Bareknuckle - Memoirs of the Undefeated Champion

Peter Walsh, Bartley Gorman

Summary

As bareknuckle fighting is poised to steal MMA’s spotlight, its greatest modern-day champion tells his story of rising to the top in the brutal sport.   Steeped in the tradition of his Irish Traveller ancestry, Bartley Gorman also embraced its dangerous subculture: bareknuckle fighting. Though it gave birth to boxing as we know it today, the sport has remained underground—and illegal in most developed countries. But that didn’t stop Gorman from rising through the prize-fighting ranks of Great Britain and Ireland and staying undefeated for twenty years.   Now, through Gorman’s thrilling memoir, readers get a front row view of the punches exchanged in back parking lots and fair grounds, the gritty characters populating the fight circles, and the hazards facing a sought after champion. “A rare glimpse into a secret world,” Bareknuckle celebrates one man’s mastery of fighting in its purest form and heralds the rebirth of one of the oldest combat sports in history (The Independent on Sunday).   “Every page shines. A tremendous book.” —Traveller Magazine   “Well-written and interesting.” —Boxing News

Available since: 08/30/2011.

Print length: 320 pages.

Other books that might interest you

Watch My Tracer

Keith Chisnall

One man's untold story of Special Forces including clandestine operations during the Rhodesian war. A third generation Rhodesian tells the story of his upbringing on a farm and his days learning to track and survive in the bush. Later he would use this knowledge in operational conditions during the Rhodesian Civil War. In classic Special Branch style, you will not find an account of a unit called Pachedu in the history books, but it existed. There are historical facts with covert and overt operations which have never been made public. It is a story of trial, battle, friendships and extraordinary life experiences during the bloody Rhodesian war.

Show book

Drop Zone Burma - Adventures in...

Roger Annett

Air-dropped supplies were a vital part of the Allied campaign in Burma during World War II. The transportation of  munitions, food and medical supplies was undertaken in the most difficult situations, both on the land where the air bases were often situated in remote tropical jungle terrain and in the air when hazardous flying conditions were met in the steamy airs above the carpet of forest treetops.This book is based upon the memories of nine veterans of the campaign: John Hart, an air-dispatcher with 194 Squadron; Peter Bray, a Dakota pilot with 31 Squadron; Arthur Watts, a fitter with both 31 and 194 Squadrons; Colin Lynch an Observer on 31 Squadron; Norman Currell, a Dakota pilot with 31 Squadron; George Hufflett, 1st Queens Infantry; Ken Brown, Royal Signals; Eric Knowles, the Buffs and Dame Vera Lynn who was with ENSA during the campaign.  It describes how they arrived in Burma and their previous wartime experiences and then explains there parts in the famous actions such as The Defence of Arakan, The Sieges of Imphal and Kohima, the Allied Counterattack, the Advance to Mandalay and the Race to Rangoon.The author explains the background to this theater of war and then puts the veterans memories into context as the campaign progresses.

Show book

Escape to Pagan - The True Story...

Brian Devereux

The true story of a soldier who survived Japanese capture, a sinking hell ship, and the bombing of Nagasaki, all while his family fought their own battle in the Burmese jungle. While leading an attack on Hong Kong’s Golden Hill, Jack Devereux of the Royal Scots is shot through the head. Then a Japanese officer attempts to behead him in order to blood his samurai sword. Waking briefly, Devereux kills his would-be executioner, impressing his captors. Fascinated by their prisoner’s grisly wounds, they allow him to live, but Devereux’s trials are only beginning. In a precarious physical state, the wounded soldier experiences the horrific sinking of the Japanese freighter LisbonMaru, in which hundreds of POWs drown; survives the shark-infested South China Sea; and burrows in the mines of Nagasaki as the atom bomb falls. Meanwhile, his family hides in Burma, hoping against hope that they will one day be reunited with Devereux. Written by his son, Brian Devereux—whose mother carried him from Mandalay to the deserted medieval city known today as Bagan—this is an amazing account of the terrifying wartime journey of a soldier and his family.

