968 European Cup Heroes

Manchester United are one of the biggest football clubs in the world. Their fame has spread to the most remote corners on earth. The legend grew out of one man's obsession with taking his club to the pinnacle of the European game. Matt Busby was a visionary as well as an exceptional manager, and he defied the Establishment by leading his young English champions into Continental combat. 
 
That crusade was cruelly savaged in 1958 when eight of his players were killed in the Munich air crash. Busby survived and, amazingly, rebuilt a side - including the revered trinity of Charlton, Law and Best - which was good enough to win the League Championship twice and, just a decade after the tragedy, realise the dream in that mesmeric final against Benificia. England had its first champions of Europe. 
 
This book celebrates the glory of '68 in the company of the Wembley heroes and traces the club's decline and regeneration into a force aspiring to relive the ultimate dream.

Derick Allsop

Praise for Reliving the Dream

Tells the tale of United's route to glory with affection and candour, washed down with a nip of controversy

Allsop perfectly captures the mood of the 1968 side

Books by Derick Allsop

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