Mainstream Publishing
* Browse and Buy * Books from Scotland * Mainstream Sport * Catalogues * Contact Us * Top 10 * Newsletters * About Us * Home

Top 10 Sport including Special Offers

September 2004

Mountain Bike Fitness Training1MOUNTAIN BIKE FITNESS TRAINING is a comprehensive manual for recreational or competitive mountain bikers. Readers will learn how to assess their fitness, develop training programmes tailored to their needs, formulate a realistic diet plan and ride a more ergonomically efficient race. The book focuses on cross-country and downhill racing and also deals with expedition mountain biking, marathon mountain biking, the female mountain biker, the master/veteran rider, the young enthusiast and the first-time racer

'Honest and straighforward to read...plenty of useful fitness and training tips for all cyclists'
Cycling Weekly

'You won't get fit by reading this book, but it'll give you the motivation boost you might be needing.'
Trail

'A really excellent book...written in a very readable style, it covers every aspect of mountain bike training in detail. Finally a book competitive MTBers deserve.'
BIKEmagic

The Barnsley Whale2The blue whale is the largest creature to have ever lived on this planet.

Remember when one came to your town... on a lorry?

Steve Deput does. He remembers the whale: the real blue whale that came to Barnsley on a lorry. But why was it there? Where had it come from? Why could he find no mention of it anywhere? And why would no one believe him? Everyone laughed. They called him mad. He had to prove them wrong.

Along with a handful of fellow 'whale believers', Deput set sail on the world's first inland whale hunt. The Barnsley Whale is the humorous account of their epic voyage to uncover the mystery and it will plunge the reader deep into forgotten worlds.

Riding High3Club cyclist Paul Howard set out to complete the Tour de France in the year of its 100th anniversary on level terms with today's riders. With only three weeks to complete over 2,000 miles, was it possible to put a human face on a super-human undertaking?

RIDING HIGH is Howard's diary of his experiences as he follows the route from start to finish. At each stage, he shares anecdotes and notes the historical highpoints that have made the Tour one of the most iconic sporting events in the world.

'Life in the shadows proves tour de force for Howard'
The Times

With Friends in High Places4'The joys, the risks and the motivatations of mountain climbing are at the heart of this remarkable book.'
The Glasgow Herald

'His book is well worth a read by those who love the mountains and there's much wisdom on the nature of climbing and those who climb.'
Aberdeen Evening Express

'joyfully recalls more than half a century of expeditions in every corner of the globe...This however is not simply a boastful account of Slesser's albeit impressive achievements. Nor is it an inventory of hardships withstood. Instead, it uses his ample stock of stories to question why climbers choose to face such enormous risks - of hypothermia, altitude sickness and fatal falls...This fine book could make even the most armchair-bound readers reach for their boots.'
Daily Mail

Hooligan Wars5What lies behind violence amongst football fans and what long-term solutions, if any, exist to combat the problem? HOOLIGAN WARS looks beyond the easy answers to investigate the real causes and effects, analysing the concepts of race and fan culture throughout Europe and the influence of media coverage on football hooligans. The book features a diverse list of esteemed contributors and draws controversial conclusions in a timely analysis of the ugly underbelly of 'the beautiful game'. Includes analysis of the 2002 World Cup.

'HOOLIGAN WARS isn't another thugs' eye account, instead it attempts a serious look at the causes and effects of hooliganism on the English game'
FourFourTwo

Bhoys, Bears and Bigotry6Rangers entered the new world of sport and big business in April 1986 when they signed Graeme Souness, a man with no previous connections to a club steeped in its own historical traditions. These traditions are ineluctably intertwined with those of their great Glasgow rivals, Celtic, whose origins as an Irish Catholic club set up the rivalry that became known as the Old Firm, once said to be 'a business based on bigotry'.

Celtic were slow to react to the Souness challenge at Ibrox, especially when Souness was joined by a new owner at Rangers, millionaire businessman David Murray, but after years of squabbling at Celtic Park, Celtic's saviour arrived in the form of expatriate millionaire Fergus McCann.

'an honest, yet balanced account'
Scotland on Sunday

Blue Moon7BLUE MOON traces a season in the life of Manchester City.

Not just any season, but 1998-99, when the once-proud club, with two League Championships and four FA Cup wins to its name - not to mention a phenomenal fan base - was forced to battle it out with the likes of Macclesfield Town, Colchester United and Wigan Athletic in English football's third flight

 

 

England's Eastenders8'...a glorious romp through local soccer history and, more importantly, the astonishing contribution that the east end of London has made to the game. Lewis has done a service to the whole of the east end by writing it.'
Docklands Recorder

'an exemplary and fascinating read. There are sympathetic portraits of great players and characters and an insightful look at a great area of this country. It makes a welcome change from the pulp football books which cost much and say so little.'
The independent

'a heart-warming tribute to the stars from London's East End who have lit up our lives since the great Bobby Moore.'
The Sunday Times

Evertyhing Under the Blue Moon9EVERYTHING UNDER THE BLUE MOON encompasses all aspects of Manchester City since it was founded back in 1880 right up to the present day. Its A-Z format features all you need to know about the players, managers, grounds, abandoned games, cup games, European action, and record-holders. Featuring a broad range of subjects from all eras and featuring facts that will surprise even the most knowledgeable, it will appeal to supporters both young and old. From bizarre episodes in the club's history to the glory of the 1960s, and that decade's incredible first season under Kevin Keegan, this handbook is an essential point of reference for writers and supporters alike.

'...so it was a great trip down Memory Lane to read all about the original King Kevan, in this fascinating A to Z of the Blues, by David Clayton, editor of the City Magazine...The rest of the book, which has a foreword by Radio 1 jocks and City fanatics Mark Radcliffe and Marc Riley, is packed with other such long-neglected gems of information. A must for all city anoraks.'
Manchester Evening News

The Glory Game10When the first edition of THE GLORY GAME was published in 1972, it was instantly hailed as the most insightful book about the life of a football team ever published. 'His accuracy is sufficiently uncanny to be embarrassing,' wrote Bob Wilson in the New Statesman. 'Brilliant, vicious, unmerciful,' wrote The Sun. It caused great controversy at the time. Hunter Davies was the first writer to be allowed into the inner sanctum of a top football team, and his pen spared nothing and no one. Now that the main controversies have been forgotten, or forgiven, his work has turned into a classic - probably the best book about football ever written.

'Still the definitive football text...This book is indispensable.'
Four Four Two

Archive: February 2005 | December 2004 | September 2004 | July 2004 | May 2004 | March 2004 | January 2004

Click here for the Online Top 10 or here for the Scottish Top 10