Horse Racing's Strangest Tales

Horse Racing's Strangest Tales
Author: Andrew Ward
Publisher: Portico
Total Pages: 252
Release: 2017-02-16
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 1911042831

Extraordinary but true stories from over 150 years of racing. This hilarious, sideways look at horse racing vividly recounts many of the strangest moments and oddest incidents from over 150 years of the sport's history. Andrew Ward recalls the time when spectators mounted two fallen horses and rode them to second and third places; the race which had to be re-run because the judge wasn't in his box at the finish; the ultrasonic binoculars that allegedly stunned a horse and unseated a jockey at Ascot, and many more. A totally original, offbeat collection of extraordinary but true stories, Horse-Racing's Strangest Races will be a delight to all lovers of the turf. Word count: 60,000

Horse Racing's Strangest Races

Horse Racing's Strangest Races
Author: Andrew Ward
Publisher: Robson Books Limited
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2000
Genre: Horse racing
ISBN: 9781861053244

A humorous, sideways look at horse racing that recounts many of the strangest moments and incidents from the last 150 years of the sport's history.

Motor Racing's Strangest Races

Motor Racing's Strangest Races
Author: Geoff Tibballs
Publisher: Portico
Total Pages: 262
Release: 2016-06-09
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 1911042572

Since 1894, when motor racing’s colourful history began with a bang (and a banger!), drivers, racers and lunatics alike have done many stupid and bizarre things all in the name of motor sport. Author Geoff Tibballs has gathered together this absorbing collection of stories from over a century of motor racing around the world, including the Frenchman who drove 25 miles in reverse, the Grand Prix in which the leading drivers were so far ahead that they stopped for a meal in the pits, the Le Mans 24-hour race won by a car patched up with chewing gum, and the driver who drank six bottles of champagne – virtually one per pit-stop – on the way to winning the Indianapolis 500. The stories in this book are bizarre, fascinating, hilarious, and, most importantly, true. Revised, redesigned and updated for a new generation of petrolheads, this book contains enough extraordinary-but-true tales to drive anyone around the bend. Word count: 45,000

Cornwall's Strangest Tales

Cornwall's Strangest Tales
Author: Peter Grego
Publisher: Portico
Total Pages: 172
Release: 2013-07-15
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1909396435

Welcome to the weird and wonderful world of Cornwall, or as it is sometimes obscurely referred to, Merry Jack. Though this isn’t the usual side of the county the tourists, travellers and residents see. This is the real Cornwall, the strange and twisted nooks and crannies of the county’s bizarre history – past, present and future. Following on from the bestselling Portico Strangest titles now comes a book devoted to England’s gloriously coastal, yet most haunted, region. Located in the toes of the outstretched legs of Britain’s old man, Cornwall is a county with more strangeness than you can shake a Cornish pasty at. Cornwall is an area of outstanding natural beauty, as well as outstanding strangness – from ye olde tales of plundering pirates to foulish ghosts drinking in local pubs right through to the most famous of all myths – the bizarre beast that forever stalks Bodmin Moor. Spooky.

Yorkshire's Strangest Tales

Yorkshire's Strangest Tales
Author: Leonora Rustamova
Publisher: Portico
Total Pages: 169
Release: 2013-05-15
Genre: Reference
ISBN: 1909396338

Welcome to the weird and wonderful world of Yorkshire, or as it is sometimes beautifully referred to, God’s Own County. Though this isn’t the usual side of the county the tourists, travellers and residents see. This is the real Yorkshire, the strange and twisted nooks and crannies of the county’s bizarre history – past, present and future. Following on from the bestselling Strangest Series now comes an eBook devoted to one of England’s most beautiful valley regions. Located in the upper body of Britain’s old man, Yorkshire is a county with more strangeness than you can shake a Dale walking stick at. Home of Robin Hood (he was born in Barnsdale), Guy Fawkes, Dick Turpin and Dracula (Bram Stoker wrote part of the vampire tale in a Whitby hotel!) and, some say, the birthplace of modern civilization even began in Leeds! But you’ll have to read the book to find out why. Yorkshire’s Strangest Tales is a treasure trove of the hilarious, the odd and the baffling – an alternative travel guide to some of the county’s best-kept secrets. Read on, if you dare! You have been warned.