Show book

Duplicity - My Mothers' Secrets...

Donna Freed

'Just the most amazing story, a brilliant story, it's like discovering another world. How incredible to go back and search for your past in that way.' Jeremy Vine, BBC R2. 'Mesmerising, I couldn't stop reading'. Decca Aitkenhead, The Sunday Times. 'A family scandal straight out of a Hollywood film noir .. what a story it is. I look forward to seeing it on Netflix'. Genevieve Gaunt, The Spectator. Donna's birth parents were infamous con artists at the heart one of the US's biggest crime investigations of the 1960's. Donna Freed was six years old when her sister casually revealed that she and her siblings were all adopted, a subject her parents refused to discuss. The revelation fractured Donna's sense of identity. The death of her tricky yet treasured adoptive mother died left Donna feeling exposed, her life un-witnessed without a mother to look over her. When she became a mother herself, Donna felt compelled to track down her birth mother. Trawling through records of the now notorious Louise Wise Adoption Service, many previously redacted, she uncovered an explosive and salacious story, one of the biggest true crime investigations to grip the USA in the late 1960s. Her (real) parents had faked her mother's death tby drowning o benefit from a massive life insurance payout - a manhunt ensued....This vivid memoir about motherhood and identity, explores the essence of what it is to be a mother and the fundamental truth of nature vs nurture.

Show book

Third World Child - Born White...

GG Alcock

GG Alcock's parents, Creina and Neil, were humanitarians who gave up comfortable lives to move to rural Zululand. In a place called Msinga, a dry rock-strewn wilderness and one of the most violent places in Africa, they lived and worked among the Mchunu and Mthembu tribes, fighting for the rights of people displaced by the apartheid government's policy of "forced removals". They also fought against the corruption of police and government officials, as well as local farmers, which did not sit well with their white fellow citizens. When GG was fourteen his father was assassinated by rival tribesmen. GG's early life in rural Zululand in the 1970s and 80s can only be described as unique. He and his brother Khonya, both initially home-schooled by their mother, grew up as Zulu kids, herding goats and playing with the children of their neighbours, learning to speak fluent Zulu, learning to become Zulu men under the guidance of Zulu elders, and learning the customs and history of their adopted tribes. Armed with their father's only legacy - the skills to survive in Africa - both young men were ultimately forced to move into the "white" world which was largely unknown to them. In many ways, GG Alcock's story mirrors that of many of his people, the journey of a tribal society learning to embrace the first world. He does not shy away from the violence and death that coloured his childhood years surrounded by savage faction fighting, nor how they affected his adult life. His story in Third World Child is one of heartbreak and tragedy and, paradoxically, of vibrant hope and compassion. A restless energy and sardonic humour permeate his writing, which is compelling in its honesty and spontaneity.

Show book

Whatever the Cost - Facing Your...

David Benham, Jason Benham

“Two nationally-acclaimed real estate entrepreneurs share biblical principles to revolutionize your work and family life, and give you the courage to stand up for what is right.” 
This book follows the story of highly motivated and entrepreneurial twin brothers, David and Jason Benham, from their formative years and ventures into professional baseball to their rise as owners of a multi-million dollar business empire and securing an HGTV reality series. It’s a journey where the brothers learned how they must die to their dreams not just once, but twice as they walked away from baseball before being called up to the Big Show and later as their TV series was stripped away from them just before airing when the network succumbed to media pressures surrounding their faith. These experiences only helped them realize that the key to powerful living is found when you die to your dreams and face your fears, and choose to live powerfully through it all. The biblical principles they implemented to guide their work and families are revealed in practical terms to apply to our daily lives and give us courage to stand for what is right. The book will expand on principles such as:Show that You are Faithful in LittleBe a Fountain to Others and not a DrainProduce More in Value than You ReceiveWork to Your Ability and not Your PayBreathe Life into All SituationsRemember that You are Human Beings, not Human DoingsHold to a Standard of Disciplined LivingDon’t Swing at Every PitchFind Your Greatest Blessings on the Other Side of Your Greatest Fears

Show book