Barry Sheene: The Official Photographic Celebration of the Legendary Motorcycle Champion

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Description

Barry Sheene is arguably the greatest British motorcycle racing rider of all time. A chancer, lovable rogue and the leading sports star of his era, adored by the public and press alike, he won two world motorcycle championships in 1976 and 1977. He achieved iconic status by being involved in some horrific crashes and was dubbed the bionic man on account of the amount of metal used to reconstruct his legs after a particularly bad accident. He later emigrated to Australia and became a leading commentator. He died of cancer in 2003.

For the first time Barrys widow, Stephanie, and family have agreed to open up their personal archive to give an unprecedented insight into the two-time 500cc world champion. Via private photographs, memorabilia and letters, award-winning Times journalist and author Rick Broadbent will tell the story of a remarkable man in unprecedented fashion.

Rick Broadbent will paint a portrait of one of the sports most charismatic figures through the voices of the people who knew him best: his family, his fellow competitors, teammates and the many legends who have admired him from a distance in the years since his death. A celebrated motorcycle racing author, Rick Broadbent is perfectly placed to write Sheenes story and he will have exclusive access to the family archives and photographs.

Published to mark the 40th anniversary of his second world championship win, this is the Barry Sheene story as told like never before by the people who knew him best. It delves deep into the family history to get inside the helmet and under the skin of an all-time sporting great.

Reviews

Rick Broadbent guides you through the delights of the much-missed maverick... * GQ *
Extraordinary * MCN.com *
The bone-breaking, Brut-splashing tale of the nations loveable rogue, Barry Sheene * Mail on Sunday *
In this lavish coffee table work you see the real Barry Sheene ... It is certainly worth every penny of the cover price... a quality hardback tome. * Ducati Owners Club Magazine *

Author Bio

Rick Broadbent is an award-winning journalist and author. He has worked at The Times for 10 years and has written nine books. His previous titles on motorcycle racing include That Near-Death Thing, winner at the British Sports Book Awards 2013 and shortlisted for the William Hill prize, and Ring of Fire, also shortlisted for the William Hill Prize.