Dublin's Strangest Tales

Dublin's Strangest Tales
Author: Michael Barry
Publisher: Portico
Total Pages: 162
Release: 2013-07-15
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1909396443

Welcome to the weird and wonderful world of Dublin. Though this isn’t the usual side of the city the tourists, travellers and residents see. This is the real Dublin, the strange and twisted nooks and crannies of the city’s bizarre history – past, present and future. Following on from the bestselling Portico Strangest titles now comes a book devoted to one of Ireland’s most beautiful, and popular, cities. Located on the beautiful eastern seaboard, Dublin is a city with more strangeness than you can shake a pint of Guinness at. Home to one million people, the name, strangely, comes from the Irish ‘Dubh Linn’, which means 'Black Pool', but that name was already taken. Dublin’s Strangest Tales is a treasure trove of the hilarious, the odd and the baffling – an alternative travel guide to some of the city’s best-kept secrets. Read on, if you dare! You have been warned.

Railways' Strangest Tales

Railways' Strangest Tales
Author: Tom Quinn
Publisher: Portico
Total Pages: 259
Release: 2018-02-15
Genre: History
ISBN: 1911042971

A fascinating collection of bizarre but true stories from nearly 200 years of railway history. Right from the very start, when George Stephenson’s famous Rocket knocked over and killed a government minister at the opening of the Liverpool to Manchester line in 1830, the world’s railways have given rise to plenty of intriguing stories. In this fascinating book, revised and updated with a new selection of tales, railway buff Tom Quinn explores the more bizarre side of train travel, featuring weird weather conditions, audacious robberies, hair-raising accidents, vanishing passengers, an infestation of maggots and a mysterious missing mummy. From the dawn of rail travel, when speeds of 15mph were considered dangerous to health and people mistook engines for fire-breathing demons, through the Victorian heyday of royal trains and seaside specials to today’s more prosaic leaves on the line, this whistlestop tour through railways’ long and storied history is the perfect gift for armchair travellers, history fans and trainspotters. Word count: 60,000

Royalty's Strangest Tales

Royalty's Strangest Tales
Author: Geoff Tibballs
Publisher: Portico
Total Pages: 245
Release: 2017-07-13
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1911042947

A rollicking collection of stories featuring the craziest, daftest and most outrageous monarchs the world has ever known. Packed with royal stories from 2,000 years of history, from the immortality-obsessed first Emperor of China to the master of tact and diplomacy, Prince Philip, this book will leave the reader fascinated, entertained and occasionally appalled. We’ll meet all sorts of colourful royal characters, including the Roman Emperor Caligula, who was unspeakably cruel to his subjects but worshipped his horse, Charles VI of France, convinced he was made of glass, and Frederick William I of Prussia, who recruited – and sometimes kidnapped – the tallest men in Europe to form his private army. There are tales of scandal, including secret marriages, illegitimate offspring, royal pickpockets and alleged vampirism, and madness, cross-dressing and pigeon-fancying also crop up! Fully updated with a selection of new stories, this absorbing book is the perfect gift for history fans.

Cycling's Strangest Tales

Cycling's Strangest Tales
Author: Iain Spragg
Publisher: Portico
Total Pages: 246
Release: 2017-06-12
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 1911042904

Extraordinary but true stories from 200 years of cycling history. Part of the bestselling Strangest series, Cycling’s Strangest Tales is a quirky and fascinating collection of stories from cycling’s history. Included are stories of Thomas Stevens, the doughty Englishman who circumnavigated the world on a penny farthing, the 1904 Tour de France winner who was disqualified for catching the train, the 1937 Japanese invasion of China spearheaded by 50,000 bicycle-mounted troops, and the man who soared over nine circus elephants on an ordinary yellow bike. The stories come from every corner of the cycling world, whether it’s the open road, the velodrome or the BMX track. Brought bang up to date for 2017 with a selection of new stories, Cycling’s Strangest Tales is the perfect gift for anyone who’s in love with life on two wheels. Word count: 45,